February 16, 2006
He really doesn't look like a chimp...
James Taranto has an interesting post today responding to a blogger who thinks that conservatives are smearing their opponents with the word "liberal." It's a good piece and goes beyond my description.
One comment really hit home for me:
To some extent, too, the pro-Bush sentiment on the right that so upsets Greenwald is a product of the anti-Bush fanaticism of the left. There is a sort of Newton's Third Law of politics, which was at work during the previous administration as well. People on the left who reviled Bill Clinton's policies in such areas as trade, welfare and capital punishment nonetheless backed him, and supported him fervently when Congress impeached him.
For most conservatives, Bush is not perfect but he is far better than the alternatives that were on offer in 2000 and 2004. Those on the left who look at the right and see blind loyalty for the most part are actually viewing a reflection of their own blind hate.
I certainly feel that way frequently. Perhaps less around here, where we frequently take a whack at the current administration.
But out in polite society, I feel it my job to defend President Bush -- in many ways because his attackers are so strident. Politics.