The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it. - H. L. Mencken
Mencken was a putz. As much as he despised northerners he had sneering contempt for the average confederate. What really tripped mencken’s wire were the slavers - the southron aristocrats. He fawned over them, brown-nosed them, and sought to be one of them. But it was always to be a case of being on the outside of the glass looking in for mencken.
A talented writer but an elitist snob, his cynicism often got the better of him and it shows in his critique of the Gettysburg Address. He was like the howard deans or the hillary clintons of the era - desperately wanting to rule but possessing none of the tools or talents do do so. So the next best thing for him was to criticize those who did possess the tools and talents.