As one who has never been a fan of the Dixie Chicks and probably never will be, I nonetheless have to give them a standing ovation for the way they have not buckled in to the pressure surrounding lead singer Natalie Maines’ 2003 criticisms of our Dear Leader, er, I mean George W. Bush. Watching their grace in interviews and refusal to give in to their graceless critics, one can only wish that leading Democrats like Joe Biden and Dick Durbin had as much balls as the Chicks.

Beyond the personal dignity of the ladies in the band, the brouhaha is Exhibit 14,251 in the argument that there is no liberal media. The Chicks’ records — even the non-political songs, which is the majority of their work — have been banned from most country stations, despite their popularity. That means stations are acting against their economic interest to carry on a ridiculous grudge.

Plus, Maines has been and will continue to be excoriated for years. Not just by unhinged fans, but her right to speak her mind will be the main issue in her media interviews for years to come. The fact is, the vast majority of fans either agree or don’t care what she said about Bush, but the media will focus on this as if it were something critical. Sort of like the marriage of a certain political couple.

And the most infuriating part of all this, of course, is that no public figure gets hounded for praising Bush. Or more on point, for criticizing Democrats. No accusation is wild enough or inaccurate enough or just plain despicable enough to warrant more than a mild rebuke, if that. Right-wing authors routinely accuse Democrats — in specific and general — of being all sorts of things, including murderers.