Courtesy of K-Lo t at the corner, I present to you the above clip of P.J. O’Rourke, Bill Maher and Ben Affleck discussing the state of the ’08 race. While P.J.’s always interesting, I have a rule about the Bill Maher idiot-fest that what happens there stays there, or at least as far as this blog is concerned. Nevertheless, there are two things that I must take issue with regarding this clip.

First, during the conversation, Ben Affleck said of Mitt Romney, “The Mormonism thing is really suspect.” I’m not screaming racism. I’m not even insinuating racism. I am quite confident that Ben Affleck has nothing but love in his heart for all peoples. Probably more so for peoples who share his political views than those who don’t, but I’m sure he’s a man of goodwill. After all, he is the man who gifted society with “Gigli.”

I am noting, however, that much like Peggy Noonan’s drive-by last week regarding temple garments, it is acceptable in the mainstream to say thing about Mormons that wouldn’t be acceptable regarding any other minority. Can you imagine someone like Affleck saying in regards to a different candidate, “The Muslim thing is really suspect” or “The Jewish thing is really suspect” and not getting called on it?

The second thing that I protest is that the Maher Show listed Affleck as an “Actor/Activist”. Isn’t that pushing it? Does he really qualify as an actor?

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