Nobles and knaves

Nobles: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, for holding firm in a horrible hostage situation.

No longer content to attack with bombs and bullets, terrorists are attacking through ballot boxes and bloody images.

On April 12, terrorists in Iraq kidnapped four Italian citizens. A few days later they murdered Fabrizio Quattrochi, who died with courage and honor. In return for the lives of the others, they demanded that Italy withdraw its 2,700 troops from Iraq. More recently, they demanded that Italians carry out a “huge demonstration” against the war.

Those attacks are aimed directly at Mr. Berlusconi, who has been a stalwart ally of the United States in the war against terrorism. In the face of that fire, Mr. Berlusconi has shown neither weakening nor wobbling. Earlier this week he told reporters, “We are in Iraq because we have a mission and that mission is one that leads to democracy. We have started this mission; we intend to carry on.”

His determination is resonating throughout the country. While a few thousand people attended the rally this week, most made it a point to say that they were marching for peace, not stepping out for blackmail.

For his courage under the fire and terror of terrorists, Mr. Berlusconi is the Noble of the week.

Knaves: Rep. Jim McDermott, for a malicious omission in a profound pledge.

The House of Representatives opens each day with a prayer and pledge. On Tuesday, Rep. Jim McDermott, Washington Democrat, was called upon to lead the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. He did so, but shocked his colleagues by omitting the words “under God.” When his colleagues complained about the startling silence, Mr. McDermott first blamed the lawyers. He claimed he hesitated because the phrase was under court review. He then blamed his childhood, telling the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he had reverted to the pre-1954 version of the pledge, which did not have the phrase “under God.”

Republicans were skeptical of his excuses. After all, Mr. McDermott voted against a congressional resolution that called for the overturning of a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. He voted “present” on a similar resolution two years ago. Last month, McDermott told the publication Human Events that during recitations of the pledge, “I personally don’t say ’under God.’ I consider it an infringement I don’t like.”

Outrages of this sort are nothing new for “Baghdad” Jim McDermott, a sobriquet he earned last year for traveling to Iraq and saying he trusted Saddam Hussein more than President Bush. Last December he told a Seattle radio show that the administration had timed the capture of Saddam for political reasons.

The radical from Seattle has again gone too far. For his pungent pause during the Pledge, Mr. McDermott is the Knave of the week.