Liz Cheney: 'We are not only better than all of you-we're better than everyone who has ever existed'

[kpete]

Glenn Greenwald
Friday June 12, 2009 09:13 EDT
Tribalistic self-absorption

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UPDATE II: Here is what Liz Cheney -- who, like Jonah Goldberg, undoubtedly opposes affirmative action because it unfairly allows people to advance for reasons other than merit (such as family connections) -- thinks that Obama should be saying to the world (h/t A.L. via email):

***" We've now seen several different occasions when 's been on the international trips, where he's not willing to say, flat out, 'I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe unequivocally, unapologetically, America is the best nation that ever existed in history, and clearly that exists today.' Instead we've seen him do what we saw him do in the speech in Cairo, which is sort of, 'on one hand this, on the other hand that,' and then attempt to put himself sort of above it all. I think that troubles people."

Just ponder how psychologically disturbed -- how deeply self-absorbed -- is the need to announce to the world, let alone to believe: We are not only the better than all of you - we're better than everyone who has ever existed for all of human history!!" Imagine if you heard someone saying that about themselves; wouldn't you conclude that there was something deeply wrong with such a person? And speaking of inflaming anti-American sentiment, do you think constantly announcing that to the world might do so a bit more than releasing some detainee photos? But -- as is so often true -- Liz Cheney's statement is a perfect summary of the right-wing view of the world: our group is better than everyone else -- not just that exists now but that ever existed -- and it's terribly unfair to us when our superiority is not recognized and announced. That's just pathological.

more:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/12/self_absorption/index.html