Tuesday, September 20, 2011

David Brooks laments Obama's "mean and intransigent" attacks on the super-rich and feels "used"

The fragile Mr. Brooks at NYTs:
The White House has clearly decided that in a town of intransigent Republicans and mean ideologues, it has to be mean and intransigent too...
(B)y God Obama’s going to raise taxes on rich people who give to charity! We’ve got to do something to reduce the awful philanthropy surplus plaguing this country!

The president believes the press corps imposes a false equivalency on American politics. We assign equal blame to both parties for the dysfunctional politics when in reality the Republicans are more rigid and extreme. There’s a lot of truth to that, but at least Republicans respect Americans enough to tell us what they really think. The White House gives moderates little morsels of hope, and then rips them from our mouths. To be an Obama admirer is to toggle from being uplifted to feeling used. 
Tim Noah comments on Brooks' pain at TNR: