The World Around You

Michael Kinsley has a commentary in this week’s TIME that points to the reasons behind the liberal dislike of the President. First, he points out that it’s not either the person or the policies, it’s both. Then,

We also thought that Bush’s apparent affability, and his lack of knowledge or strong views or even great interest in policy issues, would make him temperate on the ideological thermometer. (Psst! We also thought, and still think, he’s pretty dumb — though you’re not supposed to say it and we usually don’t. And we thought that this too would make him easier to swallow.) It turns out, though, that Bush’s, um, unreflectiveness shores up his ideological backbone. An adviser who persuades Bush to adopt Policy X does not have to be worried that our President will keep turning it over in his mind, monitoring its progress, reading and thinking about the complaints of its critics, perhaps even re-examining it on the basis of subsequent developments, and announce one day that he prefers Policy Y. This does not happen. He knows what he thinks, and he has to be told it only once.

This dynamic works on facts just as it does on policies, making Bush a remarkably successful liar. This too is unexpected. There seemed to be something guileless and nonneurotic about Bush when we first made his acquaintance. It was the flip side of his, um, dimness and seemed to promise frankness if nothing else. But guess what? Ignorance and lack of curiosity are terrific fortifications for dishonesty. Bill Clinton knew that he had had sex with that woman and had to work hard to convince himself that he hadn’t. Bush neither knew nor cared whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or close connections to al-Qaeda when he started to say so, and once he started, mere lack of evidence was not going to make him stop.

Just this week, responding to the brouhaha about the alleged White House outing of an undercover CIA agent, Bush declared that he takes leaks very seriously and deplores them. Liberals across America screamed into their TV sets, “But that leak was in the papers two months ago, and you did nothing about it until the fuss started last weekend!” If Bush could hear them, he might furrow his brow in puzzlement and say, “And your point is?” Steeped as liberals are in irony, it took us a while to learn what a powerful tool an irony-free mind can be.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Kinsley goes on to point out that it’s because all liberals can do is yell at their televisions that the anger has reached this level. It’s now boiled over into a force that conservatives can feel, see and hear. It’s shaping up to be an explosive election season.

Seeing the vitriol swing from the Clinton-haters on the right to the Bush-haters on the right will dramatically change the dynamic. How? My prediction is that you will see a much less divided Democratic party behind whoever the eventual nominee may be. The “anyone but Bush” attitude will cause a unification the party hasn’t seen in many a year. This will drive the fundraising, the advertising and the tone of the debate. It should make for a good time for all of us who enjoy a bloody political fight.

The Montgomery Advertiser highlights some interesting local poll data in today’s edition.

At least two of every three Montgomery residents describe themselves as born-again, evangelical Christians, a recent poll found, and those who fit the mold say that conservative dynamic permeates much of the city’s social and political spheres.

The poll was conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and surveyed 427 registered voters who said they are likely to vote in the Oct. 14 Montgomery city elections. Political analyst Verne Kennedy, who is president of Market Research Insight, said the number of born-again, evangelical Christians in the general population may be even higher than the 67 percent of Montgomery poll respondents who identified themselves that way.

Of the 67 percent born again, evangelical Christians, 17 percent said they attended church fewer than four times a month and 49 percent said they attended church four or more times a month. “These voters attend church more often than most and would be frequent attendants,” Kennedy said.

Of course, the article goes on to point out that these figures will have little to do with the Montgomery municipal elections, the subject of the poll. What jumps out at me in this survey is the definition of terms. As far as I can determine, the terms “evangelical” and “born again” are not defined. It was left to the individual respondent. To me this is a glaring fault with this kind of survey.

Beyond that, is this really news?

Check out the latest caption contest at OTB. This one has some real potential.

Washington Whispers reports in this week’s issue of US News & World Report,

Finally, the skinny on what former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Hugh Shelton meant by questioning the integrity and character of retired general and Democratic presidential candidate Wes Clark. Pentagon sources say Clark gave overly optimistic assessments about winning the war in Bosnia. Worse, Clark often cozied up to European and United Nations officials to get what he wanted in the war, at times disobeying Shelton’s orders. “In terms of the honesty and integrity of most politicians, Clark is probably in the 99th percentile,” says one who observed the Shelton-Clark spats. “But it’s a different standard when you’re talking about professional military officers.” No reaction from candidate Clark. Shelton, says spokeswoman Kym Spell, “is entitled to his own opinion.

Some of the supporters of Roy’s Rock who traveled to Washington, DC in an attempt to get a similar monument in the US Capitol found themselves arrested on Sunday. They learned that US Marshals know how to handle protesters, and they don’t mess around,

The Washington leg of the trip began Sunday morning outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, best known as the location of former President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963. Inside, some of the Supreme Court justices were attending Red Mass, the annual tradition of blessing and prayer for civil authorities.

Supporters of the Ten Commandments lined the streets outside, holding signs, singing and praying for their cause.

Before Mass even started, five people were handcuffed by police. They identified themselves as Troy Newman from Wichita, Kan., the Rev. Patrick Mahoney from Virginia, Alicia and Matt Carden from Tallassee, Ala., and Daniel Sparks, a minister from Tuscaloosa.

They said they were arrested after crossing the police tape boundary with their Ten Commandments placards in hand. Their friends sang Amazing Grace as they were driven off in police vans.

Mahoney’s wife, Katie, said late Sunday that her husband was given the choice of paying a fine and clearing the disorderly conduct case, or setting a court date to fight it. He chose to fight the charge and was released Sunday night.

Mahoney is director of the Christian Defense Coalition and a caravan organizer.

Newman said Sunday night that he and the others were allowed to pay a $25 fine and leave. They were in custody from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “We weren’t really charged,” he said. “I think they were very embarrassed about what happened.”

Supporters said they had permission from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to gather outside the church, but that federal marshals ordered the arrests. The police referred questions to the U.S. Marshals office, but attempts to reach them Sunday night were unsuccessful.

Today, they will present their petitions and Rep. Adherholt of Alabama will introduce a piece of legislation to have a monument similar to Roy’s Rock in the US Capitol.