We Can Be Pretty Crappy Sometimes.

And by we, I mean the United States. E.J. Dionne, in a truly wonderful column about the Joe Wilson incident, happens to get to the nut of why, more often than not, being an American feels more like a burden than a blessing.

Dionne observes that the truly odious angle of the Joe Wilson incident was not his accusation that Obama lied -- which was, frankly, standard-issue politics. It was the fact that

alleged plans to kill off seniors and promote abortion are spoken of in almost the same breath as the matter of delivering health care to fellow human beings, however they arrived on our shores.

Indeed. But it should surprise no one. Consider the fact that a creature such as Michelle Malkin is at the top of the bestseller list.

Here's something Mrs. Malkin wrote last year:

I’ve written before about organ transplants for illegal aliens–and been attacked by the usual socialist suspects as cruel, heartless, and racist for questioning the wisdom of US public policy that indiscriminately allocates scarce health resources at taxpayer expense to illegal immigrants.

An empathetic person would read that and say, "Well, duh." I mean, it's pretty evil to broadly condemn to death a swath of immigrants, many of whom risk life and limb just to get here. Saying so should not be controversial.

The problem, though, is that very few people of weight are willing to say as much.

The fallout? Malkin -- who, it's worth repeating, authored a book in praise of internment camps -- is one of the most popular conservatives in the country.

This is damaging to our collective intelligence, but it also stunts the discourse; after all, how can one have a good faith argument with people whose intellectual leader spent weeks going after Rachael Ray (for a sartorial faux pas) and a twelve year old boy, for the twin sins of getting sick and getting well?

Dionne finishes up like so:

...I am not at all at peace with the fact that the one issue about which a member of Congress chose to rise up and accuse our president of being a liar related to the charge that our chief executive wasn't doing enough to build walls between illegal immigrants and health coverage.

How mean-spirited will we allow ourselves to become? How coarsened has our political culture made us? We like to see ourselves as a generous, caring and welcoming nation. Are we losing that part of our character?

That's a little confused. The perception of America has never been in line with the reality of America -- which is why, lo these many months ago, Michelle Obama's remarks made people so uncomfortable. They were easily to believe!

We may see ourselves as "generous, caring and welcoming" but that just ain't so. Joe Wilson's remarks, and the speed at which he has been embraced by millions of his own party, proves it.

To answer Dionne's question: I hope so. That is, and always was, a delusion.