When Senator Durbin met Sheriff Sheahan

Who doesn't know that Illinois Democrat Senator Dick Durbin used the Senate as a forum to compare American personnel serving at Guantanamo to, among other monsters, Nazis?

And if you've visited this blog or others such as Betsy's Page, Captain's Quarters, Michelle Malkin, and The Mudville Gazette, you've had a chance to read about prisoner abuse at Chicago's Cook County Jail, run for the last 15 years by Durbin's pal and political ally, Democrat Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan.

So are you wondering: "What happens when a Senator who compared Americans serving at Guantanamo to Nazis meets a Sheriff who presides over a jail where, in one especially gruesome incident, 40 prison guards entered a cell block and systematically beat prisoners?"

Here's an example of what happens, courtesy of Chicago's CBS affiliate WBBM-TV reporting this year's Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade.

WBBM naturally interviewed "dignitaries." Durbin was one of them.

The Senator was in fine spirits. "St. Patrick's Day is the warmest day in Chicago," Durbin remarked, on a day when temperatures were well below freezing.

But what are freezing temperatures to a politician warmed by the company of powerful political pals?

Durbin, after all, was just about to step off in the line of march with other "dignitaries" such as Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley and, of course, Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan.

As a wrap-up, the WBBM reporter wanted to know what they'd all be doing after the parade. "Lots of parties to remember and honor St. Patrick," Durbin enthused.

WBBM didn't report asking Sheriff Sheahan anything. But can't we assume he would have said he was glad to be there with his pal and politcal ally Senator Durbin "to remember and honor St. Patrick?"

And, if asked, wouldn't both "dignitaries" have said they support our troops?

Here's the link to the WBBM report.