David Brooks: Sarah Palin "Represents A Fatal Cancer To The Republican Party"

E-mailed to me | October 8, 2008 | Danny Shea

[publius1]

David Brooks spoke frankly about the presidential and vice presidential candidates Monday afternoon, calling Sarah Palin a "fatal cancer to the Republican party" but describing John McCain and Barack Obama as "the two best candidates we've had in a long time."

In an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg at New York's Le Cirque restaurant to unveil that magazine's redesign, Brooks decried Palin's anti-intellectualism and compared her to President Bush in that regard:

[Sarah Palin] represents a fatal cancer to the Republican party. When I first started in journalism, I worked at the National Review for Bill Buckley. And Buckley famously said he'd rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. But he didn't think those were the only two options. He thought it was important to have people on the conservative side who celebrated ideas, who celebrated learning. And his whole life was based on that, and that was also true for a lot of the other conservatives in the Reagan era. Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices.

Brooks praised Palin's natural political talent, but said she is "absolutely not" ready to be president or vice president. He explained, "The more I follow politicians, the more I think experience matters, the ability to have a template of things in your mind that you can refer to on the spot, because believe me, once in office there's no time to think or make decisions."

The New York Times columnist also said that the "great virtue" of Palin's counterpart, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, is that he is anything but a "yes man."

"[Biden] can't not say what he thinks," Brooks remarked. "There's no internal monitor, and for Barack Obama, that's tremendously important to have a vice president who will be that way. Our current president doesn't have anybody like that."

Brooks also spent time praising Obama's intellect and skills in social perception, telling two stories of his interactions with Obama that left him "dazzled":

Obama has the great intellect. I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say.

And the other thing that does separate Obama from just a pure intellectual: he has tremendous powers of social perception. And this is why he's a politician, not an academic. A couple of years ago, I was writing columns attacking the Republican congress for spending too much money. And I throw in a few sentences attacking the Democrats to make myself feel better. And one morning I get an email from Obama saying, 'David, if you wanna attack us, fine, but you're only throwing in those sentences to make yourself feel better.' And it was a perfect description of what was going through my mind. And everybody who knows Obama all have these stories to tell about his capacity for social perception.

Brooks predicted an Obama victory by nine points, and said that although he found Obama to be "a very mediocre senator," he was is surrounded by what Brooks called "by far the most impressive people in the Democratic party."

"He's phenomenally good at surrounding himself with a team," Brooks said. "I disagree with them on most issues, but I am given a lot of comfort by the fact that the people he's chosen are exactly the people I think most of us would want to choose if we were in his shoes. So again, I have doubts about him just because he was such a mediocre senator, but his capacity to pick staff is impressive."

[Comparative Advantage]

The Republican Party will start to turn it around when effete “conservatives” like David Brooks are kicked to the curb.

[mrsmel]

Something is spooky, when Obama is mesmerising conservatives, even the country-club variety, to this degree. Something is very wrong. Or are they really that seeped in elitism, or that corrupted? Why is this popping out like measles all of a sudden?

[LS]

What a slime. They said the same thing about Reagan. And, no, David, John McCain is not the best presidential candidate we’ve had in a long time. He’s the worst since Dole, and might win in spite of himself.

[novemberslady]

come out...come out...where ever you are...

[skully]

Brooks is cancer to Conservatism. These “coasty” fembots like Brooks are nothing but CINO’s. Brooks needs to come clean with himself, and stop denying he's a Liberal. His ilk's time of defining what is Conservative is over. There's a new sheriff in town David, and she can shoot much straighter then you. Time to go find yourself a job with Dan Rather.

[JudgemAll]

A cancer? The only cancer I see is the cult of “feelings of tingle in leg” without any further clarity.

[JudgemAll]

They are indeed corrupt “title” people who fear losing to those of substance who don’t deal with their stupid clubs.

[padre35]

Mel Brooks was a genius, he also is a nice man, much nicer then Dave Brooks, the point is, D Brooks is funny like Mel Brooks, but D Brooks is trying to be taken seriously...

[bereanway]

Obama has the great intellect. I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, ‘Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?’ And he says, ‘Yeah.’ So i say, ‘What did Niebuhr mean to you?’ For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say.”

*****

Actually Niebuhr wasn't very subtle when it comes to the rejection of absolute Biblical Truth. But that's the sort of thing that excites people like Brooks and Obama who are so much more clever and nuanced than Palin and the rest of us rubes. Sarah Palin represents goodness, someone who has a real heart for God, loves Him and loves His Word and there's nothing that infuriates these elitists any more than that. When held up against the light of the Bible their vacuous arguments are quickly exposed and their futility becomes apparent. These people will do everything they can to destroy her.

[happygrl]

Obama has the great intellect. I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say.

His subtle thought processes didn't stop him from sitting in Rev. Wright's pew for 20 years.

[AFreeBird]

Who's this David Brooks character, and why should I care what he thinks?

And Sarah is the Future of the party. RINO's are the cancer.

[happygrl]

As Steyn would say, Brooks is a Nancy-boy.

[hosepipe]

[ David Brooks: Sarah Palin "Represents A Fatal Cancer To The Republican Party" ]

Actually David Brooks and George Will, "Represents A Skin Cancer To The Republican Party".. David Brooks is a tool used by Mark Shields to paint his lies over a willing Lehrer as if it was journalism.. Gwen Ifill is a hand puppet.. affirmative action on crack..

[Minn]

Mr. Brooks, if Obama is so smart and learned, why is it that he never seems to have noticed that places where his leftist and utopian ideas have prevailed were/are hellholes? Mr. Obama seems to be too dense to have ever noticed that leftist bromides are extremely simplistic at their core.

"From each according to his..." seems rational to a fifth grader, but anybody with an elementary understanding of the human mind and the human spirit knows that it is crap. Only simpletons and knaves fall for it.

[lmc12]

I’m ready for an Andy Jackson type mass Tar and Feathering of these over educated, self important windbags who never did a da*n thing in their life but preen. Rienhold Niebhur, who gives a rat’s ass about Reinhold Niebuhr when Barry’s friend ON THE MORNING OF 9/11 BRAGGED ABOUT NOT DOING ENOUGH DAMAGE TO DC AND NY, WHAT IS IT ABOUT TERRORISM THAT THESE GUYS DON”T UNDERSTAND!THESE ELITES HAVE WORN OUT THEIR WELCOME!

[Minn]

A smart person would realize that a fool like Ayers, who considers the most prosperous and free nation in history a blight, should be avoided.

[capydick]

'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you. And I was dazzled, I felt the tingle up my knee as Chris Matthews would say.

From Wikipedia: During the 1930s, Niebuhr was a prominent leader of the militant faction of the Socialist Party of America. He promoted adoption of the United front agenda of the Communist Party USA, a position in sharp contrast to ideas later in his career. According to the autobiography of his factional opponent Louis Waldman, Niebuhr even led military drill exercises among the young members.

Amazing how these turds can impress themselves with knowledge of some obscure Commie from the 30's. With the conversation fresh in his mind, he probably took care of that timgle up his knee by himself after the interview.

[esopman]

DAVID BROOKS REPRESENTS A FATAL CANCER TO DAVID BROOKS

Mrs. Esopman

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Brooks has gone Native, so who cares what he thinks.

Right now, it seems to me that if Obama DOES win in November, then Governor Palin automatically becomes the GOP front-runner for President in 2012. She would probably have to put down Romney during the primaries, but I think she can do it!

[o2bfree]

He’s following the Andrew Sullivan mold — a supposed conservative who finds solace destroying his own party at every opportunity.