On Hating Bush

Jason Kottke, arguably an "800 pound gorilla" of personal bloggers, has apparently decided to depart from the usual personal tales and fun on the web to share his interpretation of recent news and politics. Of particular note:

I think very little of George W. Bush as the leader of my country. He's uninspiring, unimaginative, not that intelligent, has no perspective on the world, operates in an extremely cloistered world of his own, and while I have no doubt that he's acting in what he thinks are the best interests of the country, his ideas about what those best interests are don't match mine. Bush is leading the U.S. like a large, soulless corporation, which if you know how I feel about large, soulless corporations, is about the most damning thing I can say about him.

Hmm.... somewhat of a harsh assessment of a guy with two more Ivy League degrees than most people, I would think. All highly debatable points, with the exception being that Mr. Bush's ideas don't match Mr. Kottke's. That is not debatable.

I'm not quite sure what in Bush inspires such hatred on the Left. Nor did I entirely understand the similar hatred of Clinton on the extreme Right (yes, I still take my occasional shots at him, and yes, I think he didn't show proper respect for the office, and yes, I think his self indulgences ruined what could have been a great Presidency -- but I just don't despise him, to the extent many of my fellow conservatives do). But in so many cases, it tends to overwhelm good judgment about political matters. And if you can't see past the person in analyzing politics (domestic or international), then your judgment is overwhelmed.

[Posted at 15:01 CST on 03/20/03] [Link]