Ace said most of what I wanted to say. There are no major policy differences between Hillary and Obama and what few minor differences there are have already been hashed, rehashed, and re-rehashed during the 20 debates that preceded this one. Yet the Pretty Vicious Rants and Important Action Alerts continue to pile up, not because ABC did an awful job by daring to finally ask St. Barack some tough questions but because (a) it’s important for the left, as intellectuals, to believe they’re only interested in “substantive issues” — like, say, John McCain accepting John Hagee’s endorsement (but not like Obama patronizing a Hamas-friendly church for 20 years) and (b) with McCain a serious threat in November, they’re already in full “whatever maximizes our chances is good and whatever hurts them is bad” mode. Hence the grotesquely exaggerated outrage this morning at ABC and Stephanopoulos, who’s defending himself albeit tepidly. To appreciate the dishonesty of their reaction, ask yourself this: If Gibson and Stephanopoulos had spent the first 45 minutes raking Hillary over the coals about Tuzla, Whitewater, Monicagate, and whatever else they could scrounge, would there be similarly high dudgeon about the dearth of “real” issues broached? Of course not. There’d be a few “gee, rough night for Hillary” reactions, a few “good, maybe this will convince her to get out” responses, the obligatory uproar from Jeralyn Merritt, Taylor Marsh, and the rest of the left’s dwindling pro-Clinton wing, and that’d be that. It’s entirely a means-ends analysis. ABC hurt the Savior, which is, and can only be, unfair. Hence the video below, which is circulating this afternoon.

If nothing else good comes from all this, at least it’ll have opened a few eyes to left-wing media bias by putting Hillary’s supporters temporarily, and bizarrely, in the position of Republicans. Why yes, Jeralyn, Keith Olbermann is “the most shameless ridiculous hack on TV.” If Hillary wins the nomination and he jumps back face-first into the tank for her, will that still be true?