The Great Madness of 2004-2010

For about seven years the nation lost its collective mind—and was only partially coming to in November 2010.

During the years of insanity, Al Gore won both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award for his propaganda film An Inconvenient Truth—before the disclosures of climate gate, new data on everything from the Himalayan glaciers to polar bear populations, realization that temperatures had not risen in the last 12 years, and the rather blatant and various money-making scheme of Gore, Inc. (that parlayed green advocacy into a billion-dollar, medieval exemption/carbon offset empire, several homes, and a propensity for carbon spewing private jet travel). Give Gore credit: he understood brilliantly that anger over Iraq and Katrina, his own popular vote victory in 2000 but subsequent lost presidency, his vein-bulging “he lied” screeds, and puppy dog pouts had combined, in perfect storm fashion, to locate Gorism at the nexus of anti-war, anti-Bush madness.

Not a lot new here but Victor Davis Hanson capsulizes the 2004-2010 (Bush) era quite well. Liberals were a droning bore back then and their frustration was almost amusing to watch. Unfortunately, the voting public bought just enough of the left's lies to ensure the Kenyan Marxist won the presidency, even if his alleged accomplishment were mostly ephemeral. A slogan and a smile with lots of promises and lies combined with an uninspiring Republican opponent running a lethargic campaign and you have the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Victor Davis Hanson cogently analysis the era and in doing so, points out the absurd nonsense that passed for public discourse during President Bush's second term. Now, with a failing, flailing Obama in the White House, the left is stymied. They look ridiculous trying to make Obama look good (but still try) and they are genetically unable to criticize him to any real degree so what to do? Their answer: focus on Republicans; congress and the potential challengers to Obama in 2012. Demonize any Republican plan to begin to fix the financial disaster Obama has wrought. Scream hysterically about entitlement cuts - and hate Sarah Palin. Yeah, that will do it. News Flash for liberals:...not this time. You went too far and the public is waking up to what the left does to an economy, a nation and a people...and they hate it. Obama is toast and liberalism is gravely wounded. Your propaganda machine won't save it.

My personal favorite part of this brilliant piece:

“I’ll end with an anecdote about these years of madness. Out of the blue, an irate reader called me at my office this past Tuesday, feigning that he wished to talk about a strategic problem, but using the occasion to rant. After 20 seconds, I interrupted him and said the following:

Wait, wait, I have changed and now see how wrong I was in opposing your Obama. You see, he proved to us why Guantanamo was needed. That third war in Libya was necessary and I hope he goes into Yemen and the Sudan. Finally we got rid of the War Powers Act and the dreadful public campaign financing of presidential elections. Who else could have gotten gas up to $4 a gallon where it should be? Next he’ll get rid of those awful coal plants as we evolve to an 8-hour power day, saving us from global warming. Then look how well the economy recovered from Bush’s. We finally have a president who accepted the sophisticated European model so we can enjoy life as it should be lived, as in Athens or Rome. The new $5 trillion in borrowing will make those fat cats pay higher taxes and that will mean more jobs for everyone. Airbus is better than Boeing anyway so why build planes in union-hating South Carolina? We can all buy Chryslers and GM now to support the workers and shun those awful Volvos and Mercedeses. And without any more oil or gas leasing we will soon have to use solar and wind. Most people don’t need power anyway but waste it watching Oprah or grinding designer coffee beans.

I went on with:

Let us just hope Obama gets reelected. We could get food stamp usage from 50 up to 80 million where it belongs, expand home defaults and allow people just to “live” in “their” homes without foreclosures from the “greedy” banks. We all need time anyway to “be creative” and “leave your work.” Thirty million more could be given the chance to emigrate from Mexico without worry over a Gestapo-like border patrol. We could have ten Rose Bowl crowds booing an awful U.S. per week.

I thought he was still on the line, so I ended with, “And I didn’t even mention Obamacare with its 400,000 new jobs and lower health care costs for all of us! Who could be against Obama after that?”

But he had hung up and thought I was crazy.”

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