"Exacting in detail and fully equipped with
authentic gear," the Bush doll comes advertised as "a meticulous 1:6 scale
recreation of the Commander-in-Chief's
appearance during his historic Aircraft Carrier landing" to (rather prematurely)
announce an end to hostilities in Iraq
last May. It may be purchased online from proBush.com, a site which also
features
an illustrated traitors list, including
Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John F. Kerry and an
odd mix of
Hollywood celebrities, recording artists
and obscure academics. "If you do not support our president's decisions,"
it seems "you are a traitor."
The TV pundette Coulter's alleged "best
seller"--its place on the New YorkTimes Book Review's list is marked by
a
symbol indicating bulk purchases, meaning
some ideological sugar daddy's buying them up--makes an even more
sweeping condemnation. Ever since FDR died,
it seems, "[w]hether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating
for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always
against America....They are either traitors or idiots, and on the matter
of
America's self-preservation, the difference
is irrelevant. Fifty years of treason hasn't slowed them down."
As embarrassing as Coulter's views are to
conscientious conservatives, it's no exaggeration to say that the "liberal"
sins she caricatures--atheism, cosmopolitanism,
sexual license, moral relativism, communism, physical and intellectual
cowardice, disloyalty and lack of patriotism--are
identical to the crimes of the Jews as the Nazis depicted them.
Also of "race mixers" as segregationist
red-hots like Arkansas' own Justice Jim Johnson saw them. During the 90s,
they morphed into the more irrational forms
of Clinton-hatred. Not everybody who dislikes the former president
is a bigot, it's worthwhile saying again,
but all bigots loathed him.
Exploiting these dark, unsavory stereotypes
was the essence of Richard M. Nixon's famous "Southern Strategy,"
and remains an essential part of President
Junior's 2004 re-election plan. Doubters should read up on the whisper
campaign against Sen. John McCain during
the 2000 South Carolina Republican primary, which included insinuations
that the former Vietnam POW was left emotionally
unstable by his wartime ordeal, and hinting at dark secrets behind
his adoption of a "non-white" child. Or,
for that matter, on GOP attack ads in 2002 questioning the patriotism of
Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a Vietnam War
triple amputee.
As the latter examples make clear, Gen.
Clark's own history as a decorated combat veteran wouldn't render him
immune to such attacks. But it would limit
their effectiveness to the kinds of fools eagerly snapping up George
W.
Bush Elite Force Action Figures and standing
in line to secure Coulter's autograph. For the great majority of Americans,
the former NATO Supreme Commander's presidential
candidacy could provide an historic opportunity to confront
ugly stereotypes about Democratic perfidy
and defeat them once and for all.
That's not to say Clark's candidacy would
automatically signal a truce in the "culture wars." But it would mark an
important turning point nevertheless. Responding
to questions from CNN's Wolf Blitzer about a TV ads sponsored
by draftwesleyclark.com over the weekend,
Clark disclaimed any contact with his would-be supporters but professed
to feel in the country "an enormous hunger
for leadership. And I think the draft movement is evidence that, to some
extent,
there is still that hunger out there, despite
the number of candidates in the race and despite the president's polling."
Not very modest of him, perhaps, but then
humility is a quality for which 4-star generals are rarely noted. In fact,
President Junior hasn't been polling all
that well. A recent FoxNews/Opinion Dynamics survey asked if "he deserves
to be reelected or would the country probably
be better off with someone else as president?" "Someone else" led
"deserves re-election" by margin of 42
to 36 percent, down eleven points from June.
The argument that it's already too late
for a Clark candidacy is nicely rebutted by an analysis on the draftwesleyclark.com
website pointing out that with nine Democratic
candidates, 4 or 5 of them considered "serious," and with polls showing
upwards of half the Democratic primary
voters undecided, the race remains wide open.
My own sense is that Clark's announcement
would send an electrical charge through the Democratic party. Most are
angry,
sick and tired of having soft-handed Beltway
chickenhawks and blonde pundettes question their loyalty and malign their
courage.
They are spoiling for a fight and looking
for a champion who's not a plastic action figure in a make-believe uniform.
But would Clark the candidate measure up to Clark the symbol? I expect we're fixing to find out.