Mugger: Bush Comes To Shove
As the 2008 presidential campaign rolls along, becoming nastier or more conciliatory depending on the day, one thing is clear: Liberal Democrats are scared shitlesswith little reason, in my opinionthat once again theyll be denied on Election Day in November. Remember the spate of news articles and op-ed columns in late 2004 (and not just confined to the Times), after the laconic John Kerry was narrowly defeated by George Bush, about the large number of affluent New Yorkers and Californians who were so depressed at the result that they couldnt speak or eat, and sought refugeor maybe doubled up their timewith a psychiatrist?
In the unlikely event that John McCain noses out Barack Obama this fall, its hard to imagine what the reaction will be from those investing so much of their time and psychic energy on electing a man who will relieve the United States from the Constitution-shredding, global warming flat-earthers and corporate lackeys who comprise the Bush administration.
I dont suspect there will be a rash of skyscraper jumpersthats too 1929but watch out for the reports of devastated voters snuffing themselves, either on purpose or accidentally, with a mixture of top-shelf vodka and Ambien. And it could finally happen that all those actors who swear theyll move abroad if a Republican wins, actually will.
Consider the following proclamation from Josh Marshallthe well-regarded and successful creator of the partisan (but generally smart) Talking Points Memoafter Bush gave his now-notorious (at least among Democrats) speech at the Knesset earlier this month, in which he warned that negotiating with terrorists was similar to European appeasement in the 1930s as Hitler gallivanted across the continent. Needless to say, conservative blogs and publications and websites had a field day mocking Marshall, and they were right.
Marshall said: In case you hadnt heard yet, the president attacked Sen. Obama [Bush named no specific Democrats] as a terrorist coddler on the order of the late 30s Nazi-appeasers in a speech before the Israeli Knesset. As the president whos probably done more to damage the country than any in 150 years, I cant say Im exactly surprised that hed do this. But it really was disgusting, even for him.
Several years ago, I met Josh and had an engaging conversation for an hour or so, and he struck me as a really good guy. Still is, Im sure, but hes clearly become unglued. Bush will not be regarded as a top-tier president by historiansalthough the verdict, I believe, wont be as severe as is currently bandied aboutbut think about the lunacy of Marshalls condemnation. Bush has probably done more damage to the United States since any president since 1858? So James Buchanan, who ignored the imminent Civil War, was a better president? Woodrow Wilson, a moralistic man who violently violated the Bill of Rights by jailing journalists who spoke out against the United States involvement in World War I, and stoked anti-immigrant fervor with his support of Prohibition, did less damage to U.S. democracy than Bush? I find it hard to fathom that Marshall and his ilk can rank the current president below Herbert Hoover, on whose watch, of course, the most devastating depression in U.S. history began.
Harry Truman, now a Democratic saint, was shunned for years by party members, derided as a man who was stubborn and a bumbler in hock to the Missouri political machine, who also gave the order to bomb Japan, sent armed men to their deaths in the Korean War and did little to stop the rise of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Maybe its not fair to burden Truman with the rise of McCarthyismDwight Eisenhower wasnt much better. But Id venture to say, without fear of contradiction, that the blacklisting, paranoia and ruin of decent peoples careers that McCarthy was largely responsible for trumps any of Bushs mistakes. As for the economythe current unemployment rate is 5 percent, although itll most likely tick up in the next yearis Bush worse than Jimmy Carter (who, by the way, did some bumbling himself in dealing with Iran)? Americans suffered through sky-high credit rates, double-digit inflation and an average unemployment rate of 7.7 during Carters four ignominious years as president.
At least Marshall doesnt lard his commentary with purple prose; the same cant be said for sportswriter/political provocateur Charles P. Pierce, the onetime buddy of John McCain who apparently considers his writing to be a combination of H.L. Mencken, Murray Kempton and I.F. Stone. Pierce, who in truth isnt too bad on NPRs Saturday program Wait Wait Dont Tell Me!, swung for the bleachers with his horribly contrived Esquire (June issue) article The Cynic and Senator Obama. Since Pierce is more worldly, well-read and skeptical than the rest of usespecially the millions whove embraced Obamas candidacyhes not about to get fooled again. Writing in the third person as the cynic, Pierce followed the Illinois senator on the campaign hustings this spring; and while he concedes Obama is tough, shrewd and smart, his closing plea (Pierce faults the de facto Democratic nominee for not calling for Bushs impeachment, among other sins) is Convince me. Convince me. Convince me.
Although Pierce doesnt go back into history as far as Marshall, its his contention that the United States hasnt been a great country since LBJ shepherded civil rights legislation through Congress more than four decades ago. Since then, The people of the United States have been accessorial in the murder of their country. Now, maybe its just me being cynical, but if my recollection is correct Democrats in 2000 were whining that Bill Clinton wasnt eligible to run for a third terma travesty in their opinion, since he restored the country to greatness and was hardly complicit in its murder.
In the course of Pierces article he repeats this mantra five times about the present condition of the United States: Someone will have to measure the wreckage. Someone will have to walk through the ruins. Someone will have to count the cost. This really is the work of an unhinged man. Yes, its a conceit Pierce employs to express his doubt that Obama will be anything more than a normal politician, albeit one who speaks magnificently. But even though most liberals are eager to enumerate the list of Bushs incompetent decisions, I havent come across anyone in those circles who draws such an apocalyptic, Guernica-like description of the United States today. Reading Pierce, youd think hed just toured Dresden at the conclusion of World War II.
Should McCain win in November, as a charitable man, I do hope that Pierces friends keep him away from sharp objects and the medicine and liquor cabinets.