Detached
As Kevin Drum says, the lefty blogosphere went to town on Slate's
endorsements for their lame, trying way too hard to be cool
"endorsements" of Kerry. (Digby is an excellent example of the
response, as is Bérubé.) Drum compares
Slate's poseur attitude to the cultlike devotion of Bush and argues that
viewed against that, that ironic detachment ain't so bad.
I disagree. As I wrote in the comments there, I think it's just about
as bad as cultlike devotion. They have a fanaticism for Bush; Slate &
co have a death-grip on their cool, detached pose, even when it forces
them to ignore reality.
The Slate pile o' psuedo-ironic detachment was rightly excorciated as
astoundingly dumb. It is every bit as much an abdication of careful,
rational thought as the mindset that spawns the Bush loyalty oaths. The
major difference in outcomes is that the Bushies incite action, and
this champions inaction. And yeah, in a world of Grover Norquists, when
you lay down your arms, they pick up theirs. I'm afraid I cannot
endorse ironic detachment.
(I originally wrote this in the comments over at Political Animal, and
I was just going to post it here, but figured it needed some explanation.)
