Atrios is introspective:
It’s important to remember that none of us are above the fray, that we all have hackish tendencies to suppress information which doesn’t fit our worldview and privilege information that does. We’re more likely to excuse behavior from people we like and exaggerate the ills of people we don’t like. I try to fight hackish tendencies especially during this intra-Dem battle, but I don’t claim to have superhuman Nonhack powers.
In a later post, he adds:
One reason for my Obama leaning ways is that it’s time to get some new blood into the Washington permanent floating ruling class system. I was never bothered by the personal element of the Clinton “dynasty.” That is, I wasn’t bothered by having another Clinton in office. But I was concerned with the ossification of the elite class structure in Washington. I was bothered not by the return to power of the Clintons, but by the return to power of Clintonites. I’m tired of seeing the same damn people on the teevee.
It’s not the same old people who bother me, it’s the same old ideas.
Politicians and pundits all seem to have a collection of tape loops. Ask about the economy, they all play a pre-recorded “economy” sound bite. Ask about health care, get the canned “health care” message.
Many of the tape loops have been unchanged for decades. When terrorists flew hijacked planes into American buildings, Bush Administration officials just pushed harder for the same irrelevant anti-missile systems and tax policies they had wanted before. Don Rumsfeld didn’t want to fight al Qaeda because there weren’t any good targets in Afghanistan, but there were lots of good targets in Iraq.
Tape loop minds don’t respond well to the unexpected.
How I would love to see people in government who are actively thinking about issues. How I long to see people on the teevee who have a light behind their eyes.
Obama’s got that.
Post a Comment
No personal attacks on any of the participants here.