Krauthammer Does It Again
Matthew Continetti ·
Jan 12, 2011 at 7:04am
I don't know about you, but it seems to me that after Charles Krauthammer's column today, not much more needs to be said about politics and the Tucson killings.
In his brutally direct style, Krauthammer demolishes Paul Krugman in two sentences: "The origins of Loughner's delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Krugman's?"
That combination of acid wit, clarity, and incisiveness is why Krauthammer is the best columnist of our times. I can't think of another writer on politics, left or right, who does it better.
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May '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
With all the amateur psychoanalysis going on, it's good to hear from a trained psychiatrist in Dr. Krauthammer.
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Krauthammer is a wonder to behold. My view of Krugman is that he is the little boy who jumps up and clowns before the class when the teacher leaves the room. He is so desperate for attention that he simply cannot help himself.
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Can you imagine the look on Krugman's face when he reads those sentences, which I'm SURE he will (the man monitors the comments section of his own op-eds, after all).
Jun '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
...and as a self-appointed champion of "English grammar," you might conclude that Palin and Beck are on Loughner's target list--not his hero list.
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
It should be noted that Dr. Krauthammer was a psychiatrist before becoming a pundit, so he is an unusually well-qualified observer on the topic of mental illness.
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Absolutely, I was just going to make this same point. Krauthammer is a Harvard Med School grad and, as you say, a trained psychiatrist. So when he writes that Loughner exhibited signs of "a clinical thought disorder - ideas disconnected from each other, incoherent, delusional, detached from reality," the Doc knows what he's talking about.
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Sorry to rehash the point EJ just made. I like to think that it's a case of great minds thinking alike.
Nov '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Ugh. I made the mistake of glancing at the WaPo comment section for Krauthammer's piece. It's nearly impossible for me to believe it, but apparently there are people who could read the piece and still think it's Sarah Palin's fault. It is scary how crazy the thinking of some supposedly sane people is.
May '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
The coverage of this is probably the worse I've seen from the media, and I've seen plenty.
I made a brief sojourn into the world of local news production about ten years ago because a friend of mine was the production manager at a CBS affiliate and needed help for a few weeks. One night around 9:30 the woman manning the assignment desk called out to the producer of the 11 O'Clock News that a woman's body had been pulled from the local river. The producer thrust her fist in the air and said, "Yes! Finally, a decent lead story!"
I told her she was sick and dropped the B word on her. I was so disgusted I was hoping they'd fire me.
But this Arizona situation, it's almost seems too smooth, like they've been hoping something like this would happen and they planned their responses well.
Jun '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Krauthammer has provided the definitve wrap up of this mess. I normally hate when any kind of medical diagnosis is made without examining the patient, but not in this case. Even a long ago semester of nursing school clinical rotation in the psych unit was sufficient for me to pin this horrible crime on the actions of a paranoid schizophrenic. It's a textbook case.
His one short column explains the military references common to modern politics, the medical condition of the shooter, and decimates Krugman and the opportunists piling on the bandwagon. It is a perfect piece.
Obama is playing it brilliantly, assigning "trash Palin & the Tea party" duties to a host of willing dupes while he stays above the fray.
May '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
It's hard to find good things to say about the Washington Post, but they do continue to publish this remarkably clear-thinking and well spoken columnist.
Sep '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
And not just any psychiatrist but one who has a legitimate pioneering discovery on his resume.
May '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Sep '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
StickerShock: Krauthammer has provided the definitve wrap up of this mess. I normally hate when any kind of medical diagnosis is made without examining the patient, but not in this case. Even a long ago semester of nursing school clinical rotation in the psych unit was sufficient for me to pin this horrible crime on the actions of a paranoid schizophrenic. It's a textbook case.
His one short column explains the military references common to modern politics, the medical condition of the shooter, and decimates Krugman and the opportunists piling on the bandwagon. It is a perfect piece.
Obama is playing it brilliantly, assigning "trash Palin & the Tea party" duties to a host of willing dupes while he stays above the fray. · Jan 12 at 8:25am
Nice to see he's picked up a few tricks from Clinton.
Jul '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Speaking of Palin, I think she has played this whole farcical MSM frenzy just about right. By the time she appears on Fox to what will probably be huge ratings, the left will be sucking air, punched out and arm weary. But I hope they keep it up.
Jun '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Professor Rahe nails it on the head about both Krauthammer and Krugman. Krauthammer has the gift of marshalling the relevant evidence and presenting it with marvelous clarity (it's "lawyerly" in the good sense of that term: the facts logically presented so as to lead to the only conclusion possible). Krugman, on the other hand, leaps to conclusions with no evidence whatsoever, engages in ad hominem attacks on his enemies, and then has the audacity to accuse the right of creating a climate of anger and fear.
This horrible incident has brought out some of the best examples of conservative discourse as writers like Krauthammer, Roger Kimball, Victor Davis Hanson, Jonah Goldberg, Andrew Klaven, and many others have weighed in with clarity and honesty.
With a few notable exceptions, the Left has tied its knickers in a knot and is flailing around looking for something to hit.. They need adult supervision.
Aug '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
http://www.irishtimes.com/cartoons/turner/2011/0112/12.jpg
Please check out today's cartoon in the Irish Times for an example of European liberal analysis of the outrage.And if you're interested in more check out the hatchet job on the State of Arizona also in today's IT by Lara Marlowe.The particular relevance of this is that Dr Krauthammer, and Mark Steyn before him, were once carried weekly by the Irish Times but were dropped, presumably because their conservative views were causing widespread indigestion in polite circles.Indeed a certain Ricochet member may have used their first names to create a pseudonym! Anyway the Irish Times now has Krugman instead which says it all really.
Edited on Jan 12, 2011 at 12:37pmOct '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
I love reading Krauthammer, though he's been taking a lot of heat from some Conservatives for his response to the election and the whole Palin thing. However, this time, he hits it on the head. I don't know how anybody could not agree with him (which, of course, means the idiots on the Left are doing so).
Sadly, the right people won't be reading and understanding Krauthammer's points, and they will continue to spew forth vile vitriol about Palin, the Tea Party, and blaming the Right for this whole thing.
They really have no self-awareness, and even the most brilliant Krauthammer piece will not give them that.
Oct '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
Now Media Matters is saying Glenn Beck is responsible for three (count'em,three) assassination attempts! Asinine, I say.
May '10
Re: Krauthammer Does It Again
I'd bet good money that only a tiny percentage of those people actually read the article. I'd bet even better money that a number of WaPo readers make a point of trashing every piece from Will or Krauthammer that the paper carries, simply because they are conservatives and therefore bad.