Out of the Mouths of Boobs
Two practitioners of get-paid-to-be-stupid-in-public punditry give us gems today, Pat Buchanan with his pronouncement that Colin Powell is backing Barack Obama because he’s black and William Kristol scolding Peggy Noonan for saying that Sarah Palin is symptomatic of “a new vulgarization in American politics.”
Buchanan can’t help belaboring the obnoxious obvious, but Kristol reaches new heights of sappiness in attacking Noonan:
“Why do elites like to proclaim premature closure–not just in elections, but also in wars and in social struggles? Because it makes them the imperial arbiters, or at least the perspicacious announcers, of what history is going to bring. This puts the elite prognosticators ahead of the curve, ahead of the simple-minded people who might entertain the delusion that they still have a choice.”
Aside from attacking what he does for a living in prose that shows an urgent need for instruction in remedial invective, Kristol is making the case that Joe the Plumber is “the latest ordinary American to do a star turn in our vulgar democratic circus. He seems like a sensible man to me…
“McCain and Palin have had the good sense to embrace him. I join them in taking my stand with Joe the Plumber–in defiance of Horace the Poet.”
When Kristol’s New York Times gig expires, the editors should seriously consider Joe as his replacement.
Cross-posted from my blog.
4 Responses to “Out of the Mouths of Boobs”
Wow, the elite tag gets used quickly. Kristol's even ready to tag Noonan with it now for thinking the wrong thing. I wonder if he will ever tag himself elite if he changes his mind.
For Chrissakes… Joe the Plumber is a liar. He lied about who he is, his job, buying a company and how much he earns. He doesn't even pay his taxes. He lied because he wanted to corner a candidate. And McCain wants to go to bat for him?
The Dems should just say that Joe (or Sam what's-his-name) is a liar and McCain is changing the subject by trying desperately to defend Joe's lies.
The Dems can further point out that Joe wanted to corner a candidate and created this imagined person to try to do so. That the real Joes of the world, the hard working plumbers, contractors, etc. would see their taxes decrease under an Obama administration. That this Joe what's-his-name had to creata a false identity to get publicity. The real Joe would be better off voting for Obama.
Krystol seems to be more and more compelled these days to slap together words without checking to see if they make sense. Noonan had it exactly right, and she gets points for not pulling punches in her characterization.
I read somewhere that Kristol and Rove recommended picking Palin over Lieberman- McCain's choice- probably said the base would get behind him.