THEIR ELITE VS. OUR ELITE

In the past few weeks I've read quotes by both George Bushes referring to certain journalists or public servants as "elitist." I got a couple of good hoots from that, considering the administration's efforts to create a permanent moneyed elite. There are more palatable elites, and recent episodes of Meet The Press highlight them for me.

I just got through watching Kofi Annan and Ambassador Joe Wilson being interviewed by Tim Russert, and then Lt. Paul Reickhoff (he delivered the Democratic radio message yesterday) on This Week with George S. As was John Kerry last Sunday, they were direct, articulate, candid and thoughtful. Contrast that with George Whiney Bush, Rice-a-roni, and Dick Chaingang, who in their turns with Tim and George repeated ad nauseum the same old same old, "Saddam was a threat. The situation in Iraq is going nicely. We must stay the course. Our enemies hate freedom. The economy is robust and on the right track. We must stay the course." You bet I like an elite that is educated, nuanced, principled, and meritorious. Why would anyone prefer an elite founded almost entirely on money and/or cronyism? Is it that fragile egos have a fear of being looked down on, and so bond with those who do not threaten, by their speech, intelligence or erudition, their self-image?

Also on This Week was Sen. John McCain. Warning: my quotes may not be verbatim, but they're accurate.

"The perception is that we are not acting decisively in Iraq, and there can be no greater mistake in warfare."

"These decisions [ed., number of troops] are not made by the commanders on the ground, but at the highest level. There was a tacit admission that we didn't have enough troops in extending tours of duty. Commanders on the ground have seen what happened to Gen. Shinseki when he suggested that we would need hundreds of thousands of troops to provide security after the invasion. We've got to adjust to the realities of the situation as it exists."

Steph ended his program with a special edition of his regular "In Memoriam" segment. Lt. Col. Scrobel accompanied the body of Chance Phelps, a soldier killed in Iraq, to his home in Dubois, Wyoming, where he presented the soldier's personal effects to his family. Scrobel read, in an emotion-packed voice, an account of his experience. "I didn't know Chance Phelps before he died, but now I miss him." Having watched Ted Koppel's Nightline Friday night and then this, I was in tears in minutes.

At this point, I say get our troops out of this CF and home now.