Michael Goodwin has the courage to confess a mistake — and to fear for America’s future
Bookworm on Dec 20 2009 at 3:24 pm | Filed under: Barack Obama
One of the problems with Barack Obama’s presidency is that so many people were invested in his election — and defended him so vigorously — that it’s very difficult for them, a year later, to ‘fess up that they made a mistake. It’s one thing to admit that you erred when you really didn’t care. But when you did care, when you thought you were paying attention and now realize that you missed important clues and conclusions, well, that’s a much harder mistake to confess. After all, it’s a reflection on your judgment and your intelligence that you got it wrong in the first place. That’s why I very much admire those Obama voters who have the courage to step up and say, “I was wrong.” That’s not an easy thing to say. And while I wish they could have figured out the truth sooner, with elections coming up in less than a year, “better late than never” is a viable mantra.
The latest person to see the error of his ways and to man up to that mistake (bless him) is Michael Goodwin. And, having realized that he erred, he’s made a wholehearted conversion:
I am a baby boomer, which is to say my life has coincided with turbulent and awesome times. From the Cold War to Vietnam, from Watergate to Monicagate, through the horrors of 9/11 and the stunning lifestyle advances, my generation’s era has been historic and exciting.
Yet for all the drama and change, the years only occasionally instilled in me the sensation I feel almost constantly now. I am afraid for my country.
I am afraid — actually, certain — we are losing the heart and soul that made America unique in human history. Yes, we have enemies, but the greatest danger comes from within.
Watching the freak show in Copenhagen last week, I was alternately furious and filled with dread. The world has gone absolutely bonkers and lunatics are in charge.
Mugabe and Chavez are treated with respect and the United Nations is serious about wanting to regulate our industry and transfer our wealth to kleptocrats and genocidal maniacs.
Even more frightening, our own leaders joined the circus. Marching to the beat of international drummers, they uncoupled themselves from the will of the people they were elected to serve.
President Obama, for whom I voted because I believed he was the best choice available, is a profound disappointment. I now regard his campaign as a sly bait-and-switch operation, promising one thing and delivering another. Shame on me.
Equally surprising, he has become an insufferable bore. The grace notes and charm have vanished, with peevishness and petty spite his default emotions. His rhetorical gifts now serve his loathsome habit of fear-mongering.
You can, and should, read the rest (and there’s a lot of “rest”) here.
I hope that Goodwin is not the only one to realize what’s going on, and to allow himself to move forward into a future that does not include being a Democratic “yes” man. And I also hope that others who see the light realize that they will be welcomed with open arms into the fold of those who have already marched into the sunshine of political wisdom.
Related posts:
- What we really need to fear about Obama. (Hint: it’s not his middle name) *UPDATED*
- More reason to fear Obama
- Michael Steele reminds us why I wanted him for the RNC
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6 Responses to “Michael Goodwin has the courage to confess a mistake — and to fear for America’s future”
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“I am afraid — actually, certain — we are losing the heart and soul that made America unique”…
Michael Goodwin, once an Obama supporter: I am afraid for my country. I am afraid — actually, certain — we are losing the heart and soul that made America unique……
We’ll see what Goodwin is actually made of….
I don’t believe I can remember a single genuine leftist who didn’t return to the trough once s/he got over the shock of betrayal and managed to “contextualize” whatever it was….
I’m just reading a magnificent book, The Forsaken (available really cheap here: http://www.amazon.com/Forsaken-American-Tragedy-Stalins-Russia/dp/1594201684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261356194&sr=8-1, and isn’t it a commentary that this book isn’t still in print?) that illustrates what I’m saying. The list of people who KNEW what was happening during the Great Terror and continued to lie, deny, and hide the truth….all in service of their ideology.
So, kudos to Mr. Goodwin for the column….we’ll be watching, sir.
<B>that it’s very difficult for them, a year later, to ‘fess up that they made a mistake. </b>
If it isn’t hard for a person driving in a 35 mile per hour zone at 60 miles per hour to admit that they were wrong to run over that child, then it shouldn’t be hard for Obama voters to admit that they helped usher in an age of tyranny and cruelty that has already destroyed millions of lives.
How could he be so fully aware of all these problems now and not had even the slightest clue this would all happen a year ago? It is not as if people weren’t saying this is exactly how things would be…it’s that he doesn’t have any respect for the people that tried to tell him I’m sure.
>>How could he be so fully aware of all these problems now and not had even the slightest clue this would all happen a year ago? >>
It seems to me that there are two possibilities to answer this: first, the person has discovered that the answers provided by the left aren’t the panacea to solve all of mankind’s problems – in which case we have a convert. That’s a good thing. Second, the person still believes in all the “solutions” offered by the extreme left, but has discovered that Obama isn’t the promised messiah. In that case, s/he’ll keep on looking for the _One_ who can save us – that’s a bad thing.
There are enough Lefty converts on the internet these days – including Book – that there needs to be a guide to “deprogram” them – otherwise, they may lose their “footing” and fall back into their Lefty mindset. Growing up is hard to do…!
First Henthoff and now Goodwin see Obama as a danger to the Republic.
This article may give added reasons for their fear. Obama sees himself as transcending borders as a politician to the world.
“2009 was the year in which “global” swept the rest of the political lexicon into obscurity. There were “global crises” and “global challenges”, the only possible resolution to which lay in “global solutions” necessitating “global agreements”…”
“…The dangerous idea that the democratic accountability of national governments should simply be dispensed with in favour of “global agreements” reached after closed negotiations between world leaders never, so far as I recall, entered into the arena of public discussion. Except in the United States, where it became a very contentious talking point, the US still holding firmly to the 18th-century idea that power should lie with the will of the people.
Nor was much consideration given to the logical conclusion of all this grandiose talk of global consensus as unquestionably desirable: if there was no popular choice about approving supranational “legally binding agreements”, what would happen to dissenters who did not accept their premises (on climate change, for example) when there was no possibility of fleeing to another country in protest? Was this to be regarded as the emergence of world government? And would it have powers of policing and enforcement that would supersede the authority of elected national governments? In effect, this was the infamous “democratic deficit” of the European Union elevated on to a planetary scale.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/6845967/Therell-be-nowhere-to-run-from-the-new-world-government.html
The global village meme has been gaining traction for some time, but has burst on the scene fully-formed in 2009. As we go hat in hand to finance our profligate lifestyles, the only commodity we may have left to barter is our sovreignty.