Gotta Serve Somebody

The central mission of the blog Powerline over the last few years has been the defense of President George W. Bush. While this is not an inherently dishonorable task, it is not exactly an elevating one either. Indeed, it makes sycophancy almost inevitable, a fact that is coming more to the fore now that the race to succeed Bush is on in earnest, and Powerline is looking for a new leader to serve. That leader is Rudolph Giuliani, as is evident from this embarrassing blog entry:

HE’S GOOD

You have to admire the way Rudy Giuliani handles himself. The latest evidence is this interview with Hugh Hewitt. It’s all there—the willingness to laugh at himself, the eagerness to share credit and throw in the kind word, the recognition of human imperfection, the respect for the views of others, and the ability (enhanced by all of the above) to talk up his accomplishments and leadership skills without appearing unduly immodest.

He’s good.

JOHN adds: I heard part of Hugh’s interview while driving home tonight. Rudy is indeed very, very good. I was listening while he described how he helped crush the Mafia in the 1980s. I wonder how many voters know that story; not many, I’d guess. People who wonder how Giuliani can appeal to conservatives haven’t seen him in action.

Posted by Paul at 09:39 PM

From all the praise, you would think that Rudy had skillfully parried brutally tough questioning from a hostile reporter. In fact, the interview was with Republican apparatchik Hugh Hewitt, who has been a Giuliani promoter for years and who fed him easy questions (as is also pointed out by the commenter Hitman at the Hewitt site). Yet Paul and John fall all over themselves at the wonders of Giuliani’s great performance: First, the title of the entry: “HE’S GOOD.” Then the repetition of the same phrase in the text of the entry, and in its own paragraph: “He’s good.” Then John chimes in saying, “Rudy is indeed very, very good.”

These guys should have been courtiers at Versailles, trying to outdo each other in their fragrant compliments to the King.

- end of initial entry -

Brian B. writes:

Can anyone forget this classic suckup at Powerline?

It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

Alec H. writes:

I.e. they are “ronin” (masterless samurai).

LA writes:

There’s an impression I may have helped create above that I don’t agree with. To describe John and Paul as courtiers, or as “suck-ups,” implies that they are praising Bush and Giuliani because they seek advancement. I don’t think that’s it at all. I think they are acting out of a sincere desire to identify with and support a leader, for reasons they think of as wholly patriotic. But in their case this natural and legitimate desire is carried to excess.

I see this as a symptom of the degradation and vulgarization of conservatism in recent years, which we have so often lamented at this site. Understandably alarmed by the threat of terrorism, and traumatized by the spectacle of the evil anti-American left, mainstream conservatives have formed themselves into the psychological equivalent of a phalanx, a solid mass of soldiers with shields locked against the enemy. For such a mindset, identification with the leader who appears to stand for national defense against the forces that threaten to destroy the nation is everything, and they lose sight of all the ways in which their beloved leader is himself undermining the nation. The fact that the other side hates the leader becomes the most important thing about him, and the duty to defend him from their attacks and praise his great qualities becomes the highest duty.

What I’ve just described is the quasi-fascist side of the leader-worship, which co-exists with the sycophantic side.

LA writes:

By the way, the title of this entry, “Gotta Serve Somebody,” comes from the title of a 1979 Bob Dylan song which was the first song in his first Christian album. I’m obviously using the phrase in a different sense here.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 24, 2007 01:01 PM | Send