Letters to the Editor
bentnote
Published Letters: 15
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Thank you
[Read the article: Various items]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I only recently started reading your work - really good. Thank you for your exposure of the MSM's corruption. It is a breath of fresh air - these bastards (especially the TV variety) have truly failed the public. Keep it up.
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Good for him
[Read the article: When Mike Gravel attacks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I didn't watch the debate, but good for Gravel for exposing the idiocy of the "if we get out w/o 'victory,' our soldiers will have died in vain" argument. As he rightly points out, this is exactly the nonsense that was put out during the Vietnam era. The mainstream Dems are complicit in this tragedy, and let's hope that the MSM doesn't completely drown out the voices of Gravel and Kucinich as things go forward.
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Pants Down Indeed
[Read the article: Arthur M. Schlesinger's playbill for the American century]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Blumenthal really goes overboard on this. As another poster noted, this "age of the great historian is over" idea is just crap - there are a lot of great historians around today, though they may not travel in the same social circles as Presidents (and you can easily make a case that socializing with your subjects and/or serving in policymaking roles is an impediment to even-handed scholarship). Schlesinger may well have been a gracious, charming man, but there are some very good reasons to have reservations about his work. Schlesinger compromised his own integrity as a scholar by "whitewashing" American policy in the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam (see Chomsky's "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," and whether you're a fan of Chomsky or not, his argument is legitimate). I haven't read his Kennedy books, but given his relationship to, and uncritical advocacy of, JFK and postwar liberalism generally, it would be difficult to expect an evenhanded account of those years. The Vital Center, which I recently read, comes off today as a nearly hysterical anti-Communist screed. Of course, it's easy to use hindsight to criticize what appears today to be a rather simple-minded view. What is more troubling is his complete dismissal of progressives ("doughfaces") and unwillingness to engage any aspect of Marxist thought, or, frankly, ANY criticism of the New Deal liberal state. This is important, because the "consensus" view of the Cold War era, which Schlesinger did a great deal to promote, encouraged a profoundly elitist view of both US history/identity AND our relationship to the rest of the world. Schlesinger's views were entirely compatible with what became known as Modernization Theory, which served, in effect, as the ideological rationale for the interventionist foreign policy that culminated in our disastrous involvement in Vietnam. I find it somewhat ironic (though welcome) that Schlesinger took pains to criticize Bush for the Iraq War, since he (Schlesinger) was part of an intellectually sanctioned movement that advocated a similarly ahistorical policy.
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Qualifications?
[Read the article: When results don't matter]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If I'm not mistaken, Karen Hughes is a former TV reporter from Texas who became one of Dubya's campaign people when he was governor. How the fuck that qualifies her to be "undersecretary of state for public diplomacy" is beyond me. Shouldn't you have some experience in, say, diplomacy or international relations? I guess it's kind of like nominating Harriet Miers to be AG?
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One issue overrides all others
[Read the article: The Democratic duel of the race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]BadgerBlue and 6Stringer are right on the money - Clinton voted for the Iraq debacle, has continually rolled over for Bush/Cheney, voted in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman resolution (which should disqualify anyone from consideration), and on and on. It has nothing to do with her being a woman, and this BS about "experience" and "nuanced answers" is pretty hollow. At least Obama has been consistent in his opposition to the war. This "smooth jazz" characterization is pretty cheap and sounds like the kind of nonsense we'd hear on TV.
Of course, Kucinich is the true progressive in this race, but we all know he's not "presidential"...
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A Third Bush Term
[Read the article: Rudy's judicial bargain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I shudder to think that Giuliani could be President. It would be like having Bush in for a third term. He's similarly averse to compromise, has absolutist views regarding executive power, and is just as disposed to fear-mongering as Dubya (as Joe Biden said, every other sentence out of his mouth has 'a noun, a verb, and 9/11'
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A Third Bush Term
[Read the article: Rudy Giuliani's messianic paranoia]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Giuliani really is frightening. If elected, he might 'out-Bush' Bush, as his authoritarian impulses and predilection for fear mongering are easily on a par with Dubya/Cheney. He is hardly a 'moderate,' as Glenn rightly points out. His 'moderate' persona was a by-product of NYC's political culture. In the national arena, which is far more conservative politically and culturally, I think you'd see the 'real' Giuliani come out. God help us, because I feat he has a real shot at the Presidency...
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Please God...
[Read the article: Clinton on the attack]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]After 8 years of Bush-Cheney, the thought that our next election could be a Hilary vs. Rudy contest is sickening. Do we really get the government we deserve?
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A Big Difference
[Read the article: Clinton on the attack]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It goes without saying that Hilary would be an improvement on Bush, and I'd rather have her than anyone in the GOP field. But there is a crucial difference on the Iraq war between Hilary and Obama, and in my mind, this is THE issue. Hilary's hawkishness is indicative of a worldview that is not a whole lot different than the Bushes and Liebermanns of the world. If that's what 'experience' brings, then I'll gladly take a novice.
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It's too easy
[Read the article: McCain spokesman John King of CNN]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]to crap on the press, but they deserve whatever they get. And I love Greenwald for pointing out how pathetic they are.
For anyone who has not read him, Matt Taibbi is also very good at dissecting the national press coverage of presidential campaigns. Get a copy of Spanking the Donkey - you won't be disappointed...
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Get ready
[Read the article: Newsweek catches McCain in a serious contradiction]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here's a beauty of an article, to remind us just what we're up against this year...
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmM2NDQ3ZWQ1YWM0Y2QyZTUxMDdkY2M2OTJlNGE5MWE=