Paul Coverdell: “I think it is particularly noteworthy that he brought to our attention the audit of the IRS itself, which we have all…”

“I think it is particularly noteworthy that he brought to our attention the audit of the IRS itself, which we have all alluded to time and time again, and the badgering of our citizens, but they can't reconcile their own books. Mr. President, I read a moment ago that the White House's first reaction to all this is it is an overheated exercise and the IRS is really OK. My hometown paper is often a defender of the White House. I was quite taken by the Atlanta Constitution's response to the hearings with an editorial that led off: 'Hey, GOP: Let's End Death Next.' That's supposed to be funny. 'Over the years,' I will just read part of it, 'you come to expect a certain level of hypocrisy in Washington, a certain level of posturing and theatrics that you assume to be the professional standard of the city,' says the Atlanta Constitution. 'But then every once in a while, the world shifts and you are treated to a performance of breathtaking gall that simply blows you away. There, before your eyes, you see a new standard being set, rendering all prior examples of pandering insignificant by comparison.' In other words, this testimony that I just reread and these hearings were pure hypocrisy and set a new standard of hypocrisy.”