A Raging Moderate
August 31, 2006 on 9:11 pm | In Main, Media, National |
Photo of David Gergen courtesy of him.
For those of you who recall my post on X-treme Politics and my position as a moderate (for lack of a better word), here is a recent interview Stephen Colbert did with David Gergen, a White House advisor to both Republican and Democratic presidents.
As only he can, Colbert punctures the very viability of moderates and the extent to which they can shape the debate — any debate. It has been posted on Youtube. Click here to see it and tell me what you think. Even though it has fun at the expense of people like Gergen and me, I think it’s laugh-out-loud funny. Here is the link again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWvr0eRZhd0
Take it away, Jake.
2 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^
OK, full disclosure. Gergen makes me ill (big surprise there). He’s like a mayonnaise sandwich on Wonder Bread. He reminds me of Truman’s economists, who that president wished were one handed. (Then they couldn’t repeatedly say… “but on the other hand.”)
I suspect his centrism is really a kind shtick. Be the guy that the Kennedy school can put on display as the “house” non-liberal. Go on TV and be that odd sort who isn’t one of those horrible partisans. Be the guy the NYT calls in the odd event that they need a “critic” for some liberal policy. (Not much money there.)
He worked for Republicans until Clinton needed someone to parade in front of a country that had just thrown out a Democrat congress, and was presumably preparing to do the same to the president. Starting to see a pattern here?
In the clip he claims that being at odds with the left on free trade and right on education policy makes him a centrist. Presumably that doesn’t make him your kind of centrist. All those kids in charter schools in DC should go back to the war zone, I guess.
Who knows what he really believes in? Probably not much more than his next speaking fee. His positions seem mostly well suited for keeping a day job at the Kennedy School… as the token.
Comment by Jake — September 1, 2006 #
And the interesting thing is, terry’s post and the 1 comment by Jake are clearer, concise and intelligent statements about that video than all of the 15 comments on the youtube side.
I have gone to see tapings of The Daily Show in NYC many times. Before the show begins Jon Stewart offers a Q&A with his audience members, and the man has more intelligent insight on politics and news today than Rush Limbaugh or Imus or any other media mogul wishes they had.
Comment by fred — September 1, 2006 #