I am proud to see Nick Cohen’s artful piece – Why Brits Don’t Swoon Over Obama – on PJM this morning. Nick is one of the originators of The Euston Manifesto. Of note is his commentary on why the Tories seem to be favoring Hillary in this election: “The Conservatives have also grasped what liberals still don’t understand: Bill Clinton was one of them. His balanced budgets look good to Tory eyes when compared against the deficits of the Bush years, while his attacks on the needy have inspired the Tories to propose bringing his welfare ‘reforms’ to Britain.”
I was amused to read this today not only for its perspicacity, but also because just the other day I was attacked because Pajamas Media and supposedly I think of Hillary Clinton as a “monster.” Well, to be honest, I voted for Hillary Clinton in the California Primary, because I am still a registered Democrat. I have voted only twice for a Republican in my life. Yes, I intend to vote for McCain in the general, but I don’t normally vote for people I regard as “monsters” even in the primary. And in truth I don’t regard any American politicians as monsters, not current ones anyway… liars and hypocrites, maybe…but monsters, no, not anything close. I reserve that term for the likes of Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, Stalin, etc.
But obviously that doesn’t stop people from imputing this hatred to me. Interesting, isn’t it? Perhaps the apostate thing makes me a magnet. Or maybe it’s projection. Anyway, enjoy Cohen’s piece. It’s a good one.
It is projection. I am in academia and I have found that collegues who speak in terms of hate think I hate, whereas those who merely disagree think our disagreements are cordial.
“I reserve that term for the likes of Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, Stalin, etc.”
You’d think that would be utterly clear to everyone, but such is not the case.
That some people can’t recognize a true monster is one of the ongoing mysteries of the age to me. There are apologists out there for any dictator you want to name. And at the same time, we have Samantha Power flapping her gums and calling a politician, however flawed, competing in a democratic election a “monster”. At least Ms. Power had the wisdom to pull back and apologize for what she said. Some of these yahoos out there who can’t see the true nature of Fidel and Hugo will go to their graves without ever reaching that point.
Guess Tbogg missed it when McCain disassociated himself from Hagee’s noxious anti Catholic views the other day. Must be getting his news from the NYT.
I thought the comments to his post were interesting however. A couple of ad hominum attacks, a guy jealous that you seem to be making a living with your blog, and a book burner.
Nice.