(Soros, or Ayers?)
Cheers!
Posted on 03/14/2009 2:27:46 PM PDT by grey_whiskers
During the course of last year's Presidential campaign, a lot was made out of Barack Obama's crossover appeal. This included evangelicals (Rick Warren), trust fund conservatives (Christopher Buckley), columnists (Kathleen Parker), rich businessmen (Warren Buffet), and even the the token RINO of The New York Times David Brooks.
The recriminations of many of these people have come fast and furious, and the more so as the new Administration has begun to channel the spirit of Jimmy Carter (Dhimmi - GA): and their belated awakening to the magnitude of their own folly is insufficient penance. Did I say recriminations? Yes, from the right, but not as much from the left. In particular I have not heard very many people criticizing David Brooks for his support of Obama during the campaign. So, rather than pile on, I thought it might be instructive to revisit what it was about the young Senator which was so impressive.
Two articles from Brooks are instructive. In Obama, Gospel and Verse (from The New York Times, April of 2007, what's more), Brooks first broaches the topic of Niebuhr with Obama, and is very pleased with the results. Obama says,
“I take away,” Obama answered in a rush of words, “the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away ... the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism.”
And later in the article, Brooks goes on to explain facets of Obama's foreign policy.
"When you ask about ways to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he talks grandly about marshaling a global alliance...more than any other major candidate, he has a tendency to see the world in post-national terms."
So to recap, he wants to confront evil, but doesn't want to go from idealism to bitterness. And he's in favor of all-encompassing alliances to reach his goal.
Now, on to the second quote, which is from an interview David Brooks gave with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg at Le Cirque.
"Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you."
What this conveys is an echo of the famous bromide that "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Except that Obama is aware of the tendency of power to corrupt: and notwithstanding, he seeks to wield the power in order to acheive larger goals.
He is, from the previous article, aware that in combating evil, one can change from naïve idealism to bitter realism. And he prefers large alliances, rather than one nation at a time. And he seeks to use his power for good, even as the power itself corrupts his soul.
And keep in mind he is young, and overconfident in his power, quickly overreached, getting burned badly by doing so.
Does this remind you of anyone?
I think it's obvious. Last November, we elected a Sith Lord.
Darth N00B.
(Soros, or Ayers?)
Cheers!
BFLR!
"When you ask about ways to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he talks grandly about marshaling a global alliance...more than any other major candidate, he has a tendency to see the world in post-national terms."
This is the problem when you have a NY Slimes fellateur on your rolodex. David Brooks obviously has so totally dedicated his oronasal organs to Obama's nether regions that he has not the sense to recall the classic collective security strategy of Hans Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations a generation ago. As Morgenthau explicates, the concept of a "grand alliance" is a pipe dream unless national interests are taken into account and respected in the process.
Excellent insight...
My favorite part of the Slimes article is this:
"When he is confronted by what he sees as dovish passivity, he argues for the hardheaded promotion of democracy in the spirit of John F. Kennedy."
What part of "Berlin Wall" and "Bay of Pigs" doesn't he understand??
Cheers!
Cheers!
Didn’t Niebuhr reject his socialist ideology later in his career?
Maybe (God willing) in ten years or so...
Cheers!
Nat Hentoff is one of my favorite Journalist, now considered ‘over-the-hill’ yet spot-on in his observations. This piece reminds me of the sort of evisceration Nat was so adept at making. ... You sure you’re not Mister Hentoff, whiskers?
I read him in college, and when Barack Obama was trying to justify his allegiance to Rev. Wright, he mentioned that Wright had read Tillich and Niebuhr. I thought, so what, so have I, and I went back to review their writing. It’s an interesting read, now that I am older and a little bit wiser.
In fact, someone ought to try writing a piece on him as a cynical exploiter, like the televangelists we hear so much about, but one who makes money stroking racial resentments...
IF they did, I expect their house would be firebombed or surrounded by Black Panthers and other such tolerant, open-minded folks within several days.
Analogies to the ROP. The "peace" is the sound of those you threaten sucking up to you...
Cheers!
Yes, Rev. Wright has a degree in Islamic studies.
If I am caught or killed while stealing that graphic, my secretary will disavow any knowledge of my actions.
Thanks grey_whiskers.
Which then inspired the article.
Thanks to whoever first posted it on FR; and to the original source, if they are different.
Cheers!
Nice piece.
Darth Hussein on the Debt Star...spell the ‘star’ in Star Wars backwards and you get Rats’ Wars (as in DemocRATS!)
Thank you for this image. It might go on my car, though I’m concerned that I’ll find a broken window in place of it at some point.
It was on Free Republic before I posted it, here.
But it *does* kinda put things in a nutshell, doesn't it?
Cheers!
There are some rather good images in that post - I like the TurboShare with H & R Glock :)
Just came across this while re-reading my old post for another thread on Brooks.
The problem is, Obaama's "Grand Alliance" is against the United States and Israel.
Treason.
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