CBS golf analyst David Feherty -- who looks positively demonic in that photo there -- has found himself in a spot of trouble thanks to comments he recently made in a Dallas magazine. Getting a little political, he wrote:

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though," Feherty wrote toward the end of his column. "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."

Okay. Hmmm. I like Feherty a lot -- he was a great interview right here on the ol' Devil Ball -- and it's obvious he was joking, but I can absolutely see why this would tick people off. All political leanings aside -- in other words, regardless of whether you agree with Mr. Feherty -- you can imagine that a scenario involving the death of two major government officials at the hands of a U.S. soldier probably isn't the wisest choice of jokes. (Side note: freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from criticism. Feherty knows that he can say whatever he wants, but he has to accept the consequences.) Still, Feherty -- or his bosses -- saw the wisdom in knuckling under, and did so:

"This passage was a metaphor meant to describe how American troops felt about our 43rd president," Feherty said in a statement. "In retrospect, it was inappropriate and unacceptable, and has clearly insulted Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, and for that, I apologize. As for our troops, they know I will continue to do as much as I can for them both at home and abroad."

Feherty's a hell of an advocate for the troops, and a funny guy besides. So it's a shame that this is the only way that certain chattering classes will know of him and his work. But we know the truth, don't we?