Believe me, I am no fan of President Obama. And his positions are bad enough without misconstruing the context of his quotes.

His book "Audacity of Hope" does indeed contain the quote "I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction". However, "them" refers to Muslim immigrants to America. The President was pledging to protect Muslim Americans from an overreaction to the tragic events of 9/11.

I'm no fan of Senator Boxer. But I think we are getting a bit carried away here.

The senator was not suggesting that addessing women as "Maam" was inappropriate. Instead, she wanted the general to use the title that recognizes her authority to be conducting the hearing. There probably should be a difference between how the general addresses a committee member and how he addresses the female population at large.

I agree that Senator Boxer should have handled this differently. You and I would have perhaps just let it go, or spoken with those testifying before the committee privately. Minimally, she should have acknowledged that she understood General Walsh meant no disrespect.

I also think it is probably a...