Orrin Hatch doesn't know a dictator from a dickhead?

I just finished This Town by Mark Leibovich. His gimlet-eyed view of Washington, D.C. leaves no politician—Republican or Democrat—unscathed. The bulk of them come across as a venal lot, anxious to jump in front of cameras, and then leap into lucrative lobbying jobs after their "public service" ends.

Or rather, ALMOST no one is unscathed. Barack Obama comes across as scornful of the glad-handing DC lifers, and reluctant to do the personal politicking and backscratching that is S.O.P.

Some tidbits from the book:

—Maureen Orth referred to Arriana Huntington as the "Sir Edmund Hillary of social climbers."

—Leibovich describes Harry Reid as looking like "the harried proprietor of the pet store that has just been robbed for the third time this month." But the democratic leader is actually extraordinarily frank. When George W. Bush invited him to the White House for a friendly meeting, Reid "promptly insulted the president's dog, Barney... 'Your dog is fat," Reid told the president."

—Tom Coburn has opined that his colleagues have "reproductive organs the size of BBs." Later, Harry Reid called Coburn a "dictator" which provided Orrin Hatch the opportunity to get it all wrong: "Wait a minute, [Reid] called Tom a dickhead? That is outrageous."

—A Republican lobbyist: "We get paid to get Republicans pissed off at Democrats... It's the easiest thing in the world. It's like getting paid to love your own mother."

In light of the GOP's ongoing sabotage attempts against Obamacare, this last comment is particularly timely. As White House press secretary Jay Carney said, “It’s rather extraordinary, if you think about it, that there are efforts under way to prevent Americans from getting [health] benefits that they lawfully could enjoy and should enjoy.”

Extraordinary is one word for the Republican's lies. (But I prefer dickheads.)