And THIS is why he gets the big bucks

And here I was just assuming Richard Cohen was still the nation's tritest Op-Ed writer. I am crestfallen. For Tom Friedman's 'Mustache of Understanding' (credit Atrios) has demanded the mantle:

The Tea Party that has gotten all the attention, the amorphous, self-generated protest against the growth in government and the deficit, is what I’d actually call the “Tea Kettle movement” — because all it’s doing is letting off steam.

Oh, you see what he did there? Considering the fact it became the "Tea Party" only after it's bleaters found out what "teabagging" meant requires that any other nickname would be trite beyond belief. Enter Thomas Friedman. I bet he spent at least six months coming up with it, so one Friedman Unit, an "F.U." But enough about that, let's see how the Mustache would make everything just right...suck.on.this!

The Tea Partiers actually want us to raise taxes.

Um, yeah, good job there Tom, you've really got their belief system pegged, that's exactly what they want. That's some solid political analysis of what makes 'em tick.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]