THE HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE WANTS AN EXTRA FIFTEEN MINUTES

Bill Donohue is trying to keep this alive -- he just released a statement titled "John Edwards Tolerates Anti-Catholicism."

Excerpts:

John Edwards has apparently decided that there is more to be gained by aligning himself with the cultural left than by standing on principle and firing the Catholic bashers on his payroll. Had anyone on his staff used the 'N-word,' he or she would have been fired immediately. But his goal is to loot the pockets of the Soros/Hollywood gang, and they -- like him -- aren't offended by anti-Catholicism. Indeed, they thrive on it.

"The Soros/Hollywood gang." That's pronounced "Jews," right, Bill?

Edwards said today that 'We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked.' I have news for him -- the Catholic League -- not Edwards -- will decide what the debate will be about, and it won't be about the nation. It will be about the glaring double standard that colors the entire conversation about bigotry.

Nice of you to admit that you don't give a crap about the nation, Bill.

We will launch a nationwide public relations blitz that will be conducted on the pages of the New York Times, as well as in Catholic newspapers and periodicals. It will be on-going, breaking like a wave, starting next week and continuing through 2007. It will be an education campaign, informing the public of what he did today. We will also reach out to our allies in the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities. They worked with us before on many issues, and are sure to do so again. What Edwards did today will not be forgotten.

OK -- after reading this and seeing some of the right-wing blog response (e.g., Sister Toldjah's insistence that Edwards is shooting himself in the foot), I see what's going to happen: They're not going to keep howling for the scalps of Shakes and Amanda. They are, however, going to try to make Edwards's alleged anti-religious bigotry into the first thing that comes up about him in any conversation anywhere in America in which at least one participant is a right-winger. (Cf.: Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick, Robert Byrd and early involvement in the Klan.)

Will it work? I don't know. But it will at least be a nuisance.

The immediate question is how much more airtime the media is going to give Donohue. The media, after all, gets to decide when the acute phase of this is over.

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UPDATE: Feel free to join us in comments -- we're discussing whether the death of Anna Nicole Smith is going to drive this story completely off cable news. I say: absolutely.

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OH, AND: This right-wing blogger read the update I posted above and had this to say:

Apparently, Edwards, in his arrogance, has decided to keep them on staff, hoping apparently that the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the resulting 24/7 treatment of it, is going to keep his staff, and his choices thereof, off the front page, as it were.... Apparently, given the distraction of the moment, (Smith, room temp) he's decided that angering everyone else isn't going to be quite as painful, since the majority of the people that would be voting for a man like Edwards, wouldn't be paying attention just now, anyway.

Yes, you read that correctly: Our righty friend thinks Edwards timed this announcement to coincide with Anna Nicole Smith's death.

No, really.

(The Edwards statement on his bloggers was posted at 11:36 A.M. Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead at 2:49 P.M.)

Or, hey -- maybe Genius Boy thinks Edwards had Anna Nicole murdered just so he wouldn't have to fire Shakes and Amanda! Yeah, that's it -- the fiend! Typical liberal. They're all murderers!