"Common Sense Oklahoma Values"

Worth reading, if you're into being horrified:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As others condemned the reported abuse of Iraqi prisoners, U.S. Sen. James Inhofe on Tuesday expressed outrage at the worldwide outrage over the treatment by American soldiers of those he called "terrorists" and "murderers." "I'm probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment," the Oklahoma Republican said at a U.S. Senate hearing probing the scandal.

"These prisoners, you know they're not there for traffic violations," Inhofe said.

Nope. Reuters rightly couldn't resist pointing out that 70 to 90 percent of them are there for no reason but that someone made a mistake, according to coalition officials:

Coalition military intelligence officers estimated that about 70 percent to 90 percent of the thousands of prisoners detained in Iraq had been "arrested by mistake," according to a report by Red Cross given to the Bush administration last year and leaked this week.

Could Imhofe possibly say anything to more dramatically illustrate his dangerous disconnect from reality?

"I am also outraged that we have so many humanitarian do-gooders right now crawling all over these prisons looking for human rights violations, while our troops, our heroes are fighting and dying," he said.

Reuters apparently also couldn't resist adding a punchline here:

Inhofe...is described on his senatorial Web site as a leading conservative voice in the Senate, advocating "common sense Oklahoma values including less government, less regulation, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility and a strong national defense."

The President should personally denounce Imhofe's comments; they're an embarassment to our country and our military, and they will make moderate Muslims worldwide wonder if America is not after all a power to be resented and loathed. The President needs to step in when senators start writing talking points for the terrorists.