Tonight is a sad one for America. It marks the triumph of
sentiment over substance. Mike Huckabee's speech was nothing but
empty platitudes. Obama's is not much better. Again, this is a
comment on their substance, or lack thereof. On an emotional level,
they connect with people. Their tone is right. That's why all year
long I have warned people to watch Huckabee -- because I knew he
was a threat to win the nomination. But if he does, Susan Estrich
is right: The Democrats will be dancing on inauguration night,
because they will make mincemeat of this unethical, insubstantial,
unconservative rube from Hope, Arkansas. Of course, it also shows
that the people of Iowa aren't serious about electing a president;
they are serious only about "sending a message" about the tone of
politics. That message is a correct one -- the tone does need to
improve -- but the inexperienced and unaccomplished Obama (what,
pray tell, has he actually ever achieved as a legislator?) and the
money-grubbing, parochial governor full of more demagoguery than of
knowledge are NOT, repeat NOT, men who have any business sniffing
the Oval Office. Men of substance such as Joe Biden on the left and
Thompson and Giuliani and Hunter and Romney on the right have, for
this night at least, been overwhelmed by empty rhetoric. (And not
JUST empty rhetoric: In Huck's case, there has been a nasty
undercurrent of anti-Mormon bigotry, of sneaky and snarky negative
attacks while disavowing the same, and of too-clever use of
religious symbolism that together all amount to demagoguery.)
One other thing: It also shows that the American people have no
idea how good their lives are. The strong response to economic
grievance-mongering shows that people who are incredibly wealthy by
every historical standard are somehow convinced they are barely
making ends meet -- barely making ends meet while their families
have two cars, three TVs, four cell phones, and untold numbers of
other gadgets in homes they themselves own. There is a word for
this: spoiled. Huckabee and Obama are smart enough to appeal to the
spoiled Americans who have no idea what real hardship is.
A word of warning, though: If people think that with Mike
Huckabee they are getting good "values" and "authenticity," they
are wrong. Huck fakes good values really well. Leading
conservatives from Rush Limbaugh to George Will to Peggy Noonan
have figured this out already. When the mainstream media begins
proving it after Huck wins the nomination (if he wins), the man
will be one flattened huckster.
topics:
Joe Biden, Mainstream Media, Business, Oil
