Best of the Web Today - September 11, 2007
By JAMES TARANTO
The Ugly Anti-American
After the 9/11 attacks, Norman Podhoretz observes in an essay in today's Wall Street Journal, "several younger commentators proclaimed the birth of an entirely new era in American history":
What Dec. 7, 1941, had done to the old isolationism, they announced, Sept. 11, 2001, had done to the Vietnam syndrome. It was politically dead, and the cultural fallout of that war--all the damaging changes wrought by the 1960s and '70s--would now follow it into the grave.
I could easily understand why they thought so. After all, never in their lives had they witnessed so powerful an explosion of patriotic sentiment--and not only in the expected precincts of the right. In fact, on the left, where not so long ago the American flag had been thought fit only for burning, the sight of it--and it was now on display everywhere--had been driving a few prominent personalities to wrench their unaccustomed arms into something vaguely resembling a salute.
Podhoretz disagreed, and he now observes, "I turned out to be right about this." The essay is adapted from a chapter in his new book, "World War IV" (available from the OpinionJournal bookstore), and in the book he cites this columnist among those "younger commentators." And it's true. We were younger back then (but then, weren't we all), and we were overly optimistic, perhaps to the point of naiveté, in assuming that the left's newfound patriotism would last.
We grossly underestimated the extent to which the leftward cohort of the baby-boom generation--which holds a dominant position in most of America's elite institutions--had internalized "the lesson of Vietnam," a war in which they saw America's defeat as a victory for their side--a victory for what Todd Gitlin (quoted by Podhoretz) has called the "negative faith in America the ugly." That faith is nicely exemplified in a 9/11 anniversary essay in Salon, by one Gary Kamiya:
Like a vibration that causes a bridge to collapse, the 9/11 attacks exposed grave weaknesses in our nation's defenses, our national institutions and ultimately our national character. Many more Americans have now died in a needless war in Iraq than were killed in the terror attacks, and tens of thousands more grievously wounded. Billions of dollars have been wasted. America's moral authority, more precious than gold, has been tarnished by torture and lies and the erosion of our liberties. The world despises us to an unprecedented degree. An entire country has been wrecked. The Middle East is ready to explode. And the threat of terrorism, which the war was intended to remove, is much greater than it was.
Take that, America!
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Gen. David Petraeus is testifying on Capitol Hill this week on the results of the new strategy in Iraq, which are encouraging. Success in Iraq poses a problem for Democrats, who have been attempting to satisfy their base, which wants to see America lose, while also winning over enough normal Americans, who don't want America to lose, to expand their congressional majorities and maybe even win the presidency.
In order for the Democrats to satisfy both constituencies, America has to lose in Iraq (making the base happy) but the Democrats must not be seen as having brought about defeat (making the normal Americans unhappy with the Republicans). This explains the passive-aggressive approach the Democrats have been taking to Iraq, complaining endlessly about how America is doomed to lose but never taking the kind of bold action the base wants to make defeat a reality.
On Saturday The Politico reported that Democratic lawmakers are hoping that others will smear Petraeus for them:
"No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV," noted one Democratic senator, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. "The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us."
The outside groups came through, although the Democrats may not be entirely happy with the manner in which they did so. As CNN reports, the far-left, pro-defeat organization MoveOn.org purchased an ad in yesterday's New York Times headlined "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" In the upside-down world of the anti-American left, as Cliff May notes, it is an act of treason to refuse to accept defeat at the hands of America's enemies.
One manifestation of that "negative faith," as we've noted in the past, is that in reporting on Iraq, "the so-called mainstream media are following the Vietnam script, according to which a war is supposed to become a quagmire, which provokes opposition and leads to American withdrawal." MoveOn.org's Eli Pariser confirms this, as CNN reports:
MoveOn.org said Monday it stood by the ad completely.
"Every major independent study and many major news organizations cast serious doubt on Petraeus' claims," said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action Committee.
In the Boston Globe, Peter Feaver likens the MoveOn ad to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's character-assassination tactics. The comparison is a fair one, though this may be an example of Marx's adage that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. McCarthy was an effective demagogue, who did real damage both to innocent people and to the noble cause of anticommunism. "General Betray Us" may reflect the spirit of McCarthy, but the rhetoric is more suitable to a 2-year-old. This effort by MoveOn.org is likely to damage only its own, ignoble cause of seeking defeat for America and the people of Iraq.
The Hill, meanwhile, reports that congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan "was arrested Monday in or near the hearing room" where Petraeus was testifying:
Four anti-war protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct. One of them, who was not named, is being taken to George Washington Hospital "due to complaint of injury" and is also charged with assault on a police officer.
According to the information from the Capitol Police, Sheehan and the other three were shouting in a hallway.
More astonishing than the actions of these "protesters," however, is the editorial support it drew from the New York Times:
They deserve more than what was offered by Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. When protesters interrupted the hearing, Mr. Skelton ordered them removed from the room, which is understandable. But then he said that they would be prosecuted. That seemed like an unnecessarily authoritarian response to people who just wanted to be heard.
The editorialists of the New York Times have so little faith in their own ability to make a persuasive argument that they are willing to countenance not just disorderly conduct but assault on a police officer so that people who agree with their views can "be heard." Have they no sense of decency? And will Democratic leaders like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have the courage to take a stand against the feral tactics of their party's extremists?
Diagram This Sentence
From a New York Times report on Gen. Petraeus's testimony:
When Representative Gary L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, suggested the war was not integral to the anti-terror effort since members of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, sometimes called Al Qaeda in Iraq, the homegrown Sunni Arab extremist group that American intelligence agencies have concluded is foreign-led, is not part of the Qaeda network behind the Sept. 11 attacks, the general offered a quick retort.
