The Devil Made Me Do It!

For those of you who believe in fairy tales, Rick Santorum is the perfect candidate. He is sure that Satan walks amongst us. That this sort of childish, boogeyman nonsense would still be a politically viable stance for anyone in the 21st Century is breathtaking. Stupidity is apparently the strongest American growth industry. If only we could export it...

Where are H.L. Mencken and Mark Twain when we really need them? For that matter, imagine what George Carlin could do with this fertile field of madness. Alas...

There is no doubt that men are capable of great evil. History is replete with it--much of it sanctioned by the Catholic Church, by the way. But let's not point fingers.

If you want to think that the Devil, Old Nick, Lucifer, or whichever of his many names you prefer, is behind it, you are free to do so. If you want to think that, as Santorum has declared, "this is a spiritual war, and 'the father of lies'...has his sights on the USA...Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity and sensuality as the root to attack the American tradition" you are also free to do so.

But please don't be surprised if the rest of us think that you're just a little bit crazy.

(Incidentally, doesn't Santorum sort of make it sound like the Kardashians are in league with Satan? Wow! Wouldn't that be something?)

Geraldine, Flip Wilson's female avatar, was fond of saying, "The Devil made me do it!" We all laughed because we knew that it was a comedy bit. Little did we know that a generation later it would become a major plank in the platform of one potential Republican Presidential candidate...