Glenn Greenwald's post
Why the Beltway class can't comprehend the Russ Feingolds of the world documents the failures of the of the pundits and politicians highlighted by Russ Feingold's announcement that he will not run for president in 2008.
Senator Feingold's announcement is doubly disappointing in a way because it not only removes him from contention, but it illustrates the dedication, compassion and, commitment to the American People that would have made him a good choice. Greenwald does a good job of giving Senator Feingold the credit he deserves for his character and commitment.
Greenwald also states that the reasons the politician and pundits cannot understand Senator Feingold is because, "They believe in nothing" and here I am afraid his analysis is off the mark. The truth is far worse than that.
The truth is they believe that everyone is like themselves.
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People tend to see the motivations of others in terms of what motivates them.
U2, Bono said it best in "The Fly", "Its no secret that a liar won't believe anyone else".
This is the sad, sad truth about many of the pundits and politicians who denounced Senator Feingold for his censure resolution. The problem wasn't that they couldn't understand Senator Feingold's actions because they couldn't understand his beliefs, the problem was that they couldn't understand Feingold's action because they beleived he was like them, a public figure calculating what was best for them, devoid of the character or backbone to stand for something.
A person commenting on the motivations of others may or may not reveal information about the person they comment upon, but they always reveal information about themselves and how they look at the world.
Thus, David and Rush Limbaugh's comments at the time reveal that they do not recognize moral courage only benefit to the party. This is not a big surprise to anyone, even dittoheads. This incidently was partly what got rush into trouble with Michael J. Fox. rush, up against a person who passionately beleive in what he was doing was totally unable to see MJF as doing anything other than "carrying water" for the democrats, which he admitted after the election is what he does for the republicans.
Marshall Whitman reveals that in his estimation, the American People will view the destruction of an American City as he does, not a big deal while also revealing that he understands how republicans use the media echo chamber.
Eleanor Clift reveals that any opposing position is "political extremism" and that she has little confidence in the ability of the republican party to lead, "Thank God the Democrats threw them a life raft".
All of these pundits provided no information on what motivates Senator Feingold. What they did provide through their distorted pictures of reality is what motivates them.
What a tragedy, if only they believed in nothing. If they believed in nothing they might stand a chance at being journalists or analysts instead of what they are.