and ignoring their own incivility from 2001 to 2008 one senses rank partisan hypocrisy... Now if those calling for civility today would apologize to Republican for thei 8 year uncivil rant, I might take they a honest converts,,, I am not holding my breath... Perhaps only ABB friends on the left will on this board will...
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/wehner/110192 >>> I’ve written before about the importance of civility in public discourse >>> and the need for what has been called the “etiquette of democracy.” One >>> question, though: When George W. Bush was being routinely savaged by those >>> on the Left—including prominent Democrats like Ted Kennedy, Al Gore, John >>> Kerry, and Harry Reid—where were those Friedman columns of ringing >>> condemnation? I don’t recall them; perhaps you do. When there was actually a movie made about the assassination of President Bush (Death of a President), I don’t recall Friedman writing about “creating the same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the Rabin assassination.” When Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker declared that Bush’s “legitimacy is hard to accept,” I don’t recall Mr. Friedman worrying that Bush was having his legitimacy attacked by a concerted campaign from the Left (adding a mild line of criticism against liberals now, in order to gain the patina of fair-mindedness, simply underscores that Friedman was AWOL when it counted). I should add that when Jonathan Chait of the New Republic published a piece in 2003 that began, “I hate President George W. Bush. There, I said it,” one admirable New York Times columnist did speak out. His name is David Brooks. (”The quintessential new warrior scans the Web for confirmation of the president’s villainy,” Brooks wrote. “The core threat to democracy is not in the White House, it’s the haters themselves.”) Most of us struggle with the temptation to employ double standards, to cloak political agendas in the language of moral concern and outrage. Some individuals do an admirable job resisting that temptation. Others, like Tom Friedman, do not. He would have a lot more credibility now if he had actually spoken out before. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
