On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:40 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at uiuc.edu> wrote:
> I think you had it just right, Dennis. And if you want to keep your disgust
> fresh after Baker's excellent, horrifying book, see (you probably already
> have) Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, which picks up the story (at least an
> aspect of it) after WWII. Neither as well presented nor as insightful as
> Baker's, it nevertheless tells a story at least as horrifying, and brings it
> up to The One. --CGE
>
>
>
> Dennis Perrin wrote:
>
>> Don't get too comfy, Max, or Katha Pollitt will gum your knees.
>>
>> As I put it last June:
>>
>> "But I was somewhat thrown by Katha Pollitt's take in the recent Nation,
>> though I really shouldn't have been. She too is feeling all historical and
>> stuff, telling her readers regarding Hillary:
>>
>> "'Because she normalized the concept of a woman running for President, she
>> made it easier for women to run for every office, including the White
>> House.
>> That is one reason women and men of every party and candidate preference,
>> and
>> every ethnicity too, owe Hillary Clinton a standing ovation, even if they
>> can't stand her.'
>>
>> "Not just applause, but a fucking standing ovation. Actual politics, or
>> even
>> the philosophy and ideology that may animate politics, is a secondary
>> concern, if it's a concern at all. Hillary showed that a woman could
>> seriously run for high office. What she would do if elected isn't all that
>> important, at least when compared to the symbolism of her candidacy. This
>> is
>> why Pollitt urges those 'of every party' (the Sparts, too?) to leap up and
>> cheer Hillary. Personality trumps politics every time, that is, if you
>> want
>> to be taken seriously as a political commentator.
>>
>> "That Hillary encountered some truly misogynistic behavior on the trail
>> does
>> not beautify her squalid politics, which in this campaign included
>> conscious
>> race-baiting of Obama. Yet if you take Pollitt's hand, Hillary's ugly
>> views
>> soften in focus, but cannot be erased completely. Pollitt acknowledges
>> this,
>> mentioning Iraq and the probable racism of a portion of Hillary's
>> supporters.
>> Pollitt's not even sure that she can trust Hillary to get behind Obama,
>> but
>> in the end, these doubts fade as Pollitt advises Hillary to throw some
>> history mojo at Obama, since, once elected, he'll 'pursue policies to
>> benefit
>> all women -- on labor, healthcare, sexual violence and many other issues.'
>> I
>> bet the Concerned Women for America can't wait.
>>
>> "It's instructive to contrast Pollitt's fantasies and projections about
>> Hillary and Obama against her slagging of Nicholson Baker's excellent,
>> horrifying book, 'Human Smoke.' Over 474 pages, Baker slowly, carefully
>> describes the inevitable march to the Second World War, demystifying
>> official
>> heroes and myths, showing the similarities between democracies and
>> tyrannies
>> when it comes to nationalism and total war, and amid the madness, Baker
>> elevates the period's pacifists as the true champions of freedom and human
>> rights. This enraged Pollitt: 'By the time I finished the book I felt
>> something I had never felt before: fury at pacifists.'
>>
>> "Now, taken alone, that's not necessarily a terrible statement. Depends on
>> your view of violence, state-backed or otherwise. When I finished 'Human
>> Smoke,' I didn't share Pollitt's fury; I merely felt sadness, not only for
>> those whose prescription for humanity had absolutely no chance at that
>> time
>> (or probably any time), but for the human race overall. I don't believe
>> that
>> WWII was a 'good war,' but it was an inescapable one, given the
>> geopolitical
>> realities of the period. Still, it seems a bit odd to be furious with
>> long-dead people who opposed the mass slaughter from the beginning, and
>> who
>> had zero influence over those waging war. For these people, Pollitt has
>> contempt. For Hillary Clinton, who is dripping with Iraqi blood, who spoke
>> about obliterating Iran while backing Israeli violence against Lebanon and
>> Gaza, Pollitt has admiration, and insists that we share it and express it,
>> despite what we really think about the woman. I only hope that Pollitt
>> didn't
>> wear her good shoes when standing to applaud her hero."
>>
>> Dennis ___________________________________
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>>
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