… I have seen in a while, from A Letter from a Fearfully Concerned Muslim, To an American-Jewish friend (h/t JHoward):
“Just ponder how a third-rate community organizer — from the most incestuously corrupt political region in the U.S.; with a record of participation in the most vulgar gathering of Jeremiah Wright posing as a reverend, spouting Fanonian rhetoric and bigotry; with mentors such as the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers; channelling the teachings of Saul Alinsky and Rashid Khalidi of the Chomsky school of self-loathing and sophistry — could advance through the ranks of American politics at an astounding speed, with little or no record of experience in government, to become the 44th president. In one of my columns from 2008 for the Sun Media in Canada, I had written in disbelief, as I watched the primaries unfold, of how American voters could be so beguiled by a charlatan of the Harold Hill type from The Music Man and vote for Obama. I was wrong in my overestimation of reason and experience among American voters as a check on the naivete of the university crowd and the duplicity of Lenin’s “useful idiots” in free societies. One of the lessons from 2008, for me, is this: how can I now scold Egyptians for wanting freedom and democracy behind the banners of the Muslim Brotherhood when their experience with electoral politics is negligible, and their history of 7,000 years offer little guidance for what freedom requires — respect for the other and not mistaking freedom for licentiousness?”
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Comments
"had written in disbelief, as I watched the primaries unfold, of how American voters could be so beguiled by a charlatan of the Harold Hill type"
It's not the naivete of the American voter that is to blame here but the failure of the "two-party" system to do what rival parties are supposed to do: expose the other party's deceptions.
Even today, EVEN TODAY, everyone cowers in fear over Obama's birth certificate issue. Where was the GOP between 2000 and 2008? Did no one wonder what the deal was on spending so much money on lawyers to build the "Great Wall of Obama" around ALL of his records? The man has no history except what he has told us in his books!
And how on earth did we end up with the very face of everything we hate about the GOP, John McCain, as the 2008 nominee?
Why can't we not only get answers to obvious and important questions but why do we get labeled as "nuts" and "kooks" for even asking?
BTW, why was it so important to run McCain in 2008? Was it because his own birth certificate issue could be used to distract Obama's?
Yes, I am very, very cynical. We have a very corrupt establishment today.
However, it's worth remembering that 4 years ago today, Mr. Obama's name rarely even appeared in presidential polls. That it would be a contest between Hillary and Rudy was widely considered a foregone conclusion.
I really think it all rode on the power of a clear and succinct message/narrative, called "First African American President." That was a very attractive story to many voters. Personally, he's a very appealing individual, and he outfoxed Hillary in the primaries. That's politics.
Staggering implications.
The entire letter is powerful and spot on. As they say, read the whole thing.
Best paragraph in a while, indeed.
And my vote for best column of the day from down under:
"Palestine an obsession of radical West, not Arabs."
Are the Arabs sincerely obsessed with the Palestinians the way western radicals seem to be? As another Aussie, Steve Irwin, might have said, "Crikey, that's a big crock !!"
Go on, mate. Just sit back and throw another lefty meme on the barbie.
Palestine an obsession of radical West, not Arabs:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/palestine-an-obsession-of-radical-west-not-arabs/story-e6frg6zo-1226006572220
Wow. That is amazing.
I'll have to read the rest of this piece now. Thanks for sharing, Professor!