Paul Krugman asked a question in a column on Feb 13th, wanting to know, “How did American conservatism end up so detached from, indeed at odds with, facts and rationality?” This is, of course the liberal mantra, that conservatives are detached from reality, but they have no problem with their beloved leader in the White House coming up with gems like the following.
On the war in Afghanistan, “We are denying them space in which to plan their attacks.”
The attack of 9/11 was planned in Hamburg, Germany, and the attackers did their training in Tampa and San Diego. The last three external attacks on this nation have originated in Yemen. The last several attacks “prevented” by the FBI have originated in the United States.
Sort of reminds me of the insane asylum nurse who asked an inmate why he was doing something and was told it was for the purpose of keeping the elephants away. The nurse pointed out that there were no elephants anywhere near the asylum, and the inmate calmly replied, “See, it works, don’t it.”
On Iran’s nuclear ambitions: “We can’t allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, because that would start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”
Does he even listen to himself when he says things like this? Israel has nuclear weapons and Iran, if we accept his rather doubtful premise, is trying to develop them. If this is not an existing ongoing nuclear arms race, then what is it? There has been a nuclear arms race ongoing, according to his premise that Iran is seeking nuclear weaponry, and he’s blathering about Iran trying to start one.
Conservatives make statements which are detached from reality for the same reason that liberals make statements that are detached from reality; they are trying to justify the unjustifiable. Liberals like to believe that conservatives are the only ones who do that. No, liberals probably do it to a lesser degree, but the practice is not unique to conservatism.
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