Why do they pay them?

Really, this is the thing that gets me.

Publications like The Atlantic and The New York Times are always decrying in high moral dudgeon the debasement of our political discourse.

And they hire the likes of Andrew Sullivan and Maureen Dowd.

The thing we'll probably see regarding Obama and his kids is karma biting him in the ass. How many times have we seen him bloviate on how other people (mostly African-Americans) were raising their kids and doing it wrong?

Then there was the silence of these two parents when their 527 on cable accused Hillary of pimping out Chelsea. He and Michelle didn't have to speak out against that crap because they were Ds or anything. They should have done it because one day the same claim would be raised against them and I for one would look the other way just like they did.

Was it opportunistic?  Sure.  Was it a move calculated to make sure there was plenty of footage of the happy little family, so he would never have to do it again?  Of course.  One might even say that it was a relatively small thing to expose the kids to - they've seen the crowds and the reporters and the cameras - this could not have been that big a deal for them, all things considered.

Sullivan, if he wanted to write about hubris, had a lot more substantive material available than what he chose to cite, but it might have been a lot harder and taken more research and analysis than using a seal, a stadium and a Hollywood interview to support his opinion.

I find that tasteless. First of all, because the Brandenburger Tor is an important historic symbol, reminding us about bad and difficult parts of German history in particular, and world history in general. A presidential candidate from the US should not be using it as a prop during the campaign. Imagine, say, that Sarkozy, in the run-up to the last French election, had wanted to give a speech at Gettysburg. It's just not appropriate.

Secondly, presenting yourself as a world leader by using that place, while you're still just a candidate who hasn't achieved anything in the world of foreign policy, is very presumptuous.

The German government is against it, as it doesn't think it's appropriate. The mayor of Berlin likes the idea, however, because it would present him with a good photo-op.

Now these are some folks we should pay attention, too. And what they are thinking about Obama und McCain?

Who cares? Not the netroots AFAI can see. When I visited dkos in the last couple years, I never saw  Chomsky's name mentioned by that "progressive" lot. Not once.

btw. Sullivan went practically wild and totally berserk on the Bill Maher show when Chomsky was on early on the HBO show. But Those are the moments that show you whats really going on with people like Thatcherite Sullivan, the most confused fellow pundit everyone wants to quote because he dishes and has what? a british accent? Why else? Beats me.

At least I haven't seen him scratch his butt on teevee.  :)