Charles Pierce is a little more vituperative in his criticism of Bill Kristol than I was, but it amounts to the same thing. I guess I thought that if I opened my piece with “Blow me,” there was a strong chance Mr. Kristol would read no further. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t have opted for something less prurient, like “Drop dead.”
I do wish that Mr. Pierce had spent just a little time on one of the points I emphasized, which is that Bill Kristol is very highly responsible for creating the war-weariness and lack of national credibility that he bemoans. The problem with Kristol and his ilk is not merely that they walk around as if Iraq never happened, it’s that they did real damage to America’s willingness and ability to lead in areas when it might actually make sense for it to lead.
So, to have him lecture us now about our unwillingness to get embroiled in further foreign entanglements, regardless of their merit, is to invite more than a bell. It invites a slap for impudence.
