The word of the day is schadenfreude

[Tim4319]

<<snip>>
The Germans have a word for the emotion that seized many Democrats after hearing of the criminal indictment on money-laundering charges of House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas.

<<snip>> Clinton impeachment
Let me agree. In my judgment, George W. Bush never would have been elected president in 2000 if Tom DeLay had not single-handedly stopped the momentum in both parties toward a compromise such as censure -- instead of impeachment -- of President Bill Clinton after the 1998 congressional elections, in which the GOP loss of House seats led to the resignation of Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Back-channel negotiations between congressional Republicans and the White House had reached the point of contemplating a public apology by Clinton in the well of the House and the payment by him of a fine. It would have been a dramatic act of presidential contrition. Given the American voters' capacity for forgiveness, President Clinton's indefensible conduct with Monica Lewinsky would have been a non-issue in 2000.

To derail any compromise on censure and ensure the House's voting to impeach Clinton, DeLay organized and persuaded leaders from the religious right (who are mostly a lot more right than religious) to lobby House Republicans to back impeachment as the constitutionally prescribed course and also enlisted influential conservative radio talk-show hosts to oppose censure.

DeLay succeeded. The House did vote to impeach Bill Clinton, even though the Senate failed to convict. This meant that the tawdry details were further elaborated and amplified, and that George W. Bush, running at a time when by a two-to-one margin voters believed the country was headed in the right direction, could offer himself as a change not of direction, but of leadership, pledging to restore dignity to the White House.

"No matter what anyone might say, impeachment hurt Democrats politically," Gephardt said Thursday.

Gephardt remains impressed by DeLay's successful disciplining of House Republicans: "He refined the enforcer role. He took no prisoners, cutting off dollars to dissenters and putting people on -- or taking them off -- House committees."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/01/the.hammer/

[disgruntled_goat]

1. wow. those Germans have a word for everything.

/me contributes...nothing

[rwork]

2. DUers

were all over that word last week.

[flamin lib]

3. Schadenfreude was used here on DU and two days later it came

up on Hard Ball. Wonder if Chris Mathews reads DU?

[maxsolomon]

4. schadenfreude is all we have left

its the defining concept of the decade, like irony was in the 90s. reality TV is impossible without it.

remember, it is SHAMEFUL joy in the misery of others.

[iconoclastNYC]

5. Anyone who's seen Avenue Q knows what that word means.

It's the first time I ever heard of it.