From a reader:
Jonah, What’s interesting to me about the non-bet you had with Cole and the trolling your having to endure today is not just the insistence from people that the bet somehow exists despite Cole’s refusal to take it. Rather, it’s the perverse satisfaction that lefties continue to take from what is basically the current failure to bring liberty and democracy to one of the most troubled regions of the world. You made the bet in the honest hope and desire that things would and could get better (and quite frankly, I think it’s to early to tell… I would have bet on 10 years had it been me, but I’m not much of a gambler either). Your would-be tormentors are insistent that things won’t get better through the use of the military, but have no serious plans for liberalizing the Middle East themselves. It’s been said in many ways by many people, but the political strategy of the left these days is “America has to lose in Iraq.” Whether it’s the cynical response of people trying to embarrass the current President (and who would be fully behind the war if a Democrat were running it) or the depressing self-righteousness of those who think their own country must be humbled and just one equal among the community of nations (regardless of the ideals of the other “equals”), the result is the same: a political movement dominated by people who want to see not only Bush fail, but to see America fail, to see the ideals of liberty and democracy fail. They embarrass themselves far more than they may ever know. Moreso though, they weaken the very liberties they pretend to champion. It’s a telling as it is sad. Keep up the good work,