> If Bob were alone this would only be a silly vignette about a
> blowhard. But a lot of Americans share these views, which are not
> merely 'conservative' but counter-real.
How much of this, I wonder, is endemic to the time or place? I'm inclined to think that the will to believe is ingrained in the US (often manifested as noxious religiousity), yet it seems like the pragmatic technocrats reigned throughout US liberalism's heyday from the 30's through the 60's, arguably reaching a peak in WWII, at least in terms of economic management. Yet the tail of that era is often presented in terms of analysis run amok, with Vietnam as the showpiece.
Still trying to get a grip on the craziness going around.
-- Andy