Lileks scores again

OK, I still feel bad about dissing The Bleat in yesterday's post, but the truth is the truth: I used to devour it first thing every morning, and now I find myself, when I pull up the link at all, skimming through most it while completely ignoring the noire stuff, the tales of shopping woe, and that damned Oak Island Water Feature. He should have pulled the plug on that thing 1.2 million lost gallons of water ago. But I digress....

He is still a kick-butt writer, and his insights into current events, leavened with humor, make the effort of finding his Newhouse columns worthwhile. Why he doesn't perma-link from his own site is beyond me, unless Newhouse corporate policy is that it is bad for more readers to read a writer from whom they would derive greater income should he be more widely syndicated. Clearly, I don't understand the newspapering business.

Oh, yeah, his latest effort:

The Democrats have many mantras and slogans: "grim milestone," "hopeless quagmire," "culture of corruption" and "Karl Rove's dingo ate my baby." But for a while they've had one big overall slogan, dripping with gusto: "Together, America Can Do Better."

Not will, or should, or must, but "can." It's like saying, "Together, Frenchmen can win a hot-dog speed eating contest." Doesn't mean it's going to happen, or that you'd want to watch. But it's typical of modern politics -- vague and patriotic, but not so patriotic it would unnerve a Dixie Chick. Together, America Should Be Greater! Together, America Might Go Further! Together, Democrats Can Win Elections! Providing the Republicans stay home.

Enjoy the whole thing.