https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2008/08/09/the-moral-influence-which-may-be-a-powerful-force-with-civilized-countries-is-unlikely-to-to-make-an-impression/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 07:49:07 -0400<![CDATA[Yesterday, 8/8/08, will be remembered not because it was the date that the so-called &#8220;Mainstream Media&#8221; were finally forced by the National Inquirer&#8216;s scoop to deal with the sordid news of John Edwards&#8217;s mendacious implosion. That story will soon be relegated to the oblivious archive that contains footage of his &#8220;I feel pretty&#8221; hair-combing routine. (Oblivious? Well, maybe not: the referenced YouTube clip reports more than 1,200,000 views.) No, future historians will not pause long over the squalid Mr. Edwards. Some may draw comparisons between the spectacle laid on by China at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing yesterday and an earlier Olympic spectacle that convened in Berlin in 1936. Repressive regimes with dismal human-rights records and untidy international ambitions may nevertheless excel at histrionic displays of self-obliterating pomp. Just ask Leni Riefenstahl.]]>Sat, 09 Aug 2008 12:10:25 -0400<![CDATA[Roger Kimball]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-kimball/2008/08/09/the-moral-influence-which-may-be-a-powerful-force-with-civilized-countries-is-unlikely-to-to-make-an-impression-n115075