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My Brush With Rush
There’s a bit of what logicians call ‘undistributed middle’ going on in that blast of wind. But let us take it, as my fellow pseudo-intellectual, Palin-hatin’ George F. Will would say, seriatim. (That’s a word we elites use, meaning “one after another.”)
First, I’m unaware that Obama “may not have written one of” his books, so yes, that would be “beside the point.” (But nice try.) As to the notion that one might be drawn to a candidate who is “eloquent,” who writes clearly and thinks clearly, well do we need we spend much time debating that one? Why don’t we leave it at this: Sen. Obama writes his own books. Sen. McCain’s books are written for him. He and I share the same publisher, which would seem to affirm a) my media-elitism and b) my affiliation, at least formally, with the vast-right wing conspiracy.
Now—I like this seriatim thing—as to the business of Sarah Palin “being some sort of trailer trash hick.” I never said any such thing. I did say that the thought of Ms. Palin as President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces gave me acid reflux.
And I’ll stand by that. Nothing that she has said or done since early September has changed my mind on that score. Saturday’s New York Times notes that “Mrs. Palin’s [religious] faith has come under scrutiny after two videos taken in her former church surfaced on YouTube and became immediate sensations. The first showed a visiting preacher from Kenya praying fervently over Ms. Palin in a gravelly voice and asking God to favor her campaign for governor and protect her from ‘every form of witchcraft.’” For the sake of not piling on, why don’t we skip over her denunciation of funding scientific research on fruit-flies, given she is now painfully (Palin-fully?) aware that it has particular value with respect for research into autism.
Finally, as for Rush’s attempt at legerdemain (a French-English word meaning “horseshit”): “even if he goes lefty when he’s elected, I’ll have a problem with that.”
Let’s look up what I actually said. Oh, let’s.
But having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect, President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren’t going to get us out of this pit we’ve dug for ourselves. If he raises taxes and throws up tariff walls and opens the coffers of the DNC to bribe-money from the special interest groups against whom he has (somewhat disingenuously) railed during the campaign trail, then he will almost certainly reap a whirlwind that will make Katrina look like a balmy summer zephyr.
The left-wing E.J. Dionne (educated—whaddya know—at that very same elite New England boarding school!) wrote on Friday in his Washington Post column, apropos the howling on the Right these days:
The cause of Edmund Burke, Leo Strauss, Robert Nisbet and William F. Buckley Jr. is now in the hands of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity—and Sarah Palin. Reason has been overwhelmed by propaganda, ideas by slogans, learned manifestoes by direct-mail hit pieces.
Well put, E.J. The monks of Portsmouth Abbey School would be proud of you.
To which, let me add a personal, affectionately-intended note: Rush, I knew William F. Buckley, Jr. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a father of mine. Rush, you’re no William F. Buckley, Jr.
Christopher Buckley is the author, most recently, of Supreme Courtship.
How Rich People Smoke Pot
Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
Justice Clinton?
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
One Hell of a Speech
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
The Audacity of Oops
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Too Big to Succeed
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
JAlexander
...and to you Chritopher: Chritopher, I read William F. Buckley, Jr. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a favorite of mine. Chritopher, you're no William F. Buckley, Jr..............sad but true.
enthymeme
I find it near incomprehensible that any Buckley would find the intellectual black hole that is Rush Limbaugh, et alia, anything other than vile. Hate-porn is not argument. Foaming at the mouth is not reason. The radical right has gone beyond radical all the way to unreason. Truly. I find "these people" dangerous, small and mean-spirited, totally lacking in anything approaching "good humor" (the very thing, by the way, which made the illustrious Buckely senior so very compelling, interesting, and engaging), and devoid of substance.Rush Limbaugh peddles nothing but hate, hate, hate daily -- the more venomous and divisive, the better. The undistributed middle is the bait devious pseudo-intellectuals use relentlessly to trap the unwary.
There is no "heir" to the conservative world view; there is no credible conservative voice. There is only the brittle scream of poison and despair from the right; the sounds of confused and bitter children giving voice to a desperate desire to be noticed.
The so-called right (actually the radical, silly, unschooled right) is irrelevant. Given the absence of erudition, logic, reason, and skilled argument, they have only demonization as a strategy. And that is wearing a bit thin with the world.
