July 16, 2006

Quote of the Day

Bill Kristol:

In the meantime, perhaps President Bush can fly from the silly G8 summit in St. Petersburg--a summit that will most likely convey a message of moral confusion and political indecision--to Jerusalem, the capital of a nation that stands with us, and is willing to fight with us, against our common enemies. This is our war, too.

Well, glad that's cleared up!

P.S. Just for fun, here's another quotable from Bill Kristol, from back in the day:

There's been a certain amount of pop sociology in America," he told National Public Radio listeners in the war's opening weeks, "that the Shia can't get along with the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq want to establish some kind of Islamic fundamentalist regime. There's been almost no evidence of that at all," he continued. "Iraq's always been very secular."

Yeah, the Shi'a and Sunni get along swell, that is, when not drilling holes in each other, blowing up each others shrines and generally mass murdering each other with increasing abandon. Pop sociology, indeed. You know, the previously unthinkable is happening to me. As '08 approaches, and I see such rhetorical and policy excesses emitting from the Bill Kristols (whom, historically, has been a major influence on McCain, my presumptive fave) I wonder, ever so slightly, might I need to support Hillary (or Warner, Bayh, etc?) in '08? Given McCain's noble, leadership stance on torture (a drop-dead, absolutely critical issue for the moral fiber and future direction of this country), of course, I would be surprised to end up supporting another candidate. But to conflate so totally Israel's conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah (whatever the merits of this particular action, but at least keeping in mind the disproportion of the response putting to ruins the short-lived Cedar Revolution), with America's war on terror writ large, to the point of urging Bush to fly to Jerusalem to show solidarity--well, let's just say it's quite something, even by Bill Kristol's standards. After all, is Hamas now an enemy of these United States? If so, why exactly? (Because David Brooks has this Sunday deemed them "nutjobs", perhaps?)

We need to remember these assorted exuberances (there are so many more here and there round the 'sphere and in the dead-tree media these days...) come the election, as we gauge what kind of influence the Kristols will wield on McCain, versus Hillary's (or, again, whatever alternative) advisors. Kristol's a smart guy, of course (the pop sociology idiocy aside, we all say drop-dead dumb things every now and again, as my archives doubtless prove in spades), but we are seeing him get carried away in a moment of emotion, and it is rather revealing, it must be said.

UPDATE: A reader writes in, about Bill Kristol's recommendation that Bush tear away from the G-8 summit to go to Jerusalem: ."..when did Israel's capital move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? I missed that headline." Heh. Yeah, so did I--but we're probably just 'old paradigmists' or such, as the peace process and notion of final status issues being bilaterally negotiated with America acting as 'honest broker' is doubtless 'quaint', or such, these days.

MORE: Another reader writes in: "I'm not going to engage any particular arguments with respect to the current crisis (not because I necassarily agree or disagree, it just isn't what prompted me to write in) but I did want to point out that the Israeli government is located in Jerusalem, and if you want to go find the leaders in the middle of a crisis, that's where they are likely to be, whether the UN accepts it or not. Politically, the world may prefer people say Tel Aviv is the seat of Israeli gov't, but reality says it isn't and hasn't been for a long time."

Fair point.