It certainly wasn’t the best of times, and thankfully not the worst of times — but it was certainly closer to the latter than the former. Sorry Dickens.

Republican Exhibit A:

Pressed by “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory, Buck said he believed that being gay was a lifestyle choice and expressed no regrets about his four-year-old characterization of an alleged rape as “buyer’s remorse.”

Huh, a Republican pressed by David Gregory usually means they got a big ol’ hug. But it gets worse:

“You can choose who your partner is. I think birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism and some other things, but I think that basically you have a choice,” Buck said.

That’s right, being gay is like being an alcoholic. Classy.

Oh those Republicans. What about the Democrats?

During our hour together, Obama told me he had no regrets about the broad direction of his presidency. But he did identify what he called “tactical lessons.” He let himself look too much like “the same old tax-and-spend liberal Democrat.”

Oh, for crap’s sake!

Here’s a summary of the two parties:

The Democrats always learn the wrong thing, while the Republicans have never learned a damn thing.