The news department of the Times has made a policy of requiring its reporters, every time they mention al Qaeda in Iraq, to editorialize that al Qaeda, which has nothing to do with Iraq, has nothing to do with Iraq, which has nothing to do with al Qaeda. But this sentence is so awkwardly constructed that it stands out even in the New York Times. Could it be that reporter Carl Hulse wishes he were allowed to give us the news straight, and wrote this monstrosity of a sentence as a protest? Whatever the case, Rupert Murdoch has to be smiling.
No Blood for Oil!
Oscar Wyatt, a Texas oilman, is charged with Iraq war profiteering, Reuters reports. But it isn't what you think:
Prosecutors promised on Monday to prove that . . . Wyatt paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government, earning him a privileged position in Iraq. . . .
Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel argued the federal case against Wyatt was "entwined" with his opposition to both U.S.-led wars against Iraq. . . .
Shargel will set out to prove Wyatt was a patriotic American whose advice was sought by nearly every U.S. president from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton, but not the Bushes.
Wyatt, a Democrat, was a "friend and confidant" of Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, but "he was no friend or admirer of the other two presidents," George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, Shargel said.
"Mr. Wyatt pleaded with the advisers of George H.W. Bush not to go to war and to resolve this peacefully," Shargel said. "There were (peace) talks and negotiations under way that Oscar Wyatt was involved in."
Thank goodness President Bush put the interests of America above those of Texas oilmen.
Wannabe Pundits
The NFL is investigating charges that a New England Patriots employee videotaped the New York Jets' signals over the weekend, potentially tainting the Pats' 38-14 opening-day victory. And MSNBC.com's Bob Cook sees an analogy:
Even though [Patriots coach Bill] Belichick is far from being found culpable . . ., the coach's long history of poor sportsmanship means it hardly stretches the imagination to see him being Dick Cheney in the NFL's version of warrantless wiretapping.
It's just like wiretapping! Well, except that the war with al Qaeda isn't a game, and the other side adheres to no rules whatever.
'More Art Than Science'
So a couple of weeks ago we were in New Orleans, on the precise anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall two years ago. And the weather wasn't bad. What happened? Isn't it hurricane season? And weren't hurricanes supposed to get even worse courtesy of "global warming"? It didn't quite work out that way, as Bloomberg reports:
Hurricane researchers, who forecast seven more storms this season, have flubbed the past two annual estimates because of unusual El Nino and La Nina weather phenomena in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The predictions reflect variables that make this kind of weather forecasting "more art than science," said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Two of the nine Atlantic hurricanes predicted already have occurred for the season that ends Nov 30. Last year, five storms emerged after nine were anticipated.
Remember that: Weather forecasting is "more art than science." Except of course when the forecasters want to dismantle our entire industrial economy. Then it's settled science that no one may even question.
Zero-Tolerance Watch
"A New Hampshire teenager's yearbook photo has been rejected--because she's holding a flower," the Associated Press reports from Nashua, N.H.:
Merrimack High School student Melissa Morin's senior photograph featured her and a small red flower. School officials, however, said the picture is not going to make it in the yearbook because props aren't allowed. . . .
The policy stemmed from a 2005 controversy in Londonderry, where a student posed with his gun. A judge ruled in favor of the school, but Nashua officials said they didn't want to face similar scuffles.
Laugh all you want, but flowers can be dangerous.
'Can I--Hic!--Ditholve Something Else Instead?'
"Drinker Gets 12 Lawyers From Dissolving Firm"--headline, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 10
But Will Anyone Follow?
"China Agrees to Lead Paint Ban"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 11
Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child
"Bay City Schools Adds Staff to Handle More Kindergartners"--headline, Bay City (Mich.) Times, Sept. 11
'Your Honor, I Thought She Was From Publisher's Clearinghouse'
"Lawyer Found Naked With Girl, 14, Pleads No Contest"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 10
' 'E's Shuffled Off 'Is Mortal Coil, Run Down the Curtain and Joined the Bleedin' Choir Invisibile!!'
"Gifted Research Parrot Alex Found Dead"--headline, MSNBC.com, Sept. 11
If You're Pregnant, Don't Smoke at Sea
o "Pregnant Smokers May Suffer Depression"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 11
o "Depression May Form in Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico"--headline, Reuters, Sept. 11
Breaking News From 99
"Almanac Calls for Hottest Year in 100"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 11
Breaking News From 1969
"Drug Arrest Cuts Short Weekend Music Festival"--headline, Flint (Mich.) Journal, Sept. 11
News You Can Use
"Can't Quit Chocolate? Don't Fret, It's No Addiction"--headline, Reuters, Sept. 11
Bottom Stories of the Day
o "Waitress at Campbell's Hick'ry Pit Puts Away Her Apron"--headline, San Jose Mercury News, Sept. 10
o "Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Is 2 Hours Late"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 11
o "Kucinich Plans Visit to Fargo"--headline, Forum (Fargo, N.D.), Sept. 11
o "Six Years After Sept. 11, New York's Financial District Bustles With Workers and Residents"--headline, New York Times (Paris edition), six years after Sept. 9
Tequila for Everyone!
CNN.com carried a headline yesterday that read "Behind the VMAs: Britney Ripped Mercilessly." The "VMAs," as we understand it, are MTV's "video music awards." What really makes this great, though, are CNN's STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
o Britney Spears' performance met with disbelief and mockery
o Observer: "She soooo should have stayed home. . . . What was the point?"
o Jermaine Dupri bought tequila for everyone
This isn't just the bottom story of the day, it's the bottom story of the year.
URL for this article: opinionjournal.com |
