Golden Rule is different in D.C.

Gene Lyons

Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007

If there were a Golden Rule of Washington politics, it would have to be phrased rather differently from the biblical injunction. The prevailing ethos of our nation’s capital appears to be “Do unto others before they get a chance to do unto you.” Most Americans say they’re sickened by excess partisanship and dirty tricks, but it’s not clear that they really mean it. With respect to political scandals, many appear unwilling or unable to perform the simplest thought experiment: to wit, turn a story inside-out. What would you be saying if the opposite party got caught using the same underhanded tactics?