A departing Sid Blumenthal disproves the maxim, "no man can serve two masters". His last piece for old boss, Salon, "Goodbye Mr. Bush" is the same as his first for new boss, Hillary Clinton.
Reading the opening, one suspects that Sid is guilty of double-dipping.
The Republican will to power remains ferocious. It will take a dauntless Democratic leader to win back the White House and restore dignity to the Constitution.
Under crisis conditions of an extraordinary magnitude political leadership of the highest level will be required in the next presidency. The damage is broad, deep and spreading, apparent not only in international disorder and violence, the unprecedented decline of U.S. prestige, and the flouting of our security and economic interests but also in the hollowing out of the federal government's departments and agencies, and their growing incapacity to fulfill their functions, from FEMA to the Department of Justice.
That Blumenthal penned the next sentence without laughing to tears is proof that he's a perfect fit for the Clinton war room.
"The patently perverse notion that weakness is strength is the basis of Bush's remaining credibility within his party."
Coming from someone present during the gutting of the U.S. miltary--Codename: the "Peace Dividend"--this is good stuff. He has the reader hooked. Salon is losing a keeper in Blumenthal.
This campaign pits two parties running on diametrically opposite ideas of the presidency and the Constitution. There has not been such a sharp divergence on the foundation of the federal system since perhaps the election of 1860.The farewell's apex is reached in that one paragraph. All before and after are Blumethal/Clinton boilerplate.
"The Democrats at key junctures have been seduced by the illusion of anti-politics to their own detriment."
With this masterpiece of self-parody, Sidney Blumenthal closes his anti-Bush piece with a warning on the pitfalls of anti-politics. He also closes out his regular columns for Salon. One door closes and another one opens.
Goodbye Mr. Blumental.
by Mondoreb
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
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