The title to my blog refers to a political phenomenon over which I've obsessed for many years, i.e., the tendency of pundits to strain at pecadillos (gnats) even as they grant atrocities (the camels) free passage. The phenomenon resonated in my consciousness during the 1992 presidential campaign, when allegations of then Arkansas Governor William J. Clinton's extramarital proclivities first began to surface.

Mainstream conservatives had a field day raising questions about the future president's character. American presidents routinely lie, tax, spy, cheat, extort, conscript, bomb, blockade, butcher and bomb some more. Yet somehow, against this backdrop of unmitigated criminality, we're supposed to purse our lips disapprovingly at allegations of sexual misconduct. Go figure.