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Wlady -- good quiz. I aced it.
Only I have a problem with the second question. You present the quote out of context. Yes, it's an over-the-top, unwarranted pean to Obama. But it can't be really understood without noting that it was an article arguing that none of our public figures could live up to George Washington's level of dignity, except for Barack Obama. So in the passage you excerpted, he is arguing that Obama's personal comportment measures up to Washington's!
What a monumental failure of perspective. George Washington is the American example of dignity, whose self-mastery is literally the stuff of legends -- "I cannot tell a lie." He was at worst estimable and at best legendary as a businessman, farmer, soldier, and president. Barack Obama was a failed community organizer and then an undistinguished lawyer. At age 20 George Washington was a major in the Virginia militia; at age 20 Barack Obama was just figuring out that weed and cocaine weren't doing him any favors.
When it comes to dignity, there's just no comparison between Barack Obama and George Washington. I don't know what Brooks is thinking.
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Tim| 7.10.09 @ 1:53PM
"At age 20 George Washington was a major in the Virginia militia; at age 20 Barack Obama was just figuring out that weed and cocaine weren't doing him any favors. "
Worth repeating.
Liberal Reader| 7.10.09 @ 4:54PM
I believe Brooks' piece made clear his reverence for Washington surpasses his respect for Obama.
Liberals have weaknesses, to be sure. But so do conservatives.
A huge weakness I see in conservative political discourse is a decreasing ability to see nuance.
Your blindness to the distinction between Brooks' view of Washington and his view of Obama is a telling but probably inconsequential example. Your inability to distinguish between liberalism and socialism (and even fascism!) leads you into murky, hysterical waters from which you'd be happier if you were free.
Loads of fun, though, reading these articles. Keep up the great work!
Justin| 7.12.09 @ 4:40AM
Bush, Sr. puked on foreign dignitaries. Bush, Jr. gave unwanted back massages to foreign heads of state. Cheney wore a Columbia jacket and hiking boots at a memorial at Auschwitz when everyone else knew to wear black formal attire. So far, Obama's biggest gaffe may have been to check out the attractive backside of a Brazilian kid-diplomat. Like Obama or not, in terms of dignity, he's a step in the right direction.
You mention GW's miliatry service, but remember that as a young man he was anything but competent. I don't know if I'd cite the Battle of Jumonville Glen or the debacle that followed as a great example for GW's being somehow superhuman or far superior to the current prez. Young GW's mistakes got people killed and mutilated--after they surrendered--and started a world war. Young Obama's mistakes killed some brain cells. Both are human beings, and as long as Obama holds himself to the high standards that men like GW used, maybe he'll be a decent president and good for America. It can't hurt to hope.