I have been in the past quite complimentary of Wash Post columnist Robert Samuelson. Well, I can’t take it all back because Bob often gets it right. But in this wretched post, “Defunding defense,” Bob gets it grossly and gratuitously wrong. It’s the “gratuitously” part that I can’t forgive, although the “grossly” part is, in itself, pretty “wretched.”
In the past twenty years, Bob has written about five-hundred columns saying, correctly, that the U.S. has been spending way too much money. Today, however, he’s saying that we aren’t spending enough. WTF, Roberto?
Bob is shocked, shocked, that in the coming years we’ll only be spending about $625 billion a year on defense. Only $625 billion! That’s hardly enough to buy a popgun!
Bob pretends, among other things, not to have noticed that we’re no longer fighting wars in either Afghanistan or Iraq. He also pretends not to notice that our defense budget is almost as large as the defense budgets of our ten top “competitors” combined—and seven of the nations on that list are our allies!*
Why is Bob talking such deliberate nonsense? Because he hates Obama. He hates him so bad that he’ll beat him with any stick he can find. And if he can’t find a real stick, he’ll make one up.
There’s something about post-Cold War Democrats that sticks in the craw of Wash Post geezers. Back in the day, once legendary, now forgotten Wash Post old fart David Broder hated Bill Clinton, largely for being Bill Clinton. The man plays politics! Like that’s not a president’s job! Now we’re getting the same thing from Samuelson, Bob Woodward, and George Will. Obama’s young! He pays no fealty to the old gods! Stone him! Stone the sinner!
The next time you want to stone someone, Bob, show us the courtesy of finding a real rock.
