Customer Reviews

The Weekly Standard: A Reader: 1995-2005

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Contrary to what the first reviewer wrote, this is an excellent anthology. David Brook's "Fog of Peace" is an excellent essay on the Left's inability to think straight on Iraq, because, as he so eloquently puts it, "their entire moral space is filled with [Bush hatred]". So very true. And the history of Iraq is not yet written. Bush deposed one of the most ruthless fascist dictators of all time, and established a democracy, virtually overnight. At the same time, the U.S. took out, as Cheney put it "the most likely nexus between Al Quida and weapons of mass destruction" [it never was just about WMDs, as the Left always states]. But this book is not only about Iraq. The Iraq essay is excellent and shows the shallowness of the Left on that issue. The other essays are interesting, and it is not just about politics. I really am impressed by the Weekly Standard, and I read it every week. It has some of the most fresh and new ideas (for example, this past week, an excellent article on why the 'bird flu' scare is overhyped), and I find it a nice change of pace away from the group-think, paranoia, shallowness, hatred, and pessimism so prevailent on the Left today.

I saw Jon Stewart interview Kristol last night on the daily show. As best I can remember, Jon said:

"Bill, you people were way ahead of the curve! This book proves that you were wrong about Iraq _way_ before everyone else was wrong about Iraq!"

That sums it up pretty nicely. I think history will show that Kristol & Co were also wrong about Bush being a conservative (as that word is currently understood) but it'll take a few more years to be sure. Conservatives: buy this book, get extra copies for your friends, remember how sure of yourselves you were, and never forget how wrong you were. Moderates and liberals: all you need to know is summed up in the Jon Stewart quote