Letters to the Editor
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Idle musing...
sajwan: Going forward the likely outcome is that the news reporting will also be jockeying for jobs in the circus along with the editors. Maybe as trained elephants?
Elephant trainers place a heavy chain on the elephants' leg when it is young, it quickly learns it cannot get out of line or roam wherever it wants.
After some years of this treatment, the chain is no longer necessary, and the feel of a rope around the ankle is enough to keep the elephant from running off. Despite there being no real threat to the grown elephant, it will obey its trainer as an adult.
There's a metaphor here about authoritarian personalities, but it's too speculative for me.
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The aestheticization of politics
From Berkowitz's WSJ column:
Bush hatred is not a rational response to actual Bush perfidy. Rather, Bush hatred compels its progressive victims--who pride themselves on their sophistication and sensitivity to nuance--to reduce complicated events and multilayered issues to simple matters of good and evil.
This made me laugh out loud. I can't think of another U.S. president who has been so committed to reducing complicated issues to matters of good and evil.
More to the point, Berkowitz's complaint that "Bush hatred is not a rational response to actual Bush perfidy" falls flat because he argues (by way of cherry-picked facts) that "actual Bush perfidy" is really very complex and in the final analysis not perfidy at all. By that standard, any opposition to Bush is "irrational".
Even more to the point, Berkowitz's shocked sensibilities over the distastefulness of liberals' feelings is itself a way to change the subject from "actual Bush perfidy" to the propriety of the form in which political opinions are expressed.
It is not anti-liberal to be angry when you have good reason to be. It is not anti-liberal to argue about politics over dinner. But it is disturbing when the Wall Street Journal shelves substantive discussion of Bush's policies favor of publishing a lecture directed at Bush's political opposition about how they ought to express themselves in a lovelier manner.
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Prunes
Yet, just a couple of nights ago, a questioner at a John McCain event asked how McCain was planning to “beat the bitch,” referring of course to Hillary Clinton.
To be fair, that could just as easily refer to Giuliani.
Giuliani is only called "bitch" when he is staying at the home of his gay friends.
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@Paul Dirks
>In his world, the NYT is in direct league with Al Qaeda to weaken American resolve and impose sharia upon New Jersey.<
Have modest goals, do they? ;)
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Jim H...
I receive a daily email from the WaPo. Today's included a link (in best of the web) to a column by Kathleen Parker of RealClearPolitics: Powder Room Politics
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/powder_room_politics.html
Parker makes some similar points, but from a conservative perspective, since she really doesn't want any men to be picking on Hillary, because if women find out about it, they'll be even more likely to vote for her... because of that "all girls together" thing.
I wonder which perspective is more true? That picking on Hillary will help her win... or that it will make her lose. (?)
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Hey folks:
Berkowitz is kinda right. A lot of liberals are so angry that they aren't really thinking clearly.
Liberals are right to be angry at Bush. I'm angry at Bush and I'm conservative. But we can't let it get in the way of more important things. Things like figuring out how to fix our borders and figuring out how to get out of Iraq.
But, I understand why you guys are so pissy in this forum. No one likes to be told to 'simmer down' - especially when it's coming from a hot head.
I would argue that liberals should relax the Bush-hating because it is so devisive. Our country is overly polarized already. We are all ready for a change, lets work together.
Hating Bush is like hating the winter. Yeah, it sucks and it's going to be here whether you like it or not. But its grip will subside.
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@MikesPace
Our country is overly polarized already.
During the 'nineties, did you admonish your conservative brethren to "tone down the Clinton hatred" in the interest of reducing our national polarization?
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Damn, That Was Beautiful!
And I'm sure that there will be many updates on the hypocrisy front; especially when it comes to "tort deform" and "frivolous lawsuits."
Oh, and let's not forget about appeals, shall we Senator Craig?
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HATRED OF BUSH?
THAT'S TOO MILD A WORD! enough said! waiting for Jan 2009
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@Anonymust
I wonder which perspective is more true? That picking on Hillary will help her win... or that it will make her lose. (?)
-- Anonymust
Well, that all depends. There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know.;o)
One thing we do know is that the longer the Republican Congress went after impeachment and removal of Bill Clinton, the more popular he became. Perhaps that's a window into what we might expect if Hillary Clinton is pilloried non-stop by the Beltway media and the rest of the wingnuttery brigade.
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@Mikes Pace
A lot of liberals are so angry that they aren't really thinking clearly.
So what's the neocons' excuse? Too terrorized?
I'm conservative too, and I couldn't care less about being divisive, if the people I'm getting divided from are those nazis.
Kick 'em out of the party, kick 'em out of politics, and kick 'em off their cushy Board of Director fallback jobs. Put them to work digging ditches. The neocons do not compromise with anyone, they expect everyone else to make the compromises and because we compromised on crucial issues, a lot of people are dead, a lot of money is vanished, and a lot of legal protections we had are gone.
No more compromise with neocons. Boot 'em.
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re: Jordan Orlando
In the 90's I didn't give a lick about politics. I cared about getting my drivers liscence and hopefully finding a beer or two. I did think the whole Clinton witch hunt was a joke, though.
But, back then, if I remember correctly, people weren't at each other's throats all day.
Look, we're a country on the decline. We can't keep the visigoths away without working together.