French fascist Jean-Marie Le Pen is making political hay from the Paris riots. The National Front blowhard who squeezed into the second round of presidential elections in 2002—but lost to Chirac in a runoff—has declared his 2007 bid for the presidency. Touting a zero-immigration policy (an insane, unenforceable fantasy), Le Pen is declaring the French equivalent of: “See-I-told-you-them-darkies-ain’t-no-good.â€� I shudder to think of how many voters will believe him.

Mulling over this and the lesser sorrows of last night’s election, I am reminded of an entry in theDevil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce: “Politics (n.): A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”

And this, from his definition of a republic: “There are as many kinds of republics as there are graduations between the despotism whence they came and the anarchy whither they lead.”

And, for good measure, his definition of a reporter: “A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a tempest of words.”

I love that cranky old bastard.