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Director/activist/protoliberal Rob Reiner is being pilloried for allegedly misusing $23 million in public funds to buy TV ads promoting preschool in California, Reiner's passion project; according to the LAT, he's now finding politics to be even more brutal than the notoriously harsh skullfuck-and-leave-you-for-dead-after-a-bad-opening-weekend world of Hollywood:

A Wall Street Journal editorial: "Meathead Economics."

A Sacramento Bee column: "Reiner latest in long list of those who misused public funds?"

And a Marysville Appeal-Democrat editorial: "Time for Reiner to go back to school."

Sure, getting knocked around for being politically active is rough, but you know what really hurts? The fat jokes:

And if that's not enough, Reiner was recently lampooned on Comedy Central's "South Park." They called him fat. [...]

Some days, especially lately, Reiner's wife, Michelle, wonders if it's all worth it.

"They take jabs at him that are very personal it bothers me," she said. "We've spent millions of our own money and countless hours on this. So when I hear people saying he misused political funds, or that he's fat I get angry . It's like 'No good deed goes unpunished.' "

You'd think that after a quarter-century of Meathead jokes, the personal attacks wouldn't sting anymore. Maybe it's time for Reiner to embrace the brave trail blazed by fellow Huffington Post blogger George Clooney just yesterday, and proudly declare, "I am a liberal. A fat liberal. There, I said it!" to the entire world.