How Much is Too Much
I understand that the passions of politics can sometimes carry people off on a fugue, where occasionally rational thought is trumped by emotion. In many cases it really isn't too far removed from the passions that some feel for sports teams, and the like.
However, at some point, you need to step back from the abyss. Jeralyn Merritt, of TalkLeft.com, is dangerously close to falling into that abyss:
Barack Obama the unity candidate? Please. Via Politico, here's Barack Obama stumping in West Virginia today:One of the saddest episodes in our history was the degree to which returning vets from Vietnam were shunned, demonized and neglected by some because they served in an unpopular war. Too many of those who opposed the war in Vietnam chose to blame not only the leaders who ordered the mission, but the young men who simply answered their country’s call. Four decades later, the sting of that injustice is a wound that has never fully healed, and one that should never be repeated.
I went to Politico and read Jonathan Martin's take on it, and him being a conservative, he has a certain take on Obama's words, which, given his political bent, isn't all that unreasonable.
Jeralyn, on the other hand, sees nothing but evil in Obama's words. Somehow, in the snippet above, she sees Obama attacking the Vietnam era anti-war protestors, and tarring all of them with the feathers of the mythical liberal who spit on a returning veteran. To cap off her post, which really is an exercise in patience to read, is her last update, in which she takes Obama to task for having the temerity to label the soldiers and Marines who were drafted into the military, versus volunteering, as having "answered their country's call".
I realize that those who were drafted into the military, didn't volunteer to serve, however, those people did enter the service, and, in essence "answered their country's call", so I'm really not sure what point Jeralyn was trying to make there.
I didn't really intend for this to become a point by point refutation, or defense of Obama. More to the point, is that there are a few blogs, including TalkLeft, that, as the primary race has dragged on (and on, and on), in which the posters have given themselves over to irrational exuberance, to put it nicely. As I opened this post, I can understand that the appeal to the passions of individuals is what drives political contests. However, this is too much.
Via Memeorandum
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