Is David Brooks a f*&king @$$hole or what????

[BlueEyedSon]

I couldn't bring myself to read the piece, here is the NYT web headline:

OP-ED COLUMNIST
The Courage Factor
By DAVID BROOKS
The stars of this Republican convention share one attribute that has dominated the campaign: bravery.

BRAVERY? Those draft-dodging Chickenhawks?

I'm ill.

Link, FYI: http://nytimes.com/2004/08/31/opinion/31brooks.html

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. I read it (barf). The "brave" people are McCain, Giuliani, and ARNOLD.

Need I say more.

Hey, McCain flew planes in combat for his country and paid a MAJOR price (even though he's ho'ing now).

The other two? Come on.

[Cocoa]

2. let's see Brooks call Kerry a "fraud" to his face

we can test Brooks's courage.

He crumpled when Lehrer asked him to repeat his criticisms of Carter's speech at the DNC to Carter himself.

[CBHagman]

3. Brooks is morally a nincompoop.

Before I forget, let me post Brooks's e-mail address. It's [e-mail].

The asininity of that piece cannot be overstated. "Courage" in Schwarzenegger? What courage? He's composed of make-up, sound bites, and handlers, nothing more. The toughest fight he's ever had is sinking into the sofa on Jay Leno's show and receiving the screams and applause of the studio audience. Schwarzenegger knows nothing of courage.

And let's not even get into the ludicrous notion that Schwarzenegger and Giuliani are somehow obsessed with character. We know enough of their clay feet (womanizing, adultery, vindictiveness, etc.) to dismiss that claim out of hand.

I wouldn't dream of attacking McCain, but neither do I mistake him for some sort of giant of history. And he's quite the fallible lawmaker, too, as anyone who is familiar with his biography knows.

I don't know what's eating at Brooks, but the column was jaw-droppingly foolish.