The Early Show's Harry Smith...Asshole.

I really can't believe the audacity and lack of common decency of some people. This morning Ted Kennedy appeared on the Early Show to talk about his endorsement of Obama for President. Smith had the gall to ask him if he was afraid of Obama being assasinated, being that Ted Kennedy knows a little something about agents of change becoming targets:

SMITH: I just, I think what I was trying to say is, sometimes agents of change end up being targets, as you well know, and that was why I was asking if you were at all fearful of that.

Process that for a second. This scumbag just asked this question of a man who had two of his brothers assasinated by gunmen within a decade of each other, as they both worked tirelessly in quests to improve our country.

What would possess someone to ask a question like that in such an insensitive fashion, let alone at all?

I'd like to point out to Mr. Smith that thanks to terrorism and our little quest to bring democracy to the Middle East, our current president has probably been the frequent target of far more determined and dangerous assassins than Obama would be. Our Secret Service has managed to keep him from getting his ass shot, so far, so why should we assume that Obama would be any more likely to be shot than George W. Bush? Or any other U.S. president given our volatile international image?

And why is it ever, ever acceptable to ask someone who lost two of his brothers to assasination if he is fearful of a colleague being assasinated? Would you ask someone who had two sisters raped and murdered if they were afraid that other friends of theirs might be raped and murdered, given that they're such an expert on the subject?

I cannot, simply cannot, fathom the GALL and the complete lack of judgment, taste and sensitivity required to ask such a question and then try to follow up on it when Kennedy didn't take the bait the first time.

Smith should be ashamed of himself.