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Jean Schmidt, poor girl, had no idea that John Murtha was a decorated Marine veteran, a fact that had somehow escaped her notice despite being the lead story of nearly every news outlet during the 24 hours that preceded the House vote:

Several Republicans who were on the House floor said afterward that Ms. Schmidt did not appear to know she was referring to a much-decorated veteran.

"The poor lady didn't know Jack Murtha was a Marine - she really just ran into a hornet's nest," said Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia.

Representative David Dreier of California said, "Very clearly, she did not know that Jack Murtha was a Marine."

Officer, I had no idea smoking crack was illegal. Honest!

UPDATE: Perhaps this is a better analogy:

Mr. Lippman: It's come to my attention that you and the cleaning woman have engaged in sexual intercourse on the desk in your office. Is that correct?

George Costanza: Who said that?

Mr. Lippman: She did.

George Costanza: [pause] Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing is frowned upon... you know, cause I've worked in a lot of offices, and I tell you, people do that all the time.

ALSO: From the last two grafs of the story, couldn't let this pass. Could be the quote of the week:

The 100-proof speech on the House floor may shore up Ms. Schmidt's standing inside her party's right flank.

"I was listening to talk radio today, and people were calling in and praising her," said Chris Finney, a Cincinnati Republican allied with Ms. Schmidt's local rivals. "They like that jingoistic thinking."

That's what this country needs. More jingoism. Now what crappy country can we blow up next?

LATER: Welcome, Talking Points Memorians.