Say what you will about either man’s politics, but the two of them as individuals are whip-smart (thanks Liz). Bush may have cared very little about domestic affairs, but was undoubtedly one of the sharper foreign-policy minds to have held the office in modern times. Clinton may have been a shameless self-promoter, but, for better or worse, was one of the chief architects of modern neo-liberal globalization, effectively ushering in the modern global economy and presiding over one of the most lucrative epochs (for some at least) in American history.

Many of you know that I am now mere months away from completing my Ph.D., after which you may all call me Dr. Urthwalker. But seriously, the longer I am in this academia game, the more I encounter people with whom I just plain disagree with on a fundamental ideological level. I love these people. Sometimes they even change my mind, sometimes I change theirs. But either way, we each have a lucid, reasoned rationale behind our opinions and engage one another with intelligence and respect.

I meet a great many people like this throughout the world and especially through the rise of the blogosphere. I also meet their doppelgangers, the mindlessly partisan, vacuous, sensationalists who see the world only in sharp dichotomies and empty sound bites. God help us all if one of these is currently running the country.

The Hindsight Factor
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