[lbo-talk] Observer: When Barack's berserkers lost the plot

[John Thornton]

shag wrote:
> This is a muddled piece by Cohen, but I take it his point is that a 
> 'hate' campaign against Palin (boy, do I loathe the 'hate' and 'hater' 
> thing) will backfire and could cost Obama the election. Presumably, 
> this will be because people will decide not to vote for Obama, when 
> they otherwise might have and/or because they will vote for McMain, 
> when they otherwise were undecided. Something, at any rate, will cause 
> something to change such that what appears to be an easy win in 60 
> days will turn out to be a loss.
>
> I keep trying to understand this line of reasoning, hoping that 
> someone will provide some evidence of something similar happening in 
> the past. For instance, it would be interesting to learn of a way the 
> conservative hate campaigns backfired (boomeranged) and meant they 
> "lost the plot" -- and, presumably, the election?
>
> Also, maybe I misunderstand, but he seems to be confused -- or maybe I 
> just don't understand how he thinks about the issue. He mentions 
> Obama's Berserkers, by which I assume he means his supporters in the 
> crowds, but every example he gives seems to be of a member of the 
> media acting badly. (Not that this precludes Obama followers from 
> acting badly....)
>
> All of this comes off as a lot of haranging about how "we" (whoever 
> the 'we' is here, since I don't see myself targeted in the 'we') ought 
> to behave in order to accomplish ... something, i'm not sure.... I 
> think 'we' are supposed to impress some 'Other' group by not behaving 
> as ... erm ... 'we' are? Uh... perhaps 'we' are not supposed to voice 
> what 'we' really think in order to impress this 'Other' group. Again, 
> I am not really sure who this 'Other' group is, but somehow, from this 
> piece, the 'we' to whom Cohen directs his commentary is understood as 
> different from this 'Other' group Cohen fears 'we've' alienated.
>
> Anyone have more klew as to what Cohen is actually trying to say?
>
> Nick Cohen wrote:
>> Before Palin, we saw hypocrisy of
>> the right when shock jocks who had spent years denouncing feminism
>> came over all politically correct when Bill Clinton had an affair with
>> Monica Lewinsky.

Cohen would have to have a more coherent point to make for anyone to 
have more of a klew as to what he's writing.
He rants about liberals have gone berserk but fails to mention a single 
example of going berserk or what constitutes berserk in his mind.
Have some people made some stupid comments with regards to Palin?
Undoubtedly, but why that constitutes going berserk on the part of the 
"American liberal press" I don't know and Cohen fails to explain.
Much like Catron's rant here Cohen is either attacking phantoms or 
assuming a small handful of fools who post nonsense on blogs speak for 
the "left" and for "liberals".

John Thornton