Respected Friends?

On a recent broadcast of MSNBC’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews was chatting with historian Douglas Brinkley. He noted that Brinkley’s book ,"Teddy Roosevelt: the Wilderness Warrior", was #21 on the New York Times best seller list, and then he could not resist getting in this dig:  "There’s so much right-wing crap on the best seller list these days. It’s great to see a book that you might want to put on your shelf and let your respected friends see you actually reading."

By Matthews’ definition, a "respected friend" is obviously someone who has swallowed the liberal bait and doesn’t want to even consider that there might be another view. He fails to grasp an important fact: The reason that his so-called "right-wing crap" tops the list is that many more people are buying it. In harder times, people tend to vote with their wallet; they buy those things they really believe are necessary. It’s a fact that far more literature from the conservative side is being sold in these difficult days, and that seems to defy the percentages seen in last year’s election. It may mean that many people are regretting their vote in light of the Obama administration’s hard left turn in policy and huge increases in spending.

Chris - The tingle you feel running down your leg might just be a spasm of guilt.

--Tom Wells 9/20/09