July 7, 2004 [LINK]

Edwards for Veep!?

John Kerry's choice of John "Keanu"* Edwards was no big surprise: regional balance, charisma, etc. Sean Hannity and others are jumping all over Edwards for not knowing who Leah Rabin or her martyred husband, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin were. Indeed, Edwards lacks either the experience or knowledge to serve as president, quite the opposite of Dick Cheney, as President Bush tartly pointed out today. But since Bush himself was exposed for lacking knowledge of foreign leaders in an interview "ambush" back in 2000, that line of criticism won't go very far -- especially in our self-absorbed culture where ignorance is considered a virtue. Will the fact that Edwards is a trial lawyer who became fabulously wealthy by litigation against medical practitioners undermine his credentials as a populist? How many obstetricians have stopped delivering babies because of the liability crisis engendered by Edwards and his ilk?

* The nickname "Keanu" refers both to Edwards's boyish charm and to the hyper-ambitious, scruples-lacking lawyer played by Keanu Reeves in The Devil's Advocate. Quite a striking parallel...

Speaking of diabolical plots, Bush hatred is reaching new lows of depravity, as the President is depicted as "Satan Devouring His Children" (a painting by Goya) on the back cover of The Nation magazine. As B. Preston notes in his junkyardblog, when former Clinton aide Paul Begala appeared on a recent edition of CNN's "Capitol Gang," he declined Bob Novak's request to denounce this, and instead said that the Nation "shouldn't be censored by right wingers." Who mentioned censorship? Begala is one of the most shameless, vituperative hacks on the Left these days, but you can tell by his nervous half-grin that his conscience weighs heavily upon him.

NOTE: This is a "post facto" blog post, taken from the pre-November 2004 archives.