Fred Barnes and the Republican glory hole

By Michael J.W. Stickings

For any good and loyal Republican, Fred Barnes kneels in wait on the other side of that hole in the wall. This is especially true for Karl Rove, among the goodest and loyalest of all, who in resignation from a disgraceful, failure-ridden, and quite likely law-breaking tenure as Bush's puppeteer, finds himself stroked once more by The Weekly Standard's resident man-whore. See this piece of fellating punditry, which includes this memorable -- and, even by Barnes's standards, shockingly stupid -- remark:

Rove is the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation. He not only is a breathtakingly smart strategist but also a clever tactician. He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy.

The greatest, huh? A breathtaking visionary, huh?

One imagines that if Machiavelli were alive today he would recommend that Barnes be placed in the town square in two pieces as a warning to other pundits not to write such ignorant and foolish things.

I can't be bothered to comment on the rest of Barnes's piece. Suffice it to say that, for Barnes, Rove is beyond criticism. He did nothing wrong.

In response, I'll direct you to Andrew Sullivan and, in direct response to Barnes, Jonathan Chait, who notes that the "greatest ever" line has reduced even Barnes's fellow right-wingers to incredulity.

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Take no offence, please, if glory holes are your thing. Just hope Fred Barnes isn't on the other side.