You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting a different outcome. No matter how many times I read David Broder’s column these days, I am unable to believe what he is saying (and I continue reading). I keep hoping that the demons inhabiting his mind will go away. From today's Washington Post column:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
"It was a small thing, but I counted six times that Obama said that McCain was ‘absolutely right’ about a point he had made. No McCain sentences began with a similar acknowledgment of his opponent's wisdom, even though the two agreed on Iran, Russia and the U.S. financial crisis far more than they disagreed.
That suggests an imbalance in the deference quotient between the younger man and the veteran senator -- an impression reinforced by Obama's frequent glances in McCain's direction and McCain's studied indifference to his rival.’
So Mr. Bipartisan himself feels that agreeing with someone (when you actually agree with them) is somehow a sign of weakness. Using Mr. Broder’s methodology, nothing would ever get done in Congress! Except that when Democrats DISAGREE with the Republicans --- it is ALWAYS divisive. Then Broder writes a column channeling Rodney King: "can't we all just get along here"?
"Whether viewers caught the verbal and body-language signs that Obama seemed to accept McCain as the alpha male on the stage in Mississippi, I do not know.
But it reinforced my impression that McCain was the more aggressive debater. He flung the adjectives that stick in a listener's mind, calling Obama ‘naïve’ and therefore ‘dangerous.’ "
This is the same David Broder who told me that the reason Ronald Reagan won all of those debates in the 1980s was his sunny demeanor. Apparently name-calling and disrespect for the person you are debating is now the behavior that Americans are looking for. George W. Bush was the candidate you wanted to have beer with. John McCain is the candidate you invite home to insult your family members.
I had felt that Broder’s decline was due to failing health and faculties. No more. If David Broder is actually writing this column he has abandoned all pretense of objectivity/sanity.
He needs to retire --- or he needs an exorcism. Maybe Sarah Palin's guy is available?