Politics As Usual

[Gattigap]

It was a while back, but I vaguely remember George Will splooging over Jack Ryan:

Amid the cold world's uncertainties, there is the comfort of having one incontrovertible axiom: If something seems too good to be true, it isn't true. Something, or someone.

Then along comes Jack Ryan.

Well, we've all learned that it was indeed so, though in a way that probably made Will's bow tie spin.

I imagine that Will's next effort will be an attack against the press for attacking Ryan as they have. If he does, he can crib from Christopher Hayes, who's already done a pretty good job of that in TNR. I especially like the concept of the meta-sin -- not the original sin, but the sin of lying about it.

Hayes makes the argument that even though Ryan has brought a lot of this upon himself*, that he doesn't really deserve what's happening to him now:

But the logic that impugns Ryan for the meta-sins of mishandling the files, stonewalling the press, and hiding behind his son is as tortured as it is circular. Condemning the meta-sin has become a popular way for pundits, politicians, and others to chide those embroiled in sex scandals without actually, you know, talking about sex. And while the logic of the meta-sin is always dubious, it is particularly empty in this case. That's because, unlike, say, Monicagate, the case of Ryan's divorce papers is all meta-sin and no sin. It is the reductio ad absurdum of the American fetishization of the meta-sin; if any good can come of this episode, it should be to expose the meta-sin for the hollow political tactic it is.

Amen, brudda.

Gattigap

* I especially like this part: "He managed to win the primary, but had to reassure worried GOP leaders that there was nothing "embarrassing" in the file. Meanwhile the local ABC affiliate and the Tribune sued to have the papers released, and just about everyone in the entire state except, apparently, Ryan knew they'd get out eventually. For state Republicans, watching the whole thing develop has been like seeing a pigeon get hit by an SUV in slow motion."

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by sgtclub
2. I'd like to see what my wife looks like.

Given your conservative cred, I'm guessing she's Mrs. Right:

[SlaveNoMore]

Gattigap
It was a while back, but I vaguely remember George Will splooging over Jack Ryan:

Harumph. Not a single photo of Jeri in that link.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by the Spartan
Given your conservative cred, I'm guessing she's Mrs. Right:

Speaking of, Anne's been a busy girl, penning most recently her critique of Clinton's book -- entitled Moby's Dick. I can only assume that the only reason Penske's not yet posted this nice example of the meta-sin phenomenon is that he's saved it for later bathroom reading.

Whilst there, attempting to recreate your Cleveland experience, you may wish to print out this deconstruction of the article as well, from no More Mister Nice Blog:

FACT-CHECKING COULTER

Since Clinton was impeached, liberals have been trapped in a time warp. They just can't seem to "move on." Books retelling Clinton's side of impeachment -- only since the decadent buffoon left office -- include: ... Joe Eszterhas' "American Rhapsody," Joe Klein's "The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton" ...

--Ann Coulter column released tonight

Eszterhas feels betrayed by Clinton, precisely because he once believed in him.... So this is a long yell of protest from a professional hedonist who, faced with the ugliness of professionalized hedonism in the White House, doesn't care for the refraction of the mirror.

--Christopher Hitchens, review of Joe Eszterhas's American Rhapsody, New York Times, 7/30/00

Much of the drama in this volume can be found in tracing vacillations in Mr. Klein's views of Mr. Clinton, from his sense of ideological kinship, as a New Democrat, with the president, to his disappointment with the man's failure to make the most of his talents and opportunities.... this volume suggests that "moral turpitude" and the distractions caused by the president's personal behavior cast a long shadow over his presidency.

--Michiko Kakutani, review of Joe Klein's The Natural, New York Times, 3/12/02

*****

As far as I know, conservatives have produced one book touching on Bill Clinton's impeachment in this time: In 2003, National Review's Rich Lowry decided it was finally safe to attack Clinton and thereupon produced the only Regnery book with Bill Clinton's mug on the cover that did not make the New York Times' best-sellers list. That's how obsessed the Clinton-haters are.

