The inevitability of this was evident back during the election. We weren't going to have George Bush to kick around anymore. In today's world, what's an anti-imperialist, economic disestablishmentarian supposed to say to his friends and extended family of liberal Democrats?
Liberal Democrats who like to talk politics at family functions. [Italics are me.]
"We were traveling in Canada recently, and you know what impresses the people up there most about Obama? He hasn't said one bad thing about Bush. He's just came in and got down to business."
"I didn't think Obama was going to win. I thought a bunch of racists were going to come out and vote against him."
Many yeah's, and much head nodding around the table as consensus is reached.
"Of course he was going to win. The Rethuglicans weren't even trying. McCain and Palin?! Come on!"
More yeah's, and head nodding, and a few chuckles.
"Waht it was, is the Republicans didn't want to be stuck holding the bag on the economy."
"You know what I like about Obama? That you don't have to hold your breath every time he strings together more than four sentences."
"Yeah, Bush was awful! I cringed every time he opened his mouth!"
"Wait. Seriously?"
...
What I had planned on asking, before the above conversation broke my will to utter the words, (guess I'm not so hardcore after all,) was this: "What do you make of all the unmanned drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan killing civilians and militants at a rate of 50 to 1?"
To tie it in with a favorite progressive trope of the Bush years that I hadn't been able to disabuse one particular cousin of, I thought I might add, (again, turns out I'm not hardcore at all!) "Think we would be doing that if Gore was president?"
[I follow Maine Owl's incessant drone coverage. Why are you trying to ruin my family dinners, The Owl? Well it didn't work this time, you scoundrel!]
Liberal Democrats who like to talk politics at family functions. [Italics are me.]
"We were traveling in Canada recently, and you know what impresses the people up there most about Obama? He hasn't said one bad thing about Bush. He's just came in and got down to business."
"I didn't think Obama was going to win. I thought a bunch of racists were going to come out and vote against him."
Many yeah's, and much head nodding around the table as consensus is reached.
"Of course he was going to win. The Rethuglicans weren't even trying. McCain and Palin?! Come on!"
More yeah's, and head nodding, and a few chuckles.
"Waht it was, is the Republicans didn't want to be stuck holding the bag on the economy."
"You know what I like about Obama? That you don't have to hold your breath every time he strings together more than four sentences."
"Yeah, Bush was awful! I cringed every time he opened his mouth!"
"Wait. Seriously?"
...
What I had planned on asking, before the above conversation broke my will to utter the words, (guess I'm not so hardcore after all,) was this: "What do you make of all the unmanned drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan killing civilians and militants at a rate of 50 to 1?"
To tie it in with a favorite progressive trope of the Bush years that I hadn't been able to disabuse one particular cousin of, I thought I might add, (again, turns out I'm not hardcore at all!) "Think we would be doing that if Gore was president?"
[I follow Maine Owl's incessant drone coverage. Why are you trying to ruin my family dinners, The Owl? Well it didn't work this time, you scoundrel!]
"We were traveling in Canada recently, and you know what impresses the people up there most about Obama? He hasn't said one bad thing about Bush. He's just came in and got down to business."
bullllshit. total bullshit. I'm Canadian and have never once heard this mentioned by anyone. The whole cuddly "bipartisan" thing is a purely American trope that has no currency in Canada whatsoever. It's really striking, because this meme being attributed to "Canadians" is such an "only-in-America" concept, that I can't possibly imagine a single Canadian saying such a thing. Have you ever seen our parliament during question-period?
Bush was HATED in Canada, and many many people here want to see him and his cronies up on war crimes charges. To assert that Canadians are most impressed with Obama because he gave George Bush a pass on war crimes etc. is just totally bizarre. Which Canadians could he/she possibly be talking to? Imaginary ones?
Posted by: bob | June 15, 2009 at 08:39 AM
i can't vouch for the veracity of the Canada anecdote. i'd guess the person spoke to a real Canadian or two and extrapolated their findings to the broader population.
i didn't press them on it, but i assumed they were referring to a lack of general political badmouthing, rather than the absence of war crimes investigations. cognitive dissonance, what have you.
Obama won't pursue war crimes investigations of the last president, because he doesn't want the next president looking into his war crimes (already in progress.)
Posted by: Montag | June 15, 2009 at 09:33 AM
Whenever a still believin' democrat burbles "He has to do this. he has to do that, I just use the acronym WIBDI
What If Bush did It?
I'm now accused of being "racist" and "obsessive" 'cause I don't "believe".
Posted by: BrianM | June 15, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Proggels are true believers. Just as Bush lovers would have followed their Dear Leader off a cliff, Obama infatuated proggels will do whatever their savior commands.
Posted by: Agi | June 15, 2009 at 11:34 AM
He just drones on, puts me to sleep. Permanently. Thank you, thank you.
Posted by: Randal Graves | June 16, 2009 at 06:26 AM
Just imagine how ruined dinner would be if a remote-control killing machine loosed a missile on it.
Posted by: Maine Owl | June 16, 2009 at 12:43 PM
indeed.
please don't take the sardonic nature of my endorsement of your series the wrong way. the snarky approach to pointing out imperial death and destruction may be trite, but it's all i got.
Posted by: Montag | June 16, 2009 at 01:00 PM