David Feherty, golf analyst and my personal favorite funnyman, is finding himself in a tub o’ hot water due to his latest column written for a Dallas local magazine, opining on his new neighbors, George and Laura Bush.

The line in question?

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death.

The line has the media in a tizzy. “Mr. Feherty’s violent comments about Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are disgusting,” said watchdog group Media Matters for America president Eric Burns. “CBS Sports should demand its golf analyst apologize to our soldiers.”

Good old Media Matters - they’re nothing if not consistent in their support for the government and our military. You should have heard their outrage when George Dubya was on the receiving end of jokes like that. Oh wait, did I say outrage? Only if by “outrage” I meant “knee-slapping guffaws.”

Interestingly, while the media demands an apology from Mr. Feherty, it is simultaneously falling all over itself defending jokes made by comedian Wanda Sykes at Obama’s recent Correspondent’s Association Dinner that could, ironically, also be described as “violent” and/or “disgusting.” Rush Limbaugh wanted to blow up the World Trade Center? “Fantastic!” gushed the AP. Pelosi and Reid getting offed in an elevator? Quick, start passing out the torches and pitchforks!

Free speech for me, but not for thee, got that Mr. Feherty?

I think he might get it, because Feherty has already apologized for his comment. Not that it will do any good, of course; cries for apologies were promptly upgraded to cries for his firing.

See Dave, you broke the cardinal rule: thou shalt not make snarky comments about the government. Yeah yeah, I know it’s a brand-new rule. It happened faster than it took most liberals to rip their “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” bumper stickers off their hybrids. But since apparently you had not been informed, as of Tuesday, January 20th of this year, the media simultaneously turned in their media credentials and donned cheerleader uniforms.

Our new administration cannot, will not, must not be mocked. As WorldGolf.com’s own William K. Wolfrum has observed, Barack Obama’s power is as absolute as Tiger Woods’: “Basically, like Obama,” Wolfrum recently wrote, “all sins are rendered moot, because for god’s sake, it’s Tiger Woods we’re talking about.”

The funny thing is, Feherty’s politics are pretty much split down the middle. As he describes it, he’s “for capital punishment for child molesters and anyone who disapproves of gay marriage.” So Miss California Carrie Prejean had better hope she doesn’t find herself in that proverbial elevator with Feherty.

I’ve read enough of Feherty’s stuff to know that he dishes it out to both sides; I’ve also read enough to know that he’s freaking hilarious.

Let’s hope Feherty’s mishap blows over quickly so he can go back to doing what he does best - writing about golf. Just toe the PC line already, will you, Dave? Your writing career is one of the best thing’s golf’s got going - I’d hate to see something happen to it.

Hey, he’s Irish, maybe they’ll give him a mulligan.

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