Obama’s first action was to ram through an $800 billion-plus “stimulus” plan. It was supposed to create millions of jobs right away. That’s what a stimulating stimulus package would do. Instead, The Wall Street Journal editorialized, “about 12 cents of every $1 [the bill spends] is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus.” The rest? “This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years,” the paper said.
Another columnist who’s seeing what he wants to is Dana Milbank at The Washington Post. On July 18, he was worked up over a single billboard in Iowa, “depicting three leaders: Adolf Hitler (with swastika), Vladimir Lenin (with hammer and sickle) and Barack Obama (with 2008 campaign logo). Over Hitler were the words ‘National Socialism,’ over Lenin was ‘Marxist Socialism’ and over Obama was ‘Democrat Socialism.’”
This isn’t to defend that sign. It certainly went too far. However, it’s one sign in a nation full of tea partiers. Milbank is eager to pretend that all conservatives are culpable for the actions of a handful.
“At the moment, the anger pendulum has swung far in the conservative direction, and accusations that once were beyond the pale -- not just talk of Nazis and Marxists but intimations of tyranny, revolution and bloodshed -- are now routine,” he wrote.
It’s worth wondering where this righteous anger was during the George W. Bush years. A quick Google image search for “George W. Bush, Hitler,” finds “About 820,000 results (0.58 seconds).” A blogger provides more photographic examples of left-wing protesters comparing the elected president and the mass-murdering dictator.
Of course, the Bush years also featured an award-winning film about the president being assassinated and a novel about killing Bush. All this context makes the silly Iowa sign seem far less consequential. Maybe that’s why Milbank left it out.
Orwell declared that, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Please bear with us columnizers as we struggle away.