Sunday March 7th 2010, Dan Rather was interviewed by Chris Matthew. Dan Rather is the disgraced news anchor and media star who was fired because he insisted stubbornly on using a forged document against George Bush. (This is no a rumor, that’s why he was fired by CBS. Look it up.) Dan Rather is a life-long liberal in the old mold, of course. Chris Matthews is an enthusiastic liberal commentator in the old mold also. I will remember him forever because he confessed on national television that Barack Obama, the candidate, gave him “a tingle up his leg.” (Do I have the talent to make this up? And, yes, I think Matthew is straight. That makes it much worse, of course.) Why this fading liberal was interviewing another blemished liberal star is not clear. Why didn’t he interview himself? That would be more manly, at least
Anyway, during the interview, Dan Rather said that someone would eventually accuse President Obama of being ineffective, in these terms: “He couldn’t sell watermelons on the road….” Now, let’s be clear, Rather did not say that was his opinion. He attributed the bizarre statement to some imaginary Republican, in some undefined future. No Republican has said any such thing, of course.
OK, I fooled you again with my misleading title. Why is it so easy? Next question: Why would Dan Rather do something so stupid?
The most intelligent thing I heard on the radio last year came from a young black southern woman. Here is what she said (à propos of I don’t remember what. It does not matter.):
“ If it’s not already in the well, the bucket won’t bring it up!”
Think about it. This is so smart I am looking for opportunities to plagiarize the saying. In private, old style liberals like Dan Rather think in racial terms; they are obsessed with race. Scratch a liberal, often, not always but very often, you will find a racist. Liberals are charging us conservatives with their own sins. In fact, any racism is incompatible with a conservative intellectual and ethical position. Conservatives believe only individuals matter, not groups. Everything else, every institution, has the single purpose of making it easier for individuals to flourish. That’s all there is to it.
Water melons indeed!
