[lbo-talk] Shed a tear for 'liberal hawks'

[Robert Wrubel]

Speaking of "liberal hawks" and charlatans I heard
Wesley Clark speak last night.  He was touting his new
autobiography.  He read lengthy, badly written
passages describing purely ordinary childhood episodes
that were important in making him want to become a
"leader."  He bragged that he had written the book on
airplanes on Blackberry, as if casualness was a sign
of genius. He sprinkled his speech with criticisms of
the Bush doctrine, but didn't offer alternatives.  He
became angry with a questioner who asked him about
Kosovo. He seemed to position himself outside the
Democratic party line on the war, which is odd in
light of his endorsement of Hillary. 

He described at length the childhood episode that
influenced him to "become a leader."  He was 12 years
old and trying out for the swim team.  He had a
particularly authoritarian coach, who punished kids
who didnt make their assigned "times" by flicking them
with a wet towel on the butt. He observed in those
days that boys didnt wear bathing suits (for hygiene
reasons, he said), so the flicking was done on bare
skin.  He spoke as if the story was cute, unaware of
its sadistic home-erotic meanings.

Altogether his talk seemed unplanned,
un-self-reflective, narcissistic, insincere, demagogic
and even mentally unstable.  When I think back on the
great political monsters of my time -- Nixon,
Kissinger, Mitchell, Haig, Cheney, GW, etc -- they
actually look good by comparison.  To think, this guy
could have been President!

Bob

--- Carl Remick <carlremick at gmail.com> wrote:


> On 10/4/07, Dennis Perrin <dperrin at comcast.net>
> wrote:
> > Speaking of which, this is first Hitchens column
> I've read in full since I
> > don't know when. I'm sorry I did. The man's lack
> of shame is sickening,
> > especially when he attempts to justify his
> warmongering on the corpse of a
> > dead soldier. His "sadness" for this one kid is
> one of the crudest
> > narcissistic displays I've ever seen. Read it and
> gag.
> >
> >
>
<http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/hitchens200711?currentPage=1>
> >
> > Dennis
> > U.S. Army veteran, Spc. 4
> 
> Hitchens is an asshole nonpareil.  I love the part
> where he became "a
> trifle choked up" at the ash-scattering after his
> lordly recital of
> Shakespeare.  I'm sure the bereaved family was
> bowled over by
> Hitchens' eloquence and sensitivity.  Seeing him
> grandstand on a grave
> is indeed disgusting.  This weepy warmonger is a
> disgrace to atheism.
> 
> Carl
> Second Class Scout, Boy Scouts of America (Ret.)
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