The purpose of this line of questioning whether conducted by Rachel Maddow, George Stephanopoulos, or NPR is not just to disadvantage a Republican candidate it is to utterly delegitimatize him, to render him a political pariah, to in push him beyond the pale, to destroy him and functionally kill him off.
The options which Rand Paul might have chosen in the face of this assault included the Trent Lott option which is to tear his shirt in front of the camera, grovel, and beg and plead ceaselessly for forgiveness until we are all sick unto death of the whole pathetic scene. To his credit, Rand Paul chose quite the opposite reaction, he chose to counterattack, to delegitimatize George Stephanopoulos, to discredit him as a journalist, to question his motives, to render him as unworthy as a toad of the Democratic Party.
I have been advocating this course for years on my about page and glad to see that at least one politician has the right instincts.
