That Sinking Feeling
I have a confession. In early 2005, February 1 to be specific, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. There were purple fingers all over the TV, and talk of elections in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Cedar Revolution was just weeks away, and a question was burning my inside’s worse than an Ozzy Spicy Dog, at Pink’s; I asked myself, “Is it possible that Bush was right?”
To make things worse, I couldn’t tell whether I felt sick at the thought that he might be right, or whether I thought it was more important that he be proved wrong, than it was for the people in his charge to have a better life. In short, I was confused and guilt-stricken.
Today I can thank Jonah Goldberg for helping me put a name to that feeling. It’s called a conscience; something he’s done nicely without. Kevin starts the ball rolling by pointing us to this horrible column by Goldberg in the L.A. Times:
“I THINK ALL intelligent, patriotic and informed people can agree: It would be great if the U.S. could find an Iraqi Augusto Pinochet. In fact, an Iraqi Pinochet would be even better than an Iraqi Castro.”
With most things Goldberg, when the words “I think” come off the page our out of his mouth, the best course of action is to step away briskly, but calmly, and to check on your disaster preparedness kit. So don’t click the link unless you have at least five gallons of drinking water and a healthy supply of duct tape.
The only reason I bring up Goldberg’s recent disdain for Iraq’s democratic future is this little nugget of his dredged up by Atrios (Via Lawyers, Guns and Money), from back in the days when I was feeling guilty about my lack of enthusiasm for purple fingers. Here he is, smacking a Mr. Goodbar-stained glove across the face of that four-eyed waif, Juan Cole:
“Anyway, I do think my judgment is superior to his when it comes to the big picture. So, I have an idea: Since he doesn’t want to debate anything except his own brilliance, let’s make a bet. I predict that Iraq won’t have a civil war, that it will have a viable constitution, and that a majority of Iraqis and Americans will, in two years time, agree that the war was worth it. I’ll bet $1,000 (which I can hardly spare right now). This way neither of us can hide behind clever word play or CV reading. If there’s another reasonable wager Cole wants to offer which would measure our judgment, I’m all ears. Money where your mouth is, doc. One caveat: Because I don’t think it’s right to bet on such serious matters for personal gain, if I win, I’ll donate the money to the USO. He can give it to the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade or whatever his favorite charity is.”
Labeling your opponents as traitors is so 2002. Although it is comforting to note that Goldberg continues to be wrong about everything. And fat.
Update: And stupid.