Now that George W. Bush has left the harsh glare of the White House and Barack Obama has settled into the highest office in the land, it might be reasonable to suppose that Bush hatred and Obama euphoria will begin to subside. Unfortunately, there is good reason to doubt that the common sources that have nourished these dangerous political passions will soon lose their potency.More at the link.
At first glance, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria could not be more different. Hatred of Mr. Bush went well beyond the partisan broadsides typical of democratic politics. For years it disfigured its victims with open, indeed proud, loathing for the very manner in which Mr. Bush walked and talked. It compelled them to denounce the president and his policies as not merely foolish or wrong or contrary to the national interest, but as anathema to everything that made America great.
In contrast, the euphoria surrounding Mr. Obama's run for president conferred upon the candidate immunity from criticism despite his newness to national politics and lack of executive experience, and regardless of how empty his calls for change. At the same time, it inspired those in its grips, repeatedly bringing them tears of joy throughout the long election season. With Mr. Obama's victory in November and his inauguration last week, it suffused them with a sense that not only had the promise of America at last been redeemed but that the world could now be transfigured.
In fact, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria - which tend to reveal more about those who feel them than the men at which they are directed - are opposite sides of the same coin. Both represent the triumph of passion over reason. Both are intolerant of dissent. Those wallowing in Bush hatred and those reveling in Obama euphoria frequently regard those who do not share their passion as contemptible and beyond the reach of civilized discussion. Bush hatred and Obama euphoria typically coexist in the same soul. And it is disproportionately members of the intellectual and political class in whose souls they flourish.
"Passion over reason" certainly explains these folks, although it's not just "members of the intellectual and political" class (see this blogger for example).
I noted previously how I became creeped out a bit when one of my own political science classes started chanting "na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, hey, hey, eh ... good bye..." during lectures. And when I drive down the road and see wide-eyd 50-ish women captaining Toyota Prius' plastered with "Change We Can Believe In" stickers and with mugs of "O'Biden" poking out from every corner of the vehicle, I can only shake my head at the success of Obama's mesmerizing political campaign of pop-culture sheeples indoctrination.
The sad part is this has just begun.
Life in the poltical wilderness I can handle, but not a few Americans worry about an Obama gulag for those not swallowing the Democratic ideological kool-aid of "The One."
Berkowitz suggests that all of this "hatred and euphoria" may weaken, and it wouldn't come a moment too soon.
6 comments:
The irrational hatred and the love-fest for Obama come from the same mindless drones. I'm sure you've seen your share on campus doc, I know I have. Of course when the Messiah does make a mistake, they'll rationalize it and/or still blame G.W. The school has lost it's collective mind. My niece is at UCLA and has even received death threats from roommates for her religious and conservative beliefs.
"My niece is at UCLA and has even received death threats from roommates for her religious and conservative beliefs."
That's awful.
I have come to the conclusion that the extreme left doesn't just drink from the koolaid fountain, they bathe in the damned thing. This NObamamania that has enveloped half of our society more closely resembles a cult than any other cult I have ever heard of. Jim Jones had nothing on the messiah.
I wonder what is going to happen when they realize that Obama can't solve all of the problems and that he won't do it the way they want him to.
Odd how the people who hated Bush the most were people so far to the left that they don't like Democrats or Obama. They repeatedly insisted that Democrats enabled Bush and the Republicans and are really part of the same party, and now say the same about Obama. I mean, y'all have heard of Ralph Nader right? And realize that the people furthest to the left still support him, even though he denounced Obama? And these people firmly believe that Democrats aren't liberals because they didn't impeach Bush. Here's one such blogger, who has insisted repeatedly that I'm not a liberal because I support Obama. And there are many such people attacking me from the left for being too moderate and not fighting Republicans enough. These are the people who hated Bush the most, not Obama supporters.
And how about the fact that Obama ran on a platform of being bipartisan and working with Republicans, which all his firmest fans supported, but which his critics on the left disliked? This would again completely undermine your point. Now, you can believe this was all a sham, but I can assure you that Obama's critics on the far-left don't think so. They think Obama's a moron for being nice to Republicans and insist that we need to arrest Bush and Cheney as war criminals. The reality is that the people who hate Bush the most were the people who are too liberal to support Obama. And just so it's understood, I ALWAYS argued against impeaching Bush and thought it was a dumb idea. Obama fans are generally moderates and moderate-liberals who don't take this stuff personally. And the more someone hated Bush, the more likely they don't like Obama either.
And are we supposed to forget how you people treated anyone who didn't support Bush? My lord, the Dixie Chicks faced death threats from their own fans and radio boycotts simply for saying they were embarrassed to come from the same state as Bush. And while it's possible that some conservatives thought that was crazy, I didn't hear any of those people. You were either with Bush or against him. And so for you guys to now pretend as if your undying loyalty to dear leader isn't the exact thing you're pinning on Obama's supporters is entirely insane. Sorry guys, but lack of self-awareness ain't a virtue.
Word of the Day: Eviscerate
As in, I just eviscerated Donald's post, as seen here:
Diehard Bush Supporters Against Obama
(And yes, I realize that's not strict usage of the word.)
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