priceless!

For someone who is allegedly brilliant, Wolfowitz is a major screw-up.

If he were actually brilliant he would have detected the problem with his support letter just as he would have recognized the extreme stupidity of an invasion of Iraq.

Since anyone with bipedal ancestors (not covered with feathers) understood that Iraq would be the worst foreign policy blunder in our history, I believe that if Wolfowitz is any more than intellectually average it's fairly plain that his motive in promoting the Iraq invasion was ignoble at best.

These aren't the only Wolfowitz blunders. His recomendation that CIA analysts use their imaginations in lieu of social science analytic discipline regarding the Soviet Union in the 70s is further evidence that he is either gripped by fantasy or agressively sub-mediocre.

All those academic degrees (brilliance not necessary) cover up the the blunt ignorance of a man who bought into the analysis of a mathematician ill suited and not qualified to render judgement on matters far far beyond his purview.

Such are the people who, in recent decades, have insinuated into policy making positions.

This is one clue to the puzzle of how this nation,in spite of all its advantages,regularly finds itself up the proverbial creek.

Our 'elites' in whatever field ain't what they used to be.

Or is it because what we really have in the way of elites are no longer in public service, leaving open a path for the third rate into the councils of power.

We're in real trouble.

Or is it because what we really have in the way of elites are no longer in public service, leaving open a path for the third rate into the councils of power.

While we're on the topic of aggressively ignorant neo-conservatives, I am reminded of the episode where TFSGOTFOTE (The Fucking Stupidest Guy On The Face Of The Earth) rejected Patrick Lang as a candidate for the Pentagon’s office of special operations and low-intensity warfare because he actually spoke Arabic and knew lots of stuff about the Arab world.

Really, I just can't imagine how our Excellent Iraqi Adventure could have gone so terribly wrong.

Groovy post!

Nice post. I like the reference to Les Gerber. Never heard of him; now I want to know more.

Cal1942: I totally agree with your comments. You use the term "elites." I prefer "ruling class." Every society has a ruling class; in the absence of one, you have anarchy. A post-Saddam ruling class has yet to solidify itself in Iraq and never will until the U.S. leaves that country -- yet another argument for American withdrawal.

Also, as Cal1942 suggests, it's time that we look at our own governing elites. Has there ever been a more stupid, short-sighted, criminally negligent ruling class in the history of the Western world than the one that has been in charge of American government and business over the past 25 years? When you look at all the advantages our current political and economic rulers started with compared to those of previous ages, it's hard for me to conclude otherwise.

The scary thing is that, short of a cataclysm on the scale of the Great Depression, I don't see how things will change.

And to those who would argue that the members of our ruling class have actually been smart and competent in their own devious way because they've amassed mind-boggling wealth for themselves, my reply is this: sustainability. Nothing that our elites have achieved for themselves is remotely sustainable. Unfortunately, we will all pay the price when that becomes clear.

The reference to "Gerberization" is pretty funny. I'll have to look that up.

I guess the distinction with Marc Anthony's funeral oration in Shakespeare's _Julius Caesar_ is that Marc Anthony knew what he was doing in condemning Brutus by "defending" him.

Perhaps someone should make the point that Les Gerber was (& AFAIK still is) A Good Guy, with a really brilliant mind (unlike Wolfowitz in both respects). It's just that, as a 16-year-old, he two or three times allowed his Enthusiasm and Sense Of Justice to overcome his common-sense. That young people sometimes do this is, I think, not a bad thing.

I tend to prefer to use "Boardmanization" because John Boardman (also a good guy, though rather often annoying) was middle-aged when I was embarrassed to have him on my side in any political discussion. Mind you, I'm still not certain if it's true that John cancelled his subscription to The Communist Daily Worker because it was "insufficiently radical", but some urban legends are True even if they aren't true.

Is he stupid or was this intentional? I can't imagine that someone who has attained the power and position Wolfowitz has would be so inept as to do such a thing unintentionally.

Call me crazy but I kind of feel like he meant to do that. Maybe Libby slept with Wolfowitz's wife or something...

it does make you wonder of Wolfowitz is some sort of bizzare archetype of error made flesh.

Point A: the most excellent Iraq adventure, previously noted.

Point B: Heading the World Bank, starting a crusade against corruption, while blatently and openly practicing corruption and nepotism.

Point C: writing a letter to defend Libby, and inserting an incredibly damning anecdote that blows Libby's entire defence to hell.

I say we commission Wolfowitz to write a puff-piece on the '08 GOP nominee, and better still, to work on their campaign.

Hilarity ensues.

I could forgive a lot of what they have done, if only they had done a better job of it.

Or even just showed some sign that they took all of this stuff seriously.

If they gave us some hint that they understood that there are real human beings caught in the gears of their Rube Goldberg machine.