--Coulter

Sell Out: The Inside Story of President Clinton's Impeachment by David P. Schippers (Regnery; published August 21, 2000)

Mission: Impeachable by K. Alan Snyder (Allegiance; published May 1, 2001. "Mission: Impeachable reveals the truth about the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Told from the perspective of the House Managers, the author uncovers the brave and courageous actions of the Republicans who lead the cause to impeach the President.")

The Wizard of "IS": The Short, Ugly Story of the Impeachment of Billy Jeff Clinton and His Trailer Park Presidency by Jerry Mander (J. Mander Press; published June 1, 1999)

(Though, to be honest, the bigger names in conservatism have avoided the subject of impeachment, preferring instead to write books such as Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror, Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Endangered America's Long-Term National Security, and The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House.)

*****

Most presidential memoirs get right to the president part....

--Coulter

I was born in the house my father built.

--first sentence of Richard Nixon's presidential memoir RN

If I'd gotten the job I wanted at Montgomery Ward, I suppose I would never have left Illinois.

--first sentence of Ronald Reagan's presidential memoir An American Life

Gattigap

[sgtclub]

Al Gore's history of denial of the threat of terrorism is no less dangerous today in his role as John Kerry (news - web sites)'s surrogate than it was in the 1990s in his role as Vice President, a time when Osama Bin Laden was declaring war on the United States five different times," said RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke.

Ouch.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Harumph. Not a single photo of Jeri in that link.

Notice, though, that the article is a reprint appearing on Ryan's campaign site. Probably the divorce proceedings required removal of any images, no?

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by the Spartan
Given your conservative cred, I'm guessing she's Mrs. Right:

I was ready to be impressed with how you captured skeks in the city's avatar and made it an image but then I saw the image had no hat. Other than that, the resemblance is uncanny.

[Gattigap]

Al Gore's history of denial of the threat of terrorism is no less dangerous today in his role as John Kerry (news - web sites)'s surrogate than it was in the 1990s in his role as Vice President, a time when Osama Bin Laden was declaring war on the United States five different times," said RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke.

Originally posted by sgtclub
Ouch.

Ouch, indeed. The history of denial is hard to deny, right?

The first time I had proposed a [terrorist] snatch, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joined the meeting, having just flown overnight from South Africa. Clinton recapped the arguments on both sides for Gore; Lloyd says this. Dick says that. Gore laughed and said, "That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass."

-- Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, p. 144

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Gattigap
Ouch, indeed. The history of denial is hard to deny, right?

Yet it is the current administration that is flouting international laws, treaties, etc.

[SlaveNoMore]

Gattigap
The Wizard of "IS": The Short, Ugly Story of the Impeachment of Billy Jeff Clinton and His Trailer Park Presidency by Jerry Mander (J. Mander Press; published June 1, 1999)

Which is better - the book title or pseudonym?

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Which is better - the book title or pseudonym?

They're both pretty good.

Hey, maybe we can convince Not Me to buy it and post the good excerpts. TIA!

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by sgtclub
Yet it is the current administration that is flouting international laws, treaties, etc.

Sheesh. Whether the manliness of snatching a terrorist being diminished by international law violations of grabbing him abroad, or human rights complaints about Kerry going Commando in Vietnam, there's a cloud in every silver lining for you folks, isn't there?

Thank goodness the Republicans have the advantage of moral clarity.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by sgtclub
Ouch.

While I continue to wait for you to post something that shows that Gore is crazy, perhaps you can add to the list something that shows that he denies the threat of terrorism.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Gattigap
Sheesh. Whether the manliness of snatching a terrorist being diminished by international law violations of grabbing him abroad

Your coalition is going to break down here. atticus has to reject this concern. Jed Barlett came out strongly on the side of killing a known terrorist regardless of any stinking law.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Which is better - the book title or pseudonym?

I'm going to have to go with "book title," because it ain't a pseudonym. I'm afraid you haven't consulted your Old Skool Lefties trading card collection.