President Obama, who won the last presidential election with not only a majority of electoral votes, but winning the popular vote as well, is perceived by many to be a liberal, or, if you will, a "progressive", even by those who voted for him. That must mean that by logical extension, a majority of Americans view themselves as liberals (or progressives). Following that same logical conclusion, therefore, those who consider themselves conservatives (or reactionaries) who hate liberals and claim to love this country (because liberals hate America)despise a majority of the people within it. Which leads me to the question: can you love a country while simultaneously hating most of the people who reside there?
Conservatives (really reactionaries) have built an industry of writing books about how liberals have destroyed America. Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and even god bless him, Joe the Plumber have written books about how much they love America and hate liberals. These books frequently make the best sellers list (with the exception of Joe the Plumber's book, which is now on the remainder rack at the local Bargain Barn), embraced by those who need reaffirmation that their political view is the sole acceptable view.
The latest entry into this market is by Fox News reporter John Gibson. His book, entitled How the Left Swiftboated America: The Liberal Media Conspiracy to Make You Think George W. Bush Was the Worst President in History. The problem is that for years those on the right have decried the "swiftboat" term as a 'hate term'. As Sean Hannity put it: "I am tired of this word 'swift boat' being used as a pejorative..When we talk about the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, these are brave American heroes." The point which sails over Hannity's head of course, is that so was John Kerry. The Swiftboaters, as they came to be known, were in fact funded by a donor to the Republican party.
Gibson's book tries to simultaneously change the perception that the Bush administration was an abysmal failure while blaming that perception on the "liberal" media. This from a "journalist" who works for a "news" outlet caught stage managing an anti-Obama protest. The "liberal' media didn't have to do anything of that nature, all it had to was honestly report on the Bush administration, as he was the worst president in history.
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That book title sounds tongue-in-cheek, like something out of SNL or the Daily Show.
That's the trouble with the Right. They're so batty that it's hard to tell them apart from comedians who imitate them. Sarah Palin is every bit as retarded and zany as Tina Fey's imitation of her.
And it figures that they don't mind using the term Swiftboat for their own purposes. They have all these rules but they only apply to other people.
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