Both sides of the coin

we are pleased to report our arrival at the Southern Command HQ/Spring Training venue here in sunny FLA. Not to gloat, but we did notice that the temp was 18 degrees this morning back at the Rock.

The trip down went well, but a week on the road can be draining. In addition, it was hard to stay current on current events while cruising along on I-95. Before leaving, we had posted our letter to the Globe on the Bush bashing at the inauguration, as well as mea culpa post when the Morrisey Boulevard crowd surprised us all by printing it. Since then, the letter has sparked a fullsome response from the anti-Bush crowd.

Over the week end, Peter Berkowitz of the Hoover Institution published an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he examined the linked phenomena of Bush hating and Obama Euphoria. The ARTICLE is well worth the read, but we especially found the following excerpt telling:

At first glance, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria could not be more different. Hatred of Mr. Bush went well beyond the partisan broadsides typical of democratic politics. For years it disfigured its victims with open, indeed proud, loathing for the very manner in which Mr. Bush walked and talked. It compelled them to denounce the president and his policies as not merely foolish or wrong or contrary to the national interest, but as anathema to everything that made America great.

In contrast, the euphoria surrounding Mr. Obama's run for president conferred upon the candidate immunity from criticism despite his newness to national politics and lack of executive experience, and regardless of how empty his calls for change. At the same time, it inspired those in its grips, repeatedly bringing them tears of joy throughout the long election season. With Mr. Obama's victory in November and his inauguration last week, it suffused them with a sense that not only had the promise of America at last been redeemed but that the world could now be transfigured.

In fact, Bush hatred and Obama euphoria -- which tend to reveal more about those who feel them than the men at which they are directed -- are opposite sides of the same coin. Both represent the triumph of passion over reason. Both are intolerant of dissent. Those wallowing in Bush hatred and those reveling in Obama euphoria frequently regard those who do not share their passion as contemptible and beyond the reach of civilized discussion. Bush hatred and Obama euphoria typically coexist in the same soul. And it is disproportionately members of the intellectual and political class in whose souls they flourish.

We suspect that this will all die down as George Bush settles in to his private life in Texas, and the new president continues to deal with the demanding realities of his new office. It would appear that the "hope and change express" seems to have already hit some rough going as he tries to fill his cabinet posts with tax payers and tries to guide the pork-laden stimulus package through an increasingly skeptical congress. Stay tuned.