FACT-FUDGING, WILLIAM KRISTOL STYLE

In today's New York Times, Republican apparatchik William Kristol wrings an entire column out of the pro forma commemorations of Passover on the Web sites of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain.

After sneering at the Clinton statement ("The trouble is that, as so often in her campaign, her greater experience hasn't given her anything interesting or distinctive to say"), Kristol moves on to Obama's statement. Naturally, he sneers again: It's "talkier than Clinton's." And, yes, the numbers bear that out: Clinton's statement is 139 words; Obama's is 215 words.

Know how many words McCain's is?

208.

Kristol, naturally, does not call McCain's statement "talky."

*****

He then turns to a different commemoration in his last paragraph:

I might add that both Democratic campaigns missed an opportunity last week. They seem not to have noticed that the date of the first Seder, April 19, was also the 233rd anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord. So, a few days before Pennsylvanians vote, the candidates could have commemorated not just the Exodus from Egypt but also "the shot heard round the world," thus identifying themselves all at once with political liberation, religious freedom and -- yes! -- the right to bear arms.

Anyone hear McCain utter a word about this? Me either. But it's only bad if Democrats don't.