'Truth is truth'

In an excellent piece today, Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein raps David Brooks for mocking Democrats for being proud of their accomplishments despite facing a loss at the polls. Read Brooks' column ("No Second Thoughts") here. I lifted two of Klein's grafs that spotlight the citizenry and the realities driving our midterm politics:

Brooks criticizes President Obama for criticizing the judgment of Americans. Perhaps you will not be surprised to learn that the vox populi was less infallible in 2005, when Brooks wrote, "Oh, yes, there's one more group to be criticized: the American voters. For the past 30 years, Americans have wanted high entitlement spending and low taxes. From the looks of things today, they - or more precisely their children - are going to live with the consequences." It's funny: That sort of sounds like "Americans are nearsighted and ill-informed."

I also share Klein's view about political realities and the difficult task Obama faces in herding donkeys and elephants (i.e., us):

As it happens, I don't think the political environment is all that difficult to explain: Unemployment is near 10 percent. If you want some more explanations: The legislative process is bitter and angry and ugly; the media focus on conflict and encourage polarization; and presidents almost always lose seats in their first midterm election. In fact, there are only two exceptions since the Civil War. ... Elections matter, but so, too, does substance. ... Next week, Democrats are likely to be writing the obit for their congressional majority. Better that, many of them feel, than the obit for the policies they believed the country needed.

Klein's calm, clear-eyed views are a welcome break from the daily, droning gibberish of the chatter class. As the Bard said, "Truth is truth. To the very end of reckoning."