If this is true, it is a deep personal tragedy for Mr. Edwards' family, and for those who believed in him. But you, Mickey, approach it with glee. That says at least as much about you as it does about Mr. Edwards.

You’ve made me think very hard this morning. I have to look in the mirror. I have to work hard to reduce the schadenfreude I will feel the next 500 times a right-wing Republican politician or fundamentalist minister is discovered with a male or female prostitute. The hypocrisy is worth noting, but the personal tragedy should not be mocked.

Societies fail when they can no longer find trust or inspiration, only cynicism. Individuals who betray their promises contribute to that failure. But so do those who glorify in evidence that everyone is a hypocrite, and everything is a game. You are one of those folks, Mickey, and in reading you today, I suddenly realized just how ugly it is. Perhaps I should have realized earlier. From now on, I’m going to try really hard not to be like you, Mickey. You, too, might consider whether you are making the best use of your talents, and whether your work is leaving the legacy it should.

You nailed it, Kaus is the epitomy of cynical. His column should be called a Mostly Cynical Weblog. His commentary is like a parasite on the body of public discourse, not only adding no value, but serving as a diversion and a distraction. Maybe he just views himself as a gossip columnist, but that's not a whole lot better than a cynic.