Haven’t talked about Jay Nordlinger lately. In his Impromptus column today he as always makes great point but has two in particular that need to be quoted at once:
“Don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh,” say the Obamas and the Powells and some other people. They are giving “free advice” to the Republicans. Well, since when has the GOP listened to Rush? If it did, we would not have nominated Senator McCain last year (for all his virtues, which are considerable). Moreover, Rush did not ask for many of the policies of the Bush administration, particularly in the domestic realm.
Rush says what he regards as true, political consequences be damned. He is not a party strategist, or a party anything. He’s a man with opinions, and they are sound, and that’s why so many people are drawn to him, and them.
Keep it up, Rush—and stay “in their heads.”
The second touches on something I wrote:
The question was raised in our office late last week, “How long will the Obama administration be able to blame George Bush for every problem under the sun?” And the answer is, Indefinitely—because the media will permit it, and abet it: participate in it (given that so many in the media share the worldview and attitudes and style of the new administration).
Is that too dark and cynical a view? Well, I hope so. Maybe we should revisit this subject at regular intervals.
I think that’s a great idea, I’m going to create a Blame Bush Category to cover that from this point on.
