If you want to see the hypocrisy of politics at its best, look no farther than last week's staged performance by Sen. Diane Feinstein in unveiling her "assault weapons" legislation.

Sharing the stage with Feinstein were gun-control speakers like Senators Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer. Not seen on stage, of course, were the armed body guards used by these liberal Democrats. There likely wouldn't have been room on the platform anyhow, given their massive egos.The Feinstein circus was a prelude to this week's hearings on gun violence by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which were prompted by last month's school shootings in Newtown, Conn.Feinstein said her proposed anti-gun legislation will save "thousands and thousands of lives." What we never hear from the senator is that she is one of only about 30,000 Californians in a state of 34 million people with a concealed carry permit.During a recent turn-in-your gun program in San Francisco, one of her police body guards let it slip that she handed over a cheap model for the meltdown, but not the .357 magnum revolver she used for her own personal self-defense.Before she changed her stripes, Feinstein once said this about guns: "I know the sense of helplessness that people feel. I know the urge to arm yourself because that's what I did. I was trained in firearms. I walked to the hospital when my husband was sick. I carried a concealed weapon and I made the determination if somebody was going to try and take me out, I was going to take them with me."According to conservative talk show host Mark Levin, Schumer is another outspoken liberal with a handgun permit. The New York City Police Department also provides armed guards for the senator and in fact, The Government Accounting Office has criticized Schumer's use of police resources for personal protection.Another prominent liberal Democrat who is boxed in on the gun issue is Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid. In 2009, he was featured speaker at the opening of a shooting park which was built in his home state of Nevada with $61 million in federal earmarks. Carrying his antique .22-caliber rifle to the opening, Reid told the audience that he carried a weapon during his days as head of Nevada's Gaming Commission."For me the most important part of guns, as far as I am concerned, in my personal life, is the recreational aspect of guns," Reid said. "These weapons become our friends. This weapon is my friend."Also speaking that day was Wayne LaPierre, then the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, who called the senator "a true champion" of gun rights.There's also gun hypocrisy in Hollywood. Rosie O'Donnell once slammed conservative actor Tom Selleck for his support of the Second Amendment, yet we heard nothing about the three armed bodyguards she used for her own protection.By Jim Zbickjzbick@tnonline.com