Victor Davis Hanson bookends Gore and Edwards over at NRO's The Corner:
We need an Orwell to offer some psychological explanation for why an Al Gore, who gobbles up carbon-based power in his mansion and private jet, continues to harangue the less well off about their energy profligacy and threats to the planet, or why a John Edwards, who just finished a towered 28,000 sq. foot palace, claims Jesus would find us unforgiving to the poor, and serially speaks in terms of two nations, rich and poor.
Is this disconnect explained by an easy means of alleviating guilt over their own largess through cosmic preaching about the inequality and selfishness of others?
Or is it a genuine notion that as a crusading Senator and trial-lawyer they have battled enough for the less well off to justify some small compensation for their ongoing labors?
Or is it a clinical schizophrenia in which one side of the Mother Teresa brain has no connection with the Donald Trump other?
Or do they analytically conclude that they will be more effective advocates for the human race if they purchase requisite shelter, transportation, and amenities commensurate with their worth that can refresh body and soul for their own messianic ordeals ahead?
Or are they in denial, and feel their own respective modes of living and travel are not that much different from others-the enemy being instead wasteful and "selfish" billionaires, not sober multi-millionaires like themselves?
Really, it is none of those, in my view. What is boils down to is that Edwards and Gore (and nearly all the rest of the Democratic leadership) arefundamentally dishonest - when you're whole worldview is based on a series of lies, then you are bound to also wind up corrupt...like having a mansion and talking about the plight of the homeless, or warning about CO2 emissions when your house is a veritble coal-fired electric plant. The dishonesty is pervasive and so deeply ingrained as to be second nature on the left. The other day Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama went down to Selma and put out, essentially, that they were completely in tune with the black Americans who live down there...the son of an immigrant and the daughter of upper middle class privilege talking (literally) as if they were southerners (the amazingly well-spoken Obama actually said "befo'" rather than "before")...and their audiences, from all appearances, seemed to eat it up...co-conspiritors in their own defrauding.
I am incapable of judging intentions - I don't know whether they are con-artists on the make, or people who have just conned themselves into believing utter nonsense about every issue under the sun. In the end, it makes no matter - Edwards and Hillary and Obama are not southern, "us folks" kind of people, no matter how hard they want others to believe they are. Think about it - put those three at your dinner table, take politics off the table, and what are you going to talk about? With President Bush you could talk baseball...with VP Cheney, hunting (though have a care for where you stand in relation to his shotgun)...with John McCain I could swap "sea stories"...The Democrats are cardboard cut-outs...fascimiles of people who care...and they'll care about whatever you want them to care, as long as you donate to them and vote for them...but they aren't real. They are playing a game - with themselves, and with the United States of America, and we don't need game players in these dangerous times.
Posted by Mark Noonan at March 6, 2007 02:51 AM
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If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I" and is Ireland next (they have terrorists there also)? If I could talk to John McCain I would ask him what his fountain of youth and will the vitamins and mudbaths that make him look so young still reverse the aging process in the most stressful job in the world.
If I could have lunch with Al Gore I'd ask him if he thought its more important how you play the game rather then if you win or lose. For John I'd ask whether he'd trade his mansion in Carolina and $500,000 for my studio apartment (with 1/2 bath) in SoHo(I'd say that's pretty even). As for Hillary I'd ask why only one child? (only children are always messed up)
Posted by: Amp at March 6, 2007 03:27 AM
Good points, Amp, but I'm confused. Is it Iran we're picking on, or Ifghanistan?
Posted by: Rhod at March 6, 2007 07:09 AM
If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I"
You make it sound like we're going around the globe blowing up countries that begin with "I". Not sure what other "I" countries you had in mind, but I think good people can disagree on whether or not we are "picking on" Iraq. I think the thing that bugs Liberals the most is the possibility that we'll succeed and history will report it accurately.
Of all the people mentioned, I think Cheney would be the easiest to talk to. I generally judge a man by whether or not I'd trust him with my Life, my Wife and my money. Cheney is the only one mentioned that I'd trust with all three, although I doubt I'd go hunting with him, heh.
