Absolute a**hole' or honest?

An update in our semi-regular series evaluating the statements of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Is he being an "absolute a**hole," (AA) as Republican Sen. Tom Coburn once said, or simply honest?

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

THE TIME Reid said that as he "was growing up, somebody who was ‘queer’ was really easy to pick on."

VERDICT: Out of context, this is the kind of thing only an AA would make. But Reid followed up on this Wednesday, saying, "I was not in that category, but I saw it happen, and I didn’t do enough to speak out.” His remarks were made in a meeting with reporters to discuss the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which seeks to end workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. For admitting that as a young man he should have stood up against bullying, Reid was simply being honest.

@eScarry