Re: Rush Limbaugh

[Carl Remick <carlremick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> The other day I was reading an interesting commentary on George W. Bush,
> where unfortunately I cannot remember. It stated that he has been
> underestimated by the left and is capable of a wolverine-like intelligence
> when it comes to the imperial interests of the USA and the privileges of
> the ruling class--and just as importantly, he *never* doubts himself.

That was in Robert Sam Anson's review of a number of books about the Bush
presidency in NY Observer, viz.:

"Remember the good old days, back when the worst anyone could say about
George W. Bush was that he was a dope? Remember the fun watching Will
Ferrell imitate him on Saturday Night Live? The dazed,
deer-in-the-headlights look? The way he said 'stra-teeg-er-ie'? Remember how
harmless the smirking frat boy in the cowboy hat seemed? Dubya was the best
yuk since Gerry Ford.

"Well, no one?s laughing anymore. Not with Arlington filling up; three
million jobs gone phfft; Antarctica melting; the deficit north of half a
trillion; Osama and Saddam nowhere to be found; Ronald Reagan fondly
remembered as a moderate; and The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
starting to read like a self-help book.

"You surely know all that. But in the event you?ve been living in a secure,
undisclosed location since his inauguration, these books provide a primer.
They?re chockablock with bone-chilling tidbits (inadvertently, in the case
of We Will Prevail and The Faith of George W. Bush); and wading through even
the densest of them is infinitely faster than waiting for the press to
figure out that 'compassionate conservative' is oxymoronic.

"For starters, these books make clear that 43rd President is nowhere near as
dumb as comfortingly imagined. He may still describe Kim Jong Il?s toys as
'nuc-u-lur,' but events have shown him to be possessed of a wolverine
intelligence. He?s also wholly unacquainted with self-doubt, a commodity on
which liberals maintain the exclusive franchise. That Mr. Bush is thus
blessed should come as no surprise: In addition to working out and getting
to bed roundabout the time The West Wing is coming on, his daily routine
includes talking to God. What?s more, God talks back. ..."

<http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage7.asp>

> By contrast, the left in the USA--at least the academic and mainstream
> versions such as the Nation Magazine--are filled with self-doubt and second
> guessing. With much hand-wringing from the likes of Todd Gitlin, we walk
> around like Hamlet doubting ourselves. Instead of being absolutely
> convinced of our mission--as is appropriate for the tasks before us--we
> blame ourselves for things that are utterly beyond our control--like Pol
> Pot or the Moscow Trials. If the left is to prevail, it will have to
> recover the kind of Jacobin self-assuredness it once had--or else it is
> doomed to fail.

Hear, hear.

Carl

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