'Myth' America (In the Mideast, things are looking up--and Nancy Soderberg is feeling down).

wsj ^ | 3/22/05 | bret stephens

[pissant]

Until recently, Nancy Soderberg was just another blissfully forgotten face of the Clinton administration, a onetime No. 3 at the National Security Council now biding her days at a think tank. But she gained some notoriety this month during an appearance on "The Daily Show," in which host Jon Stewart was half-marveling, half-despairing at the turn of events in the Middle East after the Iraq elections, which seemed to vindicate President Bush.

Stewart: "He is going to be great. . . . Like, my kid's gonna go to a high school named after him, I just know it."

Soderberg: "Well, there's still Iran and North Korea don't forget . . ."

Stewart [crossing fingers]: "Iran and North Korea, that's true. . . . But I gotta say, I haven't seen results like this ever in that region [the Middle East]."

Soderberg: "Well wait. It hasn't actually gotten very far. . . . There's always hope that this might not work."

In fairness to Ms. Soderberg, elsewhere in the interview she allows that "as an American, you hope good things would happen." Indeed, no fair-minded reader can slog through "The Superpower Myth"--her sustained lament that Mr. Bush's "hegemonic" attitudes have undone the brilliant work of his predecessor--and come away with any doubts as to the author's patriotism. As to her capacity to make informed judgments, well, that's another matter.

[pissant]

Thank God every day that the Clinton/Gore cabal is not in charge of anything.

[Defiant]

I didn't see this, but reading the transcript, I think there's a good chance her comments were tongue in cheek. It's the daily show, not Meet the Press.

[pissant]

I did see it. It wasn't tongue in cheek.

[lugsoul]

Oh come on.

[pissant]

Perhaps that one quote was tongue in cheek, but it was a long interview with equally stupid things said.

[Hugin]

Just a slip from lerfist who hates Bush and Republicans more than they hate the Islamofascists. They do hope we will fail. If anything the forum just made her relaxed enough to say what she really thinks, while she would have been more guarded elswhere.

[happyathome]

Where's there's smoke there's fire. Even if it was said in jest, do you doubt that its really what she's thinking?

[Defiant]

No, I don't doubt that many liberals, perhaps this one, secretly hope that the US fails. Liberalism is, in its essence, anti-Americanism. It's against American culture, preferring a sectarian, PC one, in which life is debased and libertine. It's against American foreign policy in whatever is the topic of the day, whether that be Vietnam in the 60s and 70s, intermediate missiles in Europe and help to anti-communist insurgents in the 80s, efforts to turn over our policy to the UN in the 90s, or willingness to let the Islamists run rampant worldwide in the 21st century.

There are a few social liberals who are pro-American, but they are now very few. To be liberal inclines one to a world view that is necessarily anti-American, because our independent spirit, capitalism and strength stand in opposition to the kind of world they would like to create.

[squirt-gun]

Re # 7.....do you doubt that its really what she's thinking?

Look! The thread says she is now "biding her days at aTHINK TANK"

Isn't it heartening that she is thinking for a change....Isn't that what socialists do in these think tanks of theirs?.....Think great things and such?

[KC_Conspirator]

I did see it. Basically Soderberg said that its hard to root for success because Bush gets the credit. She wrote a book on which the topic her and Stewart spoke about, totally debunked her theory.