The Death Of A Famous Person Is An Opportunity For Me To Chastize My Political Opponents

On the 'speak ill of the dead' issue, I think it depends both on the degree to which someone is a public figure and the degree to which their death is a surprise. I don't like George Bush very much, but if he had, say, died in a helicopter accident while in office, my first impulse wouldn't have been to talk about all of the reasons George Bush sucks. I think at that type of moment respect for friends and family has a role. Presumably he'll have a relatively long life, his death, when it comes, won't be a huge surprise, and when he does die there won't be anything wrong with discussing his actual record, in opposition to the inevitable mountain of hagiography.