Wednesday, October 01, 2003

Do unto others: So Jonathan Chait of The New Republic, one of my favorite political commentators, writes a piece about why he hates Bush. The foghorns in the conservative commentariat resound in anger. Who'd-a-thunk?

In an online followup, Chait points out how the foghorns (along with the typically astute David Brooks) missed the exit for the high road. He also shoots down conservatives' argument that liberals' fondness for Howard Dean and Wesley Clark betrays their senility. Chait says that doesn't add up: "So first Democrats were so fanatical with rage that they were willing to nominate a candidate who couldn't win. Now they're so fanatical with rage that they'll nominate a candidate merely because they think he'll win."

As for the high road: "The timing of Brooks's plea for civility is a tad suspicious. After Republican culture wars softened up Clinton, and tainted Al Gore, paving the way for Bush's election, suddenly it's time to declare president-hating out of bounds."

Finally: "If Brooks wants to proscribe all Bush-haters, not just the conspiracy-mongers, then what he seeks isn't a higher level of discourse but raw partisan advantage."

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