cwo_ghwebb
No Use for Donk Twits
Four years ago we wrote an essay for The Wall Street Journal titled "The Democrats' Patriotism Problem," in which we noted that Democrats "are awfully defensive about their patriotism." We singled out John Kerry, Max Cleland and Michael Dukakis as Democratic politicians whose "whining about imagined attacks on patriotism" had proved (or would prove, in the case of Kerry) an unproductive political tactic.
Yet while Obama's prickliness about his own patriotism sounds familiar, there are some differences this time around.
One is that Obama actually has had his patriotism questioned, albeit not by John McCain or even Hillary Clinton--or, as far as we know, by people working for them or any other of his political opponents. Rather, the questions have come from individual cranks, their voices amplified by the power of a certain world-wide computer network that Al Gore took the initiative in creating. One could argue this point either way, but we tend to think Obama made a mistake by responding to these rumors, thereby elevating them.
At the same time, Obama arguably has good reason to feel defensive. In our 2004 essay, we asked, "Why do Democrats feel so vulnerable on the issue of patriotism?":
Yet while Obama's prickliness about his own patriotism sounds familiar, there are some differences this time around.
One is that Obama actually has had his patriotism questioned, albeit not by John McCain or even Hillary Clinton--or, as far as we know, by people working for them or any other of his political opponents. Rather, the questions have come from individual cranks, their voices amplified by the power of a certain world-wide computer network that Al Gore took the initiative in creating. One could argue this point either way, but we tend to think Obama made a mistake by responding to these rumors, thereby elevating them.
At the same time, Obama arguably has good reason to feel defensive. In our 2004 essay, we asked, "Why do Democrats feel so vulnerable on the issue of patriotism?":
This question takes us back to the 1960s and, yes, Vietnam. That war, which a Democratic president escalated, split the party, costing it the presidency in 1968. By 1972 the countercultural left was firmly established as a part of the Democratic coalition--and it remains so. A significant and vocal minority of the party, that is, believes that America is imperialistic, racist, militaristic, oppressive, etc. These views aren't necessarily unpatriotic; it is possible to love one's country and also be a harsh critic of it. But if dissent can be patriotic, assent is far less complicatedly so.
Patriotism ultimately is not a matter of policy, or even of symbols or actions, but of feeling. The sense one gets from Obama is not that he isn't patriotic, but that his feelings about America are complicated. But when expressing feelings, simpler usually is better. Saying "I love you" in three words is many times more powerful than saying it in 3,000.
Best of the Web Today - WSJ.com
I believe Taranto frames his debate well in this column. To verify his statement "By 1972 the countercultural left was firmly established as a part of the Democratic coalition--and it remains so. A significant and vocal minority of the party, that is, believes that America is imperialistic, racist, militaristic, oppressive, etc." one needs to look no further than this July 1 column.
Patriotism ultimately is not a matter of policy, or even of symbols or actions, but of feeling. The sense one gets from Obama is not that he isn't patriotic, but that his feelings about America are complicated. But when expressing feelings, simpler usually is better. Saying "I love you" in three words is many times more powerful than saying it in 3,000.
Best of the Web Today - WSJ.com
I believe Taranto frames his debate well in this column. To verify his statement "By 1972 the countercultural left was firmly established as a part of the Democratic coalition--and it remains so. A significant and vocal minority of the party, that is, believes that America is imperialistic, racist, militaristic, oppressive, etc." one needs to look no further than this July 1 column.
