Cowpox is a very real disease, and the milkmaids who used to get it were irritated by the fever and upset stomach it caused. They were even more annoyed by the slight but permanent scarring it left. It was only after Jenner discovered that having had cowpox immunized one against smallpox that the milkmaids realized they had cause to be thankful for the mild sickness, real as it was, and the slight cowpox scars.
Carter cowpox is the disease by which the liberal Establishment is seeking to immunize itself against death from the spreading plague of populism. Carter is a mild and superficial, but genuine, populist. His Southerness, Christianity, and patriotism are afflictions both painful and disfiguring to the party of Teddy Kennedy, Bella Abzug, and George McGovern. Four years ago, these political bellwethers of the liberal Establishment would have spontaneously shrieked the likes of Jimmy Carter off the platform. They would have shut him up in the name of Free Speech.
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