The Banality of Bipartisanship















Anne-Marie Slaughter is the Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, but most of what she writes about foreign policy is very boring and quite shallow, heaps of cliched banalities that sound like a speech of the head of Red Cross before a bunch of Valley Girls (see here). But she sounded a bit feisty over the weekend, attacking Partisans Gone Wild in the Washington Post. The central idea: why can't we -- the good Democrats and the good Republicans, you know, the "internationalists" -- just get along when it comes to maintaining U.S. "leadership" in the world -- and isolate all the baddies on the right and the left, you know, the isolationists, realists, etc. It ends with this gem:
It's time, then, for a bipartisan backlash. Politicians who think we need bargaining to fix the crises we face should appear side by side with a friend from the other party -- the consistent policy of the admirably bipartisan co-chairmen of the 9/11 commission, Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton. Candidates who accept that the winner of the 2008 election is going to need a lot of friends across the aisle -- not least to get out of Iraq -- should make a point of finding something to praise in the other party's platform. And as for the rest of us, the consumers of a steady diet of political vitriol, every time we read a partisan attack, we should shoot -- or at least spam -- the messenger.

Doesn't that make you feel proud to be a Bipartisan American. Hands across America. Hillary kissing McCain. O'Hanlon and Pollack hugging Kristol and Kagan. Oy. I feel verklempt. So talk among yourselves.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The close leaves us with a distrubing mental image. One hopes that Kagan would observe the sacrosanct rule of no funny business in the scrum.

That's a great photo of Slaughter as it embodies the whole ambiance of this town in a swamp -- the flashbulb smile, the scarf, and the inevitable next line at the dinner party, "have you tried the shrimp?"

One suspects the remnants of the new Committee on the Present Danger howled reading the piece. Useful traveller indeed.
Anonymous said…
The close leaves us with a distrubing mental image. One hopes that Kagan would observe the sacrosanct rule of no funny business in the scrum.

That's a great photo of Slaughter as it embodies the whole ambiance of this town in a swamp -- the flashbulb smile, the scarf, and the inevitable next line at the dinner party, "have you tried the shrimp?"

One suspects the remnants of the new Committee on the Present Danger howled reading the piece. Useful traveller indeed.
Leon Hadar said…
BTW,the lady also appeared on the Colbert Show and wasn't very funny...
Anonymous said…
Leon - I am very glad you pointed out her banalities - She speakes like those resume guides "What color is my parachut" - It's sad that is what leads to success.

I think she actually looks kind of sexy in that photo - in a MILFy sort of way. Like one of my college friend's Mom.
Leon Hadar said…
readers of this blog are familiar with the nasty responses I received following my criticism of Condi, accusing me of hating powerful women, etc. Hence, I tend to be a little apprehensive when writing about female political players. And I probably shouldn't. I should treat them in the same way I deal with male political players as a equal opportunity basher -- being mean and nasty...

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