resurrectionsong

January 15, 2004

So, About Ted Kennedy

Jonah Goldberg's G-file today is a classic. His take on Ted Kennedy is the funniest thing you're likely to read all day, and hard as hell to disagree with.

Here's a taste.

I know people think Ted Kennedy is the "conscience of his party" (that's the Democratic party; any other party where Ted's involved you're gonna want to bring your snorkel). So let's deal with what the "conscience" had to say. Apparently, Teddy thinks the war was too "political." Or in Kennedy's words yesterday, it was a "political product." Or in his words last Fall, "This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud." Or in his words most other times, "Ah, er. Ah, mmm I asked for extra olives in this."

There are so many criticisms of the war in Iraq which can — though often don't — have intellectual credibility. But the idea that this war was fought because of the obvious political windfall which would redound to George W. Bush is among the dumbest. The riskiness of the Iraq venture was so colossal, so fraught with unknowns and downsides, it pushes the idea George W. Bush was willing to do it simply for the political benefits beyond the critical mass of asininity.

Nice.

Read the rest.

(Bonus territory: Over in the Corner, Jonah is sharing some of the hate mail that this article has inspired. My friends, I aspire to that level of hate mail.)

Posted by zombyboy at January 15, 2004 04:00 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Old Teddy was on the Today Show this morning. Katie Couric asked him why he thought the war was wrong (which seemed redundant. I don't think that said anything that surprised anyone). Then she turned her questioning to President Bush's proposal to return to the moon. Not surprisingly, Sen. Kennedy was opposed, but his reasoning was particularly bizarre. You see, when JFK proposed sending men to the moon, he understood that there were issues that had to be resolved down here first; like racial discrimination and the Soviet Union. Funny, I wasn't aware that the Soviet Union had been "dealt with" before 1969, much less that racial discrimination had been eliminated.

Posted by: Julia at January 15, 2004 04:09 PM

You have to wonder whether the entire Kennedy clan ever just watches Ted and realizes how much of an embarassment he is?

Posted by: zombyboy at January 15, 2004 04:11 PM

They have to realize it. When he is caught (let's give him the bennefit of the doubt) sleeping through the State of the Union address, you've reached beyond parody. Funny how the Today Show still takes him seriously.

Maybe that's why Maria switched teams.

Posted by: Julia at January 15, 2004 04:17 PM

JFK, would claim that Ted was adopted if he were alive today!

Posted by: patriot at January 15, 2004 04:22 PM

Uncle Teddy is a Numbnut. Pure and simple.

Posted by: Laura at January 16, 2004 01:37 AM

Sometimes, though, I think maybe it was JFK who was adopted.

Posted by: McGehee at January 16, 2004 04:27 AM

The Iraq venture was "so colossal, so fraught with unknowns and downsides?" What?!!??! The U.S. armed forces invading Iraq is like sending Mike Tyson to kick my @$$. That was like the easiest military victory in the history of human civilization. Thinking the Iraq political action was fraught with unknowns and downsides is "beyond the critical mass of asininity."
We're still waiting for that chemical and biological weapons info... hmmm, not political alright. Sending men to the moon again is ALSO not political, right? Yeh, sure.

Posted by: Randy at January 19, 2004 04:35 PM

As a Canadian observing the current political "race for the White House in 2004", I am astounded that the leading Democrat would have such a weak character of a person, Ted Kennedy, in his corner. Being endorsed by Ted Kennedy is so revolting that I must suspect that the Senator Kerry must also have a very low consideration for his campaign staff. Perhaps he too thinks that their lives are meaningless in relationship to his career. Maybe John Kerry who saved many of his peers in Vietnam could explain his approval of a man who asked his friends to lie on his behalf then betrayed them for not doing it.
Canadians just got rid of a Prime Minister who was a complete idiot but he only strangled a fellow citizen in public, he was never "guilty" of
manslaughter or worse.
To get a feeling or insight to a person you usually can read them through their freindships and how they treat others. John Kerry had better
get some new friends. On second thought any Democrat coming out of Massachusetts must be suspect because this is the state that re-elected Ted Kennedy.

Posted by: Doug at February 1, 2004 10:06 PM