Ken
Comparing Obama to Bush seems a bit forced if not a rationalization for a choice already made.
“If conservatives were compassionate, they wouldn’t have to put the adjective in front of it.” – Wesley Clark
I knew Bush was lying the first time I heard that “compassionate conservative” line. His record of mismanagement, incompetence and down hard ignorance with a mean streak was legendary in Texas.
But it seems to have escaped the corporate media.
So we reached the “Mencken point”
–On July 26, 1920, HL Mencken wrote in The Evening Sun:
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
— H.L. Mencken(1880-1956)
Republicans and sometimes Conservative Democrats suffer from a condition that can only be described as empathy constriction.
Their empathy can only reach the end of their arms. So anyone they hug or shake hands with regularly can share in their empathy and be treated like another human. Everyone else is “the Other” and “The Stranger” or deamonized into “The Enemy”
Wars are seldom caused by spontaneous hatreds between people, for peoples in general are too ignorant of one another to have grievances and too indifferent to what goes on beyond their borders to plan conquests. They must be urged to the slaughter by politicians who know how to alarm them.”
— Henry Mencken
Notice how those who suffer from this condition change their views when confronted with what was only an issue for “other people”.
The Cheney’s don’t join in the gay bashing now that they have a daughter that is out.
Nancy Reagen was all for stem cell research when there was a chance it could have eased St Ronnie’s suffering. And a wingnut talk show host gets converted to “health care for all” by one painful and long visit to the emergency room.
My brother in Law is not quite as gung-ho as he used to be since his son watched the driver of his hummer killed by an rpg that went through my nephews open window.
Most of us developed empathy as children. In some Democrats I think it extends too far. I know one highly educated man who neglected his own children while traveling around the world building water systems, wells and hospitals as a member of half a dozen charitable organizations, some religious, some not.
Another feels livestock are worthy of the same protections as humans, ignoring the fact that they would not exist if they were not both tasty and edible.
And we now have a chance to start the recovery.
Either Hillary or Obama should probably be expected to do little harm to the constitution, though I think the scale tilts a little towards Obama as a constitutional scholar.
Hillary’s advisers and potential cabinet are a mixed bag. Wes Clark, Madeline Albright and Ambassador Holbrook are all smart and tough and though they have been through war, they will not use it as a substitute for buying resources on the world market. Terry McAuliff is a world class snake, known liar and completely owned by the corporate overlords especially the telco/ communication and media giants. Mark Penn and Chris LeHane are professional liars and PR flacks specializing in union busting.
Obama does not seem to have a specific group of associates waiting for patronage jobs that I can find. I can assume he has some good people as well as some of the ugly side of the direct mail industry in his campaign.
I don’t think he has been inside the beltway long enough to collect a large group of both saints and sinners that we can point to.
I will take either one. But I have to speak up when I see an unfair attack on either one, or both as it seems I have done in this forum.