Jones at NSC; Even knows French (Eat your Heart out Tom DeLay)
The last eight years of yahoo anti-intellectualism (i.e. worship of stupidity) is coming to an end. I note that incoming National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones "spent part of his youth in France and is fluent in French."
It seems like only yesterday that Republican majority leader Tom DeLay was taunting 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry for knowing French. (DeLay is under indictment for corruption).
Jones not only knows French, but as supreme NATO commander he worked closely with the French military. Unlike the ignoramus DeLay, Jones knows that French troops have died in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban in solidarity with the United States.
So much for the US stand up comedians' glib jokes about alleged French cowardice.
DeLay, awaiting trial, actually accused Obama of being a "Marxist" while his own party was busy nationalizing the banks they had allowed to rob the public.
You can just feel the incompetence and stupidity and venality draining out of Washington with each passing day.
posted by Juan Cole @ 12/02/2008 01:14:00 AM
|
Facebook
7 Comments:
Jones speaks French? Is it enough for Prof.Cole?
"In Jones, Obama has selected someone who, like Gates, has explicitly rejected any timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The former Marine Corps commandant is also a director at the oil giant Chevron and an advocate of "energy security." During the election campaign he appeared in support of Republican candidate John McCain."
(http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/pers-d02.shtml)
(The same source told me in 2002 about "Saddam WMD" being a big lie of Bush!).
Yeah, Jones is pretty much awesome.
So is Obama.
Juan, the two videos about Mumbai don't belong with this article and they block some of the text.
I agree that intellectually things are looking up in Washington, more honesty, more complexity, more fact-based thinking, more sophistication, more of all those qualities that will make our republic, and maybe even our democracy, more vigorous and respected. However, to say that there will be less incompetence, stupidity and venality anywhere, much less in Washington, seems to me highly unrealistic. That's just another way to get into trouble. It's dangerous, unrealistic optimism, and I hope Obama's not thinking all that bad stuff is just going to "drain away".
You can just feel the incompetence and stupidity and venality draining out of Washington with each passing day.
I love that feeling.
I told my son that as a 23 year old he has spent the last eight years witnessing the worst of the United States. Now he can witness what the best of the United States can do. God save us from the DeLays, Palins, lord the list is endless, and their pablum of anti-intellectualism. I'm more liberal than most but I don't want a litmus test, I want BRAINS, ANALYTICAL SKILL, and a president secure in himself to take criticism and change his mind if the fact warrant!
"You can just feel the incompetence and stupidity and venality draining out of Washington with each passing day."
Glad Barrack-O is going with the best and the brigthtest(*). While I dig the French thing, why can't the US military find an Arab or Pashto speaker given how long they have been preparing for Mideast wars, and given they have been at war for 7 years. In that time Putin managed to learn English. The basic fact is these guys are not taking their jobs seriously, and aren't worried about it.
* Yutes who do not get the Vietnam reference may want to look up "Best and the Brightest".
Post a Comment
<< Home