Funny piece in Roll Call on Tom Daschle’s favorite feeling. The man lives in a constant state of disappointment. “In the past year,” Roll Call notes, “Daschle has been ‘disappointed’ by the appropriations schedule, the lack of progress on a patients’ bill of rights (‘and, frankly, saddened’ as well as ‘dismayed, really’), the media’s coverage of the stem-cell research debate, criticism of Democrats’ stance on Mexican truck safety, the White House position on the Kyoto treaty, the report of the Social Security Commission, the scope of the tax rebate, and the ‘millionaires’ amendment to campaign finance reform.” Of course, he was never actually disappointed. In reality, he was probably pissed off. But being mad doesn’t convey the composure of the man above-it-all whose passion rises only to the level of condescending sadness. I guess he should be congratulated for “changing the tone,” and heaven knows, his rhetoric is preferable to, say, Terry McAuliffe. If only the two alternatives for some politicians weren’t vulgarity or sanctimony.
ANOTHER EPIPHANY: Close students of Israeli culture and society (I’m an editor at The New Republic so I count) will have been gob-smacked (yes, it’s a Briticism) to find out that historian Benny Morris has now publicly stated his belief that “the Palestinians, not Israel, are to blame for the ongoing conflict and for the current state of affairs.” Morris became famous or infamous for his view that Israel’s official history was riddled with distortions, biases and untruths. A terrific and highly critical review of his work can be read here. When he gave a recent speech at Berkeley, his leftist audience was expecting an anti-Zionist tirade. What they got was an epiphany. Here’s a great summary of what happened. The world turns.
The Dish 