How Dare Valerie Plame Get Past Her Victimhood

Conservative pundits seem miffed that Valerie Plame, her cover blown, decided to pose for Vanity Fair or get a book deal or sell her story to Hollywood. Well, what do they expect? She lost her job, her career. She can't become a covert agent for Canada. Or Mexico. And just because she's bounced back doesn't mean she wasn't victimized. It's like saying a woman who was raped can never go to another dance. How raped could she have been if she's daring to smile four years later? Connie Francis still sang "Stupid Cupid" and "Lipstick On Your Collar" after she was raped in a Howard Johnson's in Long Island. It doesn't mean she wasn't raped. But she had to earn a living. She had to keep going. Isn't that an example of personal responsibility that the right used to champion? Isn't that what conservatives used to be all about?

Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" which airs every Friday at 11PM.