The Insanity of Reason

On the op-ed page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal, there was a piece by Peter Berkowitz titled The Insanity of Bush Hatred. Berkowitz acknowledge that all Presidents are hated by some, but he argued that the hatred of Bush was different in part because the haters thought that their hatred was "a rational response to the president and his administration."

I happen to be one of those people who thinks there is good reason to believe that the Bush presidency has been a catastrophe for the United States. What I find fascinating is that Berkowitz thinks my "insanity" is established by my belief that the facts and evidence support my view. No doubt the more facts and evidence I might pile up to demonstrate how poorly Bush has performed, the more insane I would prove myself to be. It is bad enough to hate Bush irrationally, but hating him rationally is even worse.

I am reminded of the comment of another famous politician with a unique command of the English language, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley: "They have vilified me, they have crucified me; yes, they have even criticized me."