Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Krauthammer's title, "This is Realism?" was clearly a feeble attempt at humor. Ironically, the title of Eugene Robinson's column, "There He Goes  Again" would have been more appropriate for this latest Krauthammer  hairball.  After deriding Baker et al. for pointing out that we should base our  policies on our national interests, Krauthammer goes on to make a truly  jaw-dropping, eye-bulging, traffic-stopping, claim:

"What do people think we've been doing for the past five years? "  

(No not that one, although it is a doozie. It's the next sentence.)

"True, the president's rhetoric has a tendency to go soaringly  Wilsonian, e.g. the banishing-tryanny stuff in his second inaugural  address.  But.... "

Say WHAT?!?!?!?

I'll overlook the obvious dig at the president and just chalk that up  to bad manners.  Krauthammer's always been a bully on wheels, so this  latest mugging doesn't surprise me.  What did surprise me was that of  all the deceptive utterances, intentional mistatements, artful  obfuscations, and demonstrably false claims made in the last five years  he singled out the president's second inaugural address.  For starters,  everyone knows the president doesn't write those speeches.  If you want  to complain about that speech why not go after the guys who put those  words into Dubya's mouth?

Hell, Charlie could slam one of the main contributors without even  leaving his chair; he just has to look in the mirror.  That's right.  Krauthammer was one of the people who wrote glowing op-ed pieces  immediately after the second inaugural speech without disclosing his  role in crafting it!   Bill Kristol did the same thing.  He even chided  the critics by saying, "If the critics of the speech who have denounced  it as simple-minded were to read it, they would find it sophisticated."    At least this time around Kristol has the good sense to keep his mouth shut in the vain hope no one will notice his fingerprints all  over this mess.   Of course Charlie isn't going to go quietly into the  night.  He is going to go out swinging,  even if it means he has to  beat himself up to do it.

It's clear this guy is boldly going places Britney Spears and Paris Hilton would choose to avoid.  I don't know which is more embarrassing:  Watching him  point to the genocide in Darfur as proof he is no idealist, or watching  him blame Iraq's political culture for the failure of the Bush  Doctrine.   Watching this master contortionist at work it's clear he  suffers from an irony deficiency.  It's the only thing that explains his ability to argue Iraq has a  "pro-Western government enjoying legitimacy and popular support" while also saying "we should...change the composition of the government and assemble a  new one."  A sane person would risk having a stroke if they tried to pull that stunt.

After dancing around the elephant in the room, Krauthammer ends by  declaring Baker's advice gives realism a bad name.  If the last five  years haven't convinced anyone, this newest rant surely proves one  thing.  Krauthammer wouldn't know realism if it crawled up his ass and  exploded like a hand grenade.