A disgraceful human being

In his latest column from the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol advocates for President Bush to give the Medal of Freedom to those who committed acts of torture. This speaks for itself:

One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning--and should at least be vociferously praising--everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.

Oh and he is one of the guys who brought us Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin. Is there anything more to say about this fellow Kristol?

Yes, we can

Last night I celebrated Barack Obama’s victory in the streets of Washington, DC with hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow Americans who were exulting in a spasm of patriotism that had been a long time in coming. I overheard one young African-American muttering, “After 400 years. After enslaving my people. Finally!”

African-Americans and whites and other Americans of all races were dancing, crying out, screaming with pride. It was the kind of joy I’ve seen only a few times before- when the Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1988 or when the Seattle Mariners advanced to the American League Championship Series in 1995. But this time it really mattered. This time we were celebrating a nation at its best.

After the disgrace of Guantanamo Bay. After the horror of Abu Ghraib. After a war of choice. After Katrina. After years of reckless fiscal mismanagement. After the Florida recount. But also after slavery, after segregation, after Emmett Till. After Selma, after Little Rock, after David Duke, after Bull Connor, after Birmingham. After Willie Horton, after Jesse Helms.

After so many other shameful moments in our nation’s history, we have finally redeemed ourselves and our forebears.