http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/opinion/25kristol.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Never mind the people who say, 'is America ready for a black president?' or 'is America ready for a female president?'--I'm beginning to think that the people are not ready for a president who acts in an intelligent manner. People complained for about 6 years about Bush's lack of intelligence, inability to speak well, and condescending attitude. Now that we have the possibility to fix those things with the next president, people are changing their tunes. Deep down, maybe people want a president that they can insult, rather than one that actually expects something of us. Someone who challenges people's thinking can be threatening. Perhaps we'd feel safer with the same old story in politics--not much change, not much challenge, etc. That's what we would get with the other two candidates--some minor changes, but nothing major. That feels comfortable to many people.
In this article, William Kristol complains about Barack not wearing a flag lapel pin (I'm so sick of people caring about others' fashion statements, which is really all that is anyway.) I agree with Barack that the important thing isn't what you wear, but what you do. Then, when he attempts to explain his decision, Kristol criticizes him for that. He then states that in nearly every empirical respect, we're doing better than we were 25 years ago, but he does not explain how we're doing better...I'm not so sure that that's the case. Kristol is being purposefully obtuse, and as a result, I think he sounds about as wise as President Bush.
This op-ed piece is the type of thinking that worries me.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
