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.
topics:
Barack Obama