Rush Limbaugh's bloated brayings are not in and of themselves frightening. The fact that anyone other than himself listens, is.
Rush Limbaugh in the same sentence as William F. Buckley? Nonsense.
Let's end in the blog-created tradition of misquoting Shakespeare"
Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens,
'Tis just the fashion.
Protagoras
Well, this is how Rush has been treating others--as well as encouraging others to treat others--for years.
BTW, I too was moved by BO's books and consider them one of the reasons he was able to best Ms. Clinton.
jennaq
Thank you.
njnoecker
Could you would provide three examples of Barack Obama's "thinking clearly?" Your only constraint is this: the examples you provide may not be loser ideas...after all, even a loser idea can be expressed clearly.
Indevoter9
Christopher Buckley is truly amazing. End of story.
lorijen
After reading the brilliantly-written piece by CB, I read the first (and only comment)...THREE times in order to figure out what it meant. I still don;t know. If anyone can explain it, please do. I'll be checking back.
bilsay3
Christopher, as a left leaning usless liberal, I have always enjoyed your writing although seldom agreeing with it, except of course for your recent essays. Keep up the good work. Bon Voyage...
msgranny
One comment about thinking clearly. We all know that the republicans have been in charge for 8 years with the exception of the last two when Dems had a slight majority in congress and could get nothing past "Shrub's" veto. I think Obama's thinking is pretty clear when he says we cannot have 4 more years of that. No matter what he does, it can't do as much harm as has been done the last 8 years. When a president walks over the constitution as Bush has, he should be impeached, but we Dems didn't have a enough majority to do it. Yes, Bill Clinton lied under oath, about something personal, Bush has lied and lied and lied about official stuff. That should be a far more an impeachable offense.
mikemiller56
Good sir;
How about these three;
A ,a fifty state campaign.
B, a vice presidential selection that is superior to the GOP's I know that Sen. Biden will be fodder for comedians for years to come but also bring to the equation his service in the senate he will only augment Sen. Obama's agenda has LBJ did during the Kennedy years.
C, Private funding , now being a lowly Democrat born on the southside of Chicago I suspect that was very well thought out.
Omnia vincint amovr;
Mike Miller
njnoecker
Correction for CB (thank you, lorijen):
Could you provide three examples of Barack Obama "thinking clearly?" Your only constraint is this: the examples you provide may not be loser ideas...after all, even a loser idea can be expressed clearly.
Extra credit for lorijen: provide three examples of brilliance from the "brilliantly-written piece by CB. No constraints.
jjfranco
Great piece Chris. It astounds me that people like Limbaugh and Coulter even take on the mantle of 'conservative'. They're demagogues, nothing more. WJB was a conservative, an entirely different creature from these two
JAlexander
...and to you Christo: Christopher, I readWilliam F. Buckley, Jr. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a favorite of mine. Christopher, you're no William F. Buckley, Jr........sad, but true.
njnoecker
Mr. Miller.... I grade you "E" for effort.
A. "Fifty state campaign?" Obama is on record saying that there are 57 states. Bad example.
B. "a VP selection superior to the GOP's". Even you nullified this in your own post. Enough said
C. "Private funding..." Ok, this would have been a decent example had Obama's thinking been clear on the matter. In fact, he went back and forth on which way to go and finally swerved into private funding. at the eleventh hour. It was an advantageous choice, but his thinking was anything but clear.
The challenge stands.
wordsbybecca
It's interesting to note that a Republican campaign has been run on the notion that there is something "elitist" about superior intellect and to sneeringly refer to anyone with manners, good taste, class or (dare I use the word "breeding") as possibly not being a "real" American or Patriot. As though the use of slang or dropping the g's on your words and "gosh darn it" hanging out with "Joe Six Pack" was not just a cultural choice in a free society but a virtue and a rite of passage into this common society of " Real" Americans.(The ones I suppose who listen to Rush Limbaugh and his ilk) I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a VP candidate who chooses not to accept the science of evolution wouldn't believe that the progression of the human brain and consequentially, the advance of civil society is the greatest impetus towards human advancement that we have.(BTW-a sharp mind is one of the sexiest attributes any man or woman can have and bubble-headed Stepford wives went out of style after the fifties so what's the attraction with this caricature? I don't get it...)
Thank you.
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