Posted by: Retired Spook at March 6, 2007 07:58 AM
You're right, Mark, with George W Bush, there's so much you could talk about!
You could talk about baseball, because he used to own a team!
You could talk about ranching, because he owns a ranch.
You could talk about cowboys, because he owns a cowboy hat.
He truly is a man of the people, just look at all the people's things that he owns!!
Posted by: steveGA at March 6, 2007 08:32 AM
Well, if anyone should recognize dishonesty it's the republi-cons. You guys are the pros, after all.
Posted by: PM at March 6, 2007 08:33 AM
I cant say that i'd trust Cheney that far, but i would say that it's always been my belief, (or feeing if you will) that the above mentioned democrats were just kinda fake. I think it'd be way easier to talk to Bush, Cheney, or McCain
Posted by: zachster at March 6, 2007 08:41 AM
spook, i'd still rather go hunting with cheney than driving with teddy.
although if i wanted to go have a drink with someone teddy would be the first person i'd call. not to hang out with him per se, just that i'd no i wouldn't get turned down.
Posted by: Falgore at March 6, 2007 08:45 AM
If I could have a beer with George and Dick
I wouldn't have a beer with George, mainly because he doesn't drink alcohol. Instead, I'd suggest some Tex-Mex food.
Mark, your ally Richard Miniter's book Do As I Say, Not As I Do details several other examples of the hypocrisy you talk about, although there is no chapter on Al Gore. In his chapter on Noam Chomsky, Miniter recounts that Chomsky believes that because he has helped the poor, he has earned the right to make a comfortable living for himself.
A few years back, I read an article in the Weekly Standard (a magazine published by those dreaded neocons) which alleged that the left has a type of "hyprocrisy with conviction". Their idea is that because the left considers themselves to be good and the right to be evil, the right must be made to follow rules. But because the left sees themselves as good, they don't need these rules.
I don't know if either of these reasons apply to Gore and his mansion. Like you, Mark, I can't read his mind. However, what I've been noticing for years about the left is that for them, what matters is not what they do, but what they force others to do. Helping the poor is not done by reaching into your own pocket (which, come to think of it, Gore caught some flack a few years back because of the small amount of his charitable contributions), but by raising taxes, thus forcing others to foot the bill for your concerns about the poor. Similarly, we've seen people like Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Bob Packwood support feminist-approved legislation while treating women in their own lives in a less-than-gentlemanly manner.
Amp, if we're picking on countries that start with "I", then I guess Iceland, Israel and India had better start worrying.
Posted by: Bigfoot at March 6, 2007 08:59 AM
although if i wanted to go have a drink with someone teddy would be the first person i'd call. not to hang out with him per se, just that i'd no i wouldn't get turned down.
Plus you'd probably get to drink some $300/bottle single malt scotch.
Posted by: Retired Spook at March 6, 2007 09:09 AM
i can't believe i spelled know, n-o. i didn't notice it until you quoted me spook.
as a joke, my wife and i make fun of teddy a lot about his drinking. my wife is a dem by the way. we both have said that teddy has passed away many years ago, but he's so well perserved that he is still walking among us.
Posted by: Falgore at March 6, 2007 09:35 AM
It is beyond me why the american people rewarded these people with an election last November. They did nothing to earn anyones vote.
Posted by: james allegro at March 6, 2007 10:35 AM
If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I" and is Ireland next (they have terrorists there also)?
^^^^^^
That has got to be the DUMBEST thing I have ever read here.
Posted by: AFWIFE at March 6, 2007 01:12 PM
"Well, if anyone should recognize dishonesty it's the republi-cons. You guys are the pros, after all."
Posted by: PM at March 6, 2007 08:33 AM
Yes, like the Kennedy's and the Clintons, those people were poster-children for honesty.
Posted by: Zachster at March 6, 2007 11:43 PM
Order Matt and Mark's book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I" and is Ireland next (they have terrorists there also)? If I could talk to John McCain I would ask him what his fountain of youth and will the vitamins and mudbaths that make him look so young still reverse the aging process in the most stressful job in the world.
