Victor Davis Hanson: Obama, Palin, and the Culture Wars

Most of these comments only show how right Hansson is. He hits the nail on the head, and that nail is now so big and ugly that I can see it all the way from my home here in Scandinavia And we have the same kinds of problems here. The only difference is that here in Scandinavia, the situation is even worse than in the US. Victor David Hanson is a sane hero in a world that has gone mad.

Thanks to FORA for providing this speech!
I enjoy listening to the more nuanced arguments made by Republicans/Conservatives, because it proves how little they have to offer, and how much they rely on cognitive dissonance. Speeches like this can be more damaging to the Conservative movement than the people who feel that being "loud" is enough (such as the town hall attendees).

So many of the barbs thrown at Obama here applied to McCain/Palin and/or the GOP as a whole to a MUCH worse degree, yet he never addresses this seeming hypocrisy. Sure, "they do it too" is no excuse for behavior, but its truly impressive to watch Hanson and others like him simply ignore this point.

He speaks about "the Media" portraying Palin as some sort of "outsider." Where this complaint comes from, I don't know, because it was clear that the McCain/Palin ticket was pushing her "outsider" image during the entire campaign. The media simply ran with it. Palin basked in it, and they didn't complain at the time. The woman WINKED at the cameras multiple times during a Vice Presidential debate, for Chrissakes!

He also attacks Obama for having a preacher who made hateful statements. Obviously, Mr. Wright is a character. But a man is not his preacher. Obama did not make those statements. Just as Sarah Palin is not HER preacher, who makes wacky statements claiming that Christians need to take over control of the business world, especially banking, just like the Jews (Israelites) have done:
http://www.americablog.com/2008/09/p...l-economy.html

Or his belief in witchcraft (and casting it off of her):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-bl..._b_128805.html

There's more, but my point is made. When you hear these guys speak, they're grasping at straws. Their foundation is made of quicksand, which quickly crumbles once you present some straightforward facts. They did this successfully with regards to "Family Values" (even though the GOP clearly has the market cornered with sex scandals, including Duvall, Sanford and Ensign in 2009 alone), so they're going to do it again.

Long story short... pay attention to what people like Hanson DON'T say when they spread this tripe. And don't be surprised when they occasionally try to slip in some nugget of absolute and complete falsehood in an attempt to further bolster their arguments (such as saying at 5:40 that Palin was the first female nominee, a flat out lie).

quicksite:
I thank FORA.tv because it's a free, voluminous resource of intelligent political talk. Again, thanks FORA!

When speaking of Gov Palin (5:50), Hanson says "she is the first female nominee". Geraldine Ferraro was actually the first female VP candidate in 1984, but I guess his vast knowledge of antiquity caused that recent history to go down the memory hole. If you read Hanson's Carnage and Culture, his arrogance becomes quite clear. Still, it's always interesting to hear the ideology which unfortunately shapes many modern policies.

JR2ALTA, I'm all for Freedom of Speech. But life is short, so I make the best determinations I can of the credibility of sources who publish those voices.

I see that some of FORA's staff are from CSPAN. Well they already do the job & do it perfectly, after 25 years of refining the craft. Just because FORA offers "longform" speeches vs soundbites, it doesn't automatically make their editorial judgment any good at all. If this is the best they can offer up for a conservative view, "thanks but no thanks".

Many liberals scoff at conservatives "You must watch O'Reilly", or "You listen to Rush". Yes..but the truth is brilliant, poetic men like VDH are what really drive the conservative movement. Thank you FORA.

I'm beginning to suspect that FORA TV is the new face of Republican Think Tanks, version 2.0 ... Giving the illusion of balance -- in the same way Fox News does -- as a way of conning people into assuming you're balanced and have no agenda.

Just because one night you show Naomi Klein, then show this kind of speaker means nothing in terms of intellectual credibility.

This is the NEW FAUX methodology for bringing extremist right-views to mainstream America - as phony balance.

This is the most unintentionally hilarious FORA program I've seen in a very long time.

around 33 minutes, he refers to this facade of Palin 'not being one o us.' however, the irony, is that this facade was engineered by the mccain campaign; they are the ones that branded her as an outsider, that was her selling point.