Who Was It Obsessed with Phalluses, Again?

When the Anthony Weiner story broke progressives tried to deflect by claiming that all the attention given to Weiner was taking the attention off … of … jobs! Biden’s favorite three-letter word! It marked the first time since Clinton that Democrats cared about the economy enough to use it to draw the nation’s attention away from what their party darling was doing when his wife wasn’t around.

Now that the story is out of the way, progressives have returned to their third-favorite pastime, the pastime that comes after firming up political segregation and avoiding the economy until the 11th hour: talking about Republicans and seckshul activities. Daily Kos — whom I normally ignore on this site because the only thing that separates Daily Kos from public restroom graffiti is that I’m certain someone takes a Clorox wipe to the restroom stalls at least once a day — went nuts over the latest photos from Iowa involving corn dogs in what I call the Awkward Dog Series.

Heavens, Michele Bachmann eating a corn dog! Oh look, Rick Perry, eating a corn dog! Maybe he’s gay! Requisite “Perry is gay” rumor-mongering! Oh my, Marcus Bachmann with a corn dog! Gay! Look, Mitt Romney is walking down the street with a corn dog! In Markos Moulitsas’s mind, corn dog = gay, apparently. Just for future reference.

Also this week Missouri media continues its obsession over the private life of the state’s single Republican Lt. Governor, Peter Kinder. Their obsession was such that they crashed Move-On-Up.org‘s black conservative scholarship banquet to chase Kinder, who addressed attendees that evening, without giving a sliver of attention to the conference — save for one outlet.

Is this deflection born of envy or is it fear of legitimate analysis over the President’s record-low approval, poor performance on the economy, or dismal support from his base?

The world may never know.