Clearly we are in the "election season lull." That's the time between the primary seasons, when the candidates for U.S. president have been chosen and the actual meat of the campaigns begins.
To prove this, we submit the coverage of Ted Nugent as evidence of a lull.
Recently, the legendary rocker endorsed Mitt Romney for president after he asked for Nugent's support back in March. Nugent is a fervent conservative, most noted for his insane dedication to gun rights that can be seen even in his concerts.
The guy brings various unloaded assault rifles on stage with him like they're musical instruments ready to be played.
Nugent is also notorious for his outlandishly offensive one-liners that he routinely spews out. Among the ones that are fit to print are calling Janet Reno a hunting dog, and saying that apartheid in South Africa was not "black and white" and that all people are not "equal."
So, to many who know him, it was no surprise when he said that he would either be "dead or in jail" if Obama wins November's election. Further complicating the issue, he said these comments at an NRA rally.
Let's get this out of the way first: what Nugent said is unacceptable. Nobody in the United States should be surprised in the least that the Secret Service is taking a look into what he said. Even if we all know that what Nugent says is wild and over the top, it would be irresponsible to not make sure his threat was real.
Without a doubt, it was a threat. Whether or not it was meant as a threat, when you make comments that imply violence against a sitting president, it's a threat. A minor one, but it was a threat indeed.
Nugent should apologize for what he said. Not even for making threats against the president, but for wasting the time and money of the Secret Service. Being a crusader against taxes and government waste, it's silly for him to have made comments he knew would have to bring scrutiny from the Secret Service and waste their funds.
Conservatives want to paint the backlash as an instance of political correctness run amok. Yet, when rapper Common performed at the White House, conservative radio hosts went ballistic when they realized that a line in one of his songs talked about cop killings.
You know what they say about glass houses.
They do have a point, however. The fact is taking the insane ramblings of a '70s rock star seriously is on par with taking the street speeches of a drunkard on a Friday night as beautiful rhetoric.
What's curious is why Romney wanted Nugent's endorsement in the first place. How could he have been oblivious to the fact that Nugent is a sandwich short of a picnic? Could it be that nobody involved knew that Nugent might say something ridiculously offensive in the future?
Of course, we can't hold Romney accountable for what someone else said, but since he actively sought Nugent's endorsement, it's only reasonable for him to denounce the beyond the pale comments. Unless he never wants to insist that the people who Obama has met once or twice, like Bill Ayers, reflect poorly on our president's character.
We've learned a lesson from Nugent's remarks, at least. If you're going to say something about the President, refrain from saying you'll shoot him.
