Month: January 2008

Dissent Of The Day

A reader writes:

It’s become a cliche to write that Senator Obama "transcends" this or that distinction. You ought to be more cautious.  Promises to immanentize the eschaton, whether made by Democrats or Republicans, are unlikely to be fulfilled. I admire Senator Obama, but his campaign is exempt from neither political nor natural law.  You will eventually pin him down, discover his private banalities, and see him as a normal politician.  A request: Your polemical writing is most incisive when sharpened by the spite of boredom.  Senator Clinton puts you in this mood.  Try writing about Obama while you’re thinking about her.

It’s Class and Region, Stupid

Larison makes the useful point that Bush and Huckabee are not that different. The same bleeding heart Christianism, spend-like-Jesus impulse, the same position on the war in Iraq, etc.  So why is the WSJ so horrified by Huckabee and endorsed Bush so enthusiastically? Money quote:

Huckabee is a real Southerner, in that he was born and raised there, while Bush was a transplanted Texan, and Huckabee came from a lower-middle class family and Bush came from wealthy American political aristocracy.  To the extent that Huckabee represents anything threatening or different, it is in his biography and geography, if you will. 

Republicans have never given the reins to a real, born-and-bred Southerner. If Northeasterners are already freaking out about the risk of the GOP becoming a regional, Southern party, you can just imagine the terrible thoughts that run through their head when they consider the consequences of a Huckabee nomination.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of cynics.

A McCain-Obama Race in ’08?

Hewitt is appalled at the prospect:

The fall debates will see a respectful Obama listen intently to the elder statesman and promise to consult closely with him, and then he’ll turn to the audience and talk about a new era of change that will include the best of the generation that has served us so well and so bravely.  If McCain tries to get tough with Obama, the Saturday night McCain emerges, and the GOP is toast.  If he smiles at Obama and comments on his youth and inexperience, everyone will hear their grandpa saying "When I was a kid…." and tune out.  Turn out the lights on the GOP at that moment.