. . . because what else would you expect from a reactionary?
For a while, I had a stock response when someone said, “You never have anything good to say about President Obama!” Actually, I had a few stock responses. One or two were serious; one or two were jocular. For example, I’d say, “I liked it when he killed that fly.” (See the video here.)
(True, Obama went overboard in self-congratulation when he swatted the fly. But still . . .)
More seriously, I liked his speech in Ghana, early in his presidency. Below is an excerpt. Some of the language is clumsy, but the ideas are good, and the airing of them is somewhat brave:
In many places, the hope of my father’s generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. Now, it’s easy to point fingers and to pin the blame of these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense helped to breed conflict. The West has often approached Africa as a patron or a source of resources rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father’s life, it was partly tribalism and patronage and nepotism in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career, and we know that this kind of corruption is still a daily fact of life for far too many.
And I believe there is a lot to like — a lot to like — in Obama’s U.N. speech today. At the expression of American and liberal ideals, he is very good. (And I mean liberal in the Western Civ sense, not in the George McGovern sense.) He should do it more often.
I think I’ll even read this speech again, if you can believe it. Obviously, I can’t endorse every word. But whose speeches can you endorse every word of? I’m not entirely sure I endorse 100 percent of even my own speeches.