Hey, America: Cut the Character Assassination

When Hillary Clinton took full responsibility for the Benghazi attack, critics accused her of "falling on her sword" to protect the president. Then, when she suffered a concussion and had to postpone her congressional testimony on the matter, those same critics accused her of faking her illness to dodge Congress. "You can't have it every which way," writes Kathleen Parker to those eagerly brandishing pitchforks. She's embasrassed by this "conspiratorial cynicism," and wonders in the Washington Post, "What must the world think of us?"

"One doesn’t have to be a fan of Hillary Clinton ... to feel tainted by the relish with which she and many others have been attacked—unfairly and disproportionately," Parker writes. And it's not just Republicans, Democrats, or any one specific group—our "rush to character assassination" is an across-the-board problem. "In this brooding age of superstition and portent, every misspoken word is a lie, every human error a hanging offense," she muses, and anyone with an opinion can become a pundit. This rush to smear ruins lives and reputations—and it's "a blight on our political system." Click for Parker's full column.