James Edwards of the Political Cesspool was denounced in June by Keith Obermann as the “the worst person in the world.”

I am trying hard not to be jealous, but it is not easy. I told John Ashbrook that one the great pleasures of working for him was that, in any political gathering or at any cocktail party, when I said I worked for John Ashbrook all the right people shied away.

Some years ago I also talked about James’ beautiful young wife. I know that thing about not coveting, but who can I fool?

There’s a reason we’re GRUMPY old men.

I don’t listen to James’ show because I don’t listen to ANYTHING. Honestly, after writing, giving and listening to thousands of speeches listening is a chore for me. But the Cesspool is obviously becoming an outlet for people who are famous but beyond the fringe.

Mel Gibson’s father, Hutton Gibson, has been on the Cesspool at least twice now, and the famous Arizona sheriff who makes his jailees live in tents was on, too.

There is a continuum of respectability in our society. We all remember how the militias screamed against all “racists” the moment they got a little publicity that was not wholly hostile. Respectable conservatives are the media’s ever-ready lynch mob against anything the left decides is intolerable to it.

That continuum is a practical matter. It needs to be discussed and the rings of that ladder named.

I have found that what really hurts our established religion is when one starts discussing the Politically Correct Order of Preference. PC required Women’s Liberation, but what if the woman who was raped was raped by a black man?

This is like quoting the California guy who asked, “Are we still boycotting grapes?” No respectable conservative would do that. No respectable conservative would discuss with a liberal the exact priorities of the preference ladder we all know about?

Respectable conservatives make their living avoiding anything that hits home like that. But I am the only one who talks about exactly what a respectable conservative avoids. It is perfect guide to what hits home.

The Ladder of Political Correctness for each group, the Ladder of Respectability, quoting the most slavish statements on the left. These were the kind of analysis by which I made my living.

The Ladder of Respectability tells you where liberals are hurting. They divert public hostility they can no longer ignore into the direction that hurts least. So they gave up gun control, and militia groups obediently began to denounce racism. To a person who doesn’t do this sort of thing for a living, this is a connection that sounds almost esoteric, but it is actually routine.

I had to know what legislation could be passed by our side and when. I knew exactly where and how they were backing down in one area to retrench in another. It is called strategy, and it is professional matter.

And when they give respectability or even attention, you have to talk openly about what they are going to want in return.

You see, they, too, have their professionals.

The political front is not called strategy for nothing.

I know James, and we talked about all this stuff years ago. He is a hale and well-met, smiling chap, but I hope the cold steel I saw back then remains beneath his charm.

We laugh and joke, but we do not play. This is a war, not a game.