Ah, politics. Such a lovely game of egos, manipulation of facts, and dishonesty.

Remember when the Senate fought and successfully stopped the president’s judicial nominee over his ethnicity? They didn’t claim racism, of course — instead, a memo said they merely opposed his nomination because being Hispanic would give the president and his party electoral and judicial advantage.

But we all know the reason. Ethnicism and racism were clearly the motives.

That was back in 2001, when Senator Dick Durbin and other Democrats stopped Miguel Estrada from becoming a judge. They feared his possible nomination to the Supreme Court, as well as the public image of a Republican nominating a Hispanic.

That’s not the only time when a minority nominee of Bush’s was vociferously opposed by Durbin, however. There was also the time Durbin opposed the nomination of Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State, and he was a key figure in opposing Bush’s Hispanic nominee for Attorney General — Alberto Gonzales.

I would never argue, of course, that Senator Durbin was being racist in his opposition. That would be presumptuous mind-reading, as well as an uncharitable assessment of why a Democrat might have legitimate political, philosophical, and policy reasons to oppose the nominee of a president of the other party.

But in light of Durbin’s recent comments about Republicans allegedly forcing President Obama’s Attorney General nominee, Loretta Lynch, “to sit in the back of the bus,” it is only logical to assume that Durbin’s view on race has changed dramatically in just one presidential administration.

Or maybe he was just playing politics then, and is playing politics now. Which is almost certainly the case — and also why the media should have never reported his comments about Lynch.

After all, what educational or government watchdog value does reporting Durbin’s comments bring? All it does is provide more evidence that mainstream media is just another arm of the Democratic National Committee, dedicated to the defeat of Republicans.

Is Durbin actually racist? The answer is almost certainly “no.” But his transparent, cynical political ploy should have been completely ignored by the media, rather than given credibility that can only cause harm.

This is especially the case given that it is Durbin and his fellow Democrats who are holding up the trafficking bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said will have to pass before Lynch’s nomination can be complete.