In his latest essay, noted anthropologist and social critic Dana Milbank thoughtfully explores the proposition that short people are inferior to others. He does so by means of a fascinating case study of the press conference held yesterday by Dennis Kucinich. Mr. Milbank introduces his theme by referring to Kucinich as a "leprechaun", and he goes on in numerous ways to weave Kucinich's inferior physical stature into the case for his inferior political stature.
Mr. Milbank, for example, astutely observes that Kucinich stood on a six-inch platform behind the podium, and, in case we might miss the significance of this, he adds that this enabled Kucinich to "see over the microphone." While this was not in fact literally true, it was representative of Mr. Milbank's ability to weave his data into a compelling narrative with deep insight into human nature.
Perhaps Mr. Milbank next week will enlighten us as to why Speaker Pelosi is an inferior creature because of her female gender; or why Rahm Emanuel is unfit for public service when his first name is spelled so strangely; or why indeed President Obama is unqualified in view of the color of his skin.
Congratulations to Mr. Milbank and to The Washington Post for courageously exposing the inferior nature of short people. May they continue their intrepid work on behalf of our enlightened democracy.