Succinct

Worse Than Fiction

Speaking of the lack of ambivalence some of us feel, Paul Krugman neatly sums up how many liberals feel right now in his new column. He notes something I've been thinking for a while, especially when trying to talk to people of the opposite political persuasion:

How did we find ourselves living in a bad novel? It was not ever thus. Hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels have always been with us, on both sides of the aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals summarize with the acronym Iokiyar: it's O.K. if you're a Republican.

The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who claim to be defending the nation against terrorism. And the hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels of the right, empowered by the public's credulity, have come out in unprecedented force.

We may have lost for a lot of reasons, but I think this is a big one: a lot of people just weren't willing to open their eyes and see what a bad president Bush has been. My own father said before the election that he approves of everything Bush has done except the marriage amendment. Accepting that he was engaging in some degree of hyperbole, I still have to ask: How is that possible? Do you approve of torture? Of deceit? Of unwarranted war? Of tilting the playing field to favor the very rich while pursuing the tearing-up of the social contract that has endured since the 1930s? I hope not. But most Americans, including my father, have turned a blind eye to most of this. Bush is just an upstanding man who speaks his mind, not a composite of all the horrible decisions he has made as president. We should all be held to such account for our actual on-the-job performance. 50% merit increases for all! (And if we're following the Bush plan, ten weeks of paid vacation, too!)

Enjoy the Krugman column.