On Arafat and Sharon

Nobody enjoys mocking Republican Congressmen for their ignorance on Israel/Palestine than I, but I'm inclined to not make much of Rep. Joe Pitts' (R-PA) office's call for "Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat" to restart the peace process (the reason this is a gaffe is that Arafat has been dead since 2004 and Sharon in a coma since 2006). It'd be one thing if Pitts actually said this, but it was in a constituent form letter that apparently hadn't been updated properly. Careless, yes, but not actually probative of what Pitts knows or doesn't know.