Was Rep. Joe Wilson responding in kind?

Was Rep. Joe Wilson responding in kind? Journalist William Tate thinks so.

Perhaps worse for Wilson, though, calling someone a liar just isn't done in Washington. At least publicly. Just about any synonym--fabrication, prevarication, fiction--can be used, but never, ever is someone publicly accused of lying.

It's just not done.

Until Wednesday night, when the unwritten stricture was broken by ... Barack Obama.

Some of people's concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple.

(Emphasis added.)

While he didn't name names, by referring to "prominent politicians," Obama was giving the rhetorical finger to at least some of the 535 members of Congress seated in front of him. After all, from Democrats' top-down, statist perspective, all prominent politicians are, by definition, in Washington.

Whether or not Obamacare would establish the 'death panels' as carefully parsed by Obama's speechwriters, it's a certainty that, if they don't pull the plug on Grandma, Obamacare pill counters will be rationing her electricity.

Yet, Obama was calling some of the people seated before him, liars, in front of a national television audience; they will never be afforded the same venue to rebut the charges.