Joker:

We watched the Tucker Carlson show, "Unfiltered" last night. He is transparently bad. We get the feeling that in this new forum he has - which allows him free reign - he uses his techniques too crudely and frequently - not having the restraints (such as they are) of the CNN programs he usually appears on.

In an interview with Al Sharpton, the discussion got to the point where Sharpton asserted that:

• The Iraq war was unjustified.
  
• He (Sharpton) supported the soldiers that went to Iraq and risked their lives; in once case he presided over the funeral of one that died.
  

Clearly, there are two distinct things Sharpton was opining on (national political issues and individual duty to country). But Tucker conflated them. Wearing his Boy Scout face, Carlson said:

• "So it's the duty of Americans to serve and fight in unjust wars."
  
• "Your point seems to be, whether or not the war was a good idea, all Americans have a moral obligation to support their Commander in Chief."

Implying that Sharpton supports (or should support) unjust wars and president Bush.

Anybody can play that game. Take, for instance, a conservative that opposes bilingual education but also admires a teacher he knows personally. The Tucker-like attack would be on the order of, "So, you support teachers that are mis-educating our children."

It's so high school.

At the end of the interview, Carlson hurled this at Sharpton:

• "So now the Democratic party is now, kind of like the straight-laced, mortgage-paying, conventional-sex life party?"
  

Which is not what the Democrats are, nor what they are portraying themselves as - at least not the "straight-laced" and "conventional-sex-life" part. Democrats have a libertarian view on personal behavior. Carlson was slipping in a subtle reference to the gay-friendly stance of Democrats by claiming the opposite.

Sharpton, cleverly picking up on a weak point in Carlson's jab, replied:

• "Well you know after Clinton gave us so much surplus money and income, we've got to worry about mortgages. We never had to worry about them with Democrats - I mean Republicans, because we didn't have homes."
  

Carlson, seeing that he was bested on that one, responded with:

• "Good answer!"