Monday, August 20, 2007

One Down . . .

(490 words)

by Michael Nagler

The retirement of Karl Rove from his position as advisor to the President has given progressives like myself additional hope that the destruction of our democratic values, our standing in the world, much of our wealth and many of our young men and women that President Bush has been able to undertake, seemingly without obstruction from anyone, may be losing its momentum at last, as all bad things eventually do.

Rove was a leading example of those who, in the words of Al Gore, have mounted the “Assault on Reason” we have been living through. This he was not because he was unique, in this world of ‘spin doctors’ and ‘fixers,’ but because of the degree to which he was able, as Bob Burnett has put it, “to employ his extraordinary propaganda talents in the service of a polarizing, destructive and unscrupulous targeting of his leader's political opponents.” In this, Burnett continues, “he has played a major role in the coarsening of American democracy.”

Unfortunately his departure, however welcome, ... (contact PeaceVoiceDirector@gmail.com to obtain exclusive consideration of this unpublished piece)

Michael N. Nagler

Prof. emeritus, UC Berkeley

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