Barack Obama: “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect and restore the Gulf Coast.”

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.

I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now.