So the big news today is that the GOP is going to try and “bully” Senator Byrd out of his seat in the next election.

And then there’s the Ku Klux Klan. Critics rarely pass on a chance to recall Byrd’s 1940s ties to the hate group. One columnist recently referred to him as ”the Imperial Wizard of the U.S. Senate.” Hostile bloggers call him ”Sheets.”

So Byrd has publicly apologized for actions taken more than 60 years ago, and publicly stated how he realized he had made a mistake, yet the GOP is going to insist that is the standard we should use to judge his character, while Bush took illegal drugs, drove drunk, skipped out on his guard duty, and has refused to even acknowledge his mistakes no less apologize for them, but we are not supposed to judge him upon those actions taken in the past. “What I’m going to tell people is that 20-30 years ago I made mistakes.”

I don’t get it. We’re supposed to forgive and forget every single mistake the Bush has made, both in office and out, yet at the same time we are to be outraged by actions that Byrd took 60 years ago and has since then publicly renounced?

I don’t think so.

Listen to the Fresh Air interview with Senator Byrd.