So, the Muslim speech... oh boy. Worse than I thought. Let me put it simply: the thing about rhetoric, about words is that ultimately the good they can do is limited, the benefits realized by them are in the end allusive, superficial, vague at best; but the damage they can do is quite real, deadly real - and from what I've read of the speech Obama just did a whole lot of damage.
Off the top of my head the three worst things he's done with this speech are: one, set up expectations that are false, that are premised on illusions and a fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of the world and that cannot be realized; two, he's backing Israel into a corner and playing right into Iran's hands - and as I've made clear before this dynamic will lead to bad things, very bad things; and three, he's taken America off the table as a great power, the greatest power - you can't do that - of course power fades, but if you admit to such, especially without it clearly or entirely or indisputably being the case, then you potentially set in motion forces that can haunt your dreams most verily - to use a trite but somewhat apt analogy: the prettiest starlet walks into a room of wannabe starlets and let's slip that 'I guess I'm getting a bit old' - it's over once she does that, she's blood in the water to ravenous sharks at that point - good night fucking nurse. Obama just walked America into a room full of sharks and said 'Here, have a bite - just promise you'll give me a standing ovation when you're done'.
When Obama first appeared on the scene I used to joke that he'd come to destroy America - part of me believed that to be, in a manner of speaking, true, but mostly it was a joke that played off the absurdly naive perceptions people had of the guy. Well I ain't jokin' now. I fixed quite early on the paradox he embodied, namely, he's come a very long way but has accomplished virtually nothing - he's talked his way into the most powerful office in the world - but there's now no talking your way out of it: reality is a cruel thing, and deaf to pleas of mercy.
update: I haven't bothered to read what the left has to say about the speech, what would be the point - I can imagine well enough the empty headed silliness of their braying without risking actual exposure - so I just read the conservatives - not that I'm expecting fair and balanced from them but I gotta read something - and I'm a little surprised to find that, although none of course had much praise for it and most touched on the very points I made, no one seemed near as vexed by it as me.
So maybe I over reacted, maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, maybe my instincts have let me down. Doubtful, but maybe...