If I could have lunch with Al Gore I'd ask him if he thought its more important how you play the game rather then if you win or lose. For John I'd ask whether he'd trade his mansion in Carolina and $500,000 for my studio apartment (with 1/2 bath) in SoHo(I'd say that's pretty even). As for Hillary I'd ask why only one child? (only children are always messed up)
Good points, Amp, but I'm confused. Is it Iran we're picking on, or Ifghanistan?
If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I"
You make it sound like we're going around the globe blowing up countries that begin with "I". Not sure what other "I" countries you had in mind, but I think good people can disagree on whether or not we are "picking on" Iraq. I think the thing that bugs Liberals the most is the possibility that we'll succeed and history will report it accurately.
Of all the people mentioned, I think Cheney would be the easiest to talk to. I generally judge a man by whether or not I'd trust him with my Life, my Wife and my money. Cheney is the only one mentioned that I'd trust with all three, although I doubt I'd go hunting with him, heh.
You're right, Mark, with George W Bush, there's so much you could talk about!
You could talk about baseball, because he used to own a team!
You could talk about ranching, because he owns a ranch.
You could talk about cowboys, because he owns a cowboy hat.
He truly is a man of the people, just look at all the people's things that he owns!!
Well, if anyone should recognize dishonesty it's the republi-cons. You guys are the pros, after all.
I cant say that i'd trust Cheney that far, but i would say that it's always been my belief, (or feeing if you will) that the above mentioned democrats were just kinda fake. I think it'd be way easier to talk to Bush, Cheney, or McCain
spook, i'd still rather go hunting with cheney than driving with teddy.
although if i wanted to go have a drink with someone teddy would be the first person i'd call. not to hang out with him per se, just that i'd no i wouldn't get turned down.
If I could have a beer with George and Dick
I wouldn't have a beer with George, mainly because he doesn't drink alcohol. Instead, I'd suggest some Tex-Mex food.
Mark, your ally Richard Miniter's book Do As I Say, Not As I Do details several other examples of the hypocrisy you talk about, although there is no chapter on Al Gore. In his chapter on Noam Chomsky, Miniter recounts that Chomsky believes that because he has helped the poor, he has earned the right to make a comfortable living for himself.
A few years back, I read an article in the Weekly Standard (a magazine published by those dreaded neocons) which alleged that the left has a type of "hyprocrisy with conviction". Their idea is that because the left considers themselves to be good and the right to be evil, the right must be made to follow rules. But because the left sees themselves as good, they don't need these rules.
I don't know if either of these reasons apply to Gore and his mansion. Like you, Mark, I can't read his mind. However, what I've been noticing for years about the left is that for them, what matters is not what they do, but what they force others to do. Helping the poor is not done by reaching into your own pocket (which, come to think of it, Gore caught some flack a few years back because of the small amount of his charitable contributions), but by raising taxes, thus forcing others to foot the bill for your concerns about the poor. Similarly, we've seen people like Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Bob Packwood support feminist-approved legislation while treating women in their own lives in a less-than-gentlemanly manner.
Amp, if we're picking on countries that start with "I", then I guess Iceland, Israel and India had better start worrying.
although if i wanted to go have a drink with someone teddy would be the first person i'd call. not to hang out with him per se, just that i'd no i wouldn't get turned down.
Plus you'd probably get to drink some $300/bottle single malt scotch.
i can't believe i spelled know, n-o. i didn't notice it until you quoted me spook.
as a joke, my wife and i make fun of teddy a lot about his drinking. my wife is a dem by the way. we both have said that teddy has passed away many years ago, but he's so well perserved that he is still walking among us.
It is beyond me why the american people rewarded these people with an election last November. They did nothing to earn anyones vote.
If I could have a beer with George and Dick I'd ask them why do they pick on countries starting with "I" and is Ireland next (they have terrorists there also)?
^^^^^^
That has got to be the DUMBEST thing I have ever read here.
"Well, if anyone should recognize dishonesty it's the republi-cons. You guys are the pros, after all."
Posted by: PM at March 6, 2007 08:33 AM
Yes, like the Kennedy's and the Clintons, those people were poster-children for honesty.