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Politics
The Iraq Gamble
At the pundits' table, the losing bet still takes the pot  MERITOCRACY OF DUNCES David Brooks A few years ago, David Brooks, New York Times columnist and media pundit extraordinaire, penned a love letter to the idea of meritocracy. It is "a way of life that emphasizes ... perpetual improvement, and permanent exertion," he effused, and is essential to America's dynamism and character. Fellow glorifiers of meritocracy have noted that our society is superior to nepotistic backwaters like Krygystan or France because we assign the most important jobs based on excellence. This makes us less prone to stagnancy or, worse yet, hideous national clusterfucks like fighting unwinnable wars for reasons nobody understands. At Radar we are devoted re-readers of the Brooks oeuvre and were struck by this particular column. It raised interesting questions. Noticing our nation is stuck in an unwinnable war (or two), we wondered if America hasn't stumbled off the meritocratic path. More specifically, since political pundits like Brooks play such a central role in our national decision-making process, maybe something is amiss in the world of punditry. Are the incentives well-aligned? Surely those who warned us not to invade Iraq have been recognized and rewarded, and those who pushed for this disaster face tattered credibility and waning career prospects. Could it be any other way in America? Noticing our nation is stuck in an unwinnable war, 'Radar' wondered: Is something amiss in the world of punditry?So we selected the four pundits who were in our judgment the most influentially and disturbingly misguided in their pro-war arguments and the four who were most prescient and forceful in their opposition. (Because conservative pundits generally acted as a well-coordinated bloc, more or less interchangeable, all four of our hawks are moderates or liberals who might have been important opponents of the war—so, sadly, we are not able to revisit Brooks's eloquent and thoroughly meritless prognostications.) Then we did a career check ... and found that something is rotten in the fourth estate. READ MORE
01/10/07
File Under: Fareed Zakaria, Geroge Bush, Iraq War, Jeffrey Goldberg, Peter Beinart, Robert Scheer, Saddam Hussein, Scott Ritter, Tom Friedman, Vernon Chatman, William. S. Lind 
  [ Login ] [ Register ] Maybe I’m crazy but on PBS’s News Hour I could’ve sworn David Brooks claimed he was always against the invasion of Iraq. Chris Matthews & Tucker Carlson claim the same. Then you have those who say they weren’t originally for the war. But “well since we’re there now we can’t just get up & leave…” (O really? Why not…?) That’s the same kind of utter stupidity exhibited during the disastrous Vietnam War. Follow the money…all around… ==== MONKEYFINGER http://www.bartcop.com/bushFinger3.gif Posted by: greenpagan | January 12, 2007 12:35 PM Several times over the course of the 15 years that I wrote a col for the NY Observer I pushed the idea that pundits should be licensed just as drivers are, that punditical violations (egregious predictions, gross hypocrisy, slimy backtracking and verminous sinking-ship abandonment) be subject to a penalty-points system that could result in short- or long-term suspension of media access. It was a serious idea lightly-framed, but because no one reads/takes NYO seriously it got nowhere. Reed's piece eloquently makes the case for just such regulation. Posted by: midasw | January 12, 2007 02:09 PM There is one other extremely influential media mogul who is more of a gadfly than a pundit on political topics, but nonetheless, wields enormous power to shape opinion -- Oprah Winfrey. We needn't delve into what her financial status is; on a moral level, however, she is sort of a self-crowned saint. In the run-up to war, she had a whole hour devoted to the pros. After vociferous criticism from her viewers (including myself at that time--no more), she had an hour on the con side of the argument. But the damage was done. After we were committed to war, her advice was to "make the best of it." Yup, well, we all know she did. Posted by: Marilyn | January 12, 2007 03:33 PM < BACK TO Features |
   
  
 
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