Drone On

"The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so."

Gore Vidal's quip offers little balm to me. I've received a steady stream of emails over the past weeks lauding my supposed-insight about Obama's wars and the liberals who support them. While nice, it makes no difference in my life. No added money in my bank account. No offers to write for larger outlets. Nothing. Nada. Nil.

I'm fine with it, though. The headaches that come with unpopular opinions nauseate me. It's a younger person's game. I loved mixing it up with those who thought me crazy, reckless, mad. This conceit carried well into my forties, a lingering influence from the days when I devoured Cockburn, Hitchens, Chomsky, Vidal.

But the older one gets, the crankier one's perspective. Which is why I restrict most of my political musings to Twitter. Release some steam without overheating the engine.

Glenn Greenwald, on the other hand, dives daily into the imperial muck. Glenn has been ferocious of late about liberal hypocrisy, this piece his most damning yet. To those who insist I should be writing this kind of polemic, let me say: 1) I already have, for years on end, culminating in Savage Mules; and 2) Glenn enjoys a much larger audience than I could ever attract.

No envy on my end. I'm genuinely happy about Glenn's reach and his dogged refusal to let so-called progressives off the hook. With Obama's re-coronation in full swing, Glenn's efforts and energy are extremely vital.

I do smile at how far we've come. Recall back in '08, when liberal Obama love burned Dalai Lama bright, Glenn interviewed me about Savage Mules. He took issue with many of my arguments, trying to get me to concede that in the long run, Dems were preferable to Repubs. I noted some tactical differences between the two, but confessed that I didn't care who won that election.

To me, Obama and McCain weren't all that dissimilar, a heretical stance that has proven more accurate than not. With Glenn now blasting Obama for not only continuing Bush/Cheney policies, but mainstreaming them, it's clear that he agrees with what I then said.

But I won't say I told you so. Glenn tells you on a regular basis. He's already writing the sequel to Savage Mules.

If you missed our original discussion, go here, scroll down, read/listen. Was I ever that young?