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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Spooky

Spooky

by Tim F|  October 1, 200712:14 pm| 31 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Republican Stupidity

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Sullivan quotes Hannah Arendt:

“All debate about the truth or falsity of a totalitarian dictator’s prediction is as weird as arguing with a potential murderer about whether his future victim is dead or alive-since by killing the person in question the murderer can promptly provide proof of the correctness of his statement. The only valid argument under such conditions is to promptly rescue the person whose death is predicted. Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of the man who can fabricate it. The assertion that the Moscow subway is the only one in the world is a lie only so long as the Bolsheviks have not the power to destroy it.”

Interesting. Guess which context Sullivan was referencing!

A:

B:

In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn’t like about Bush’s former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House’s displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn’t fully comprehend — but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

The aide said that guys like me were ”in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who ”believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ”That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he continued. ”We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

Vote in the comments. No cheating, please.

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Reader Interactions

31Comments

  1. 1.

    Zifnab

    October 1, 2007 at 12:20 pm

    Wow. Tough call. But given that I still don’t think Sully has gotten over his conservaphilia, I’m going with (A).

  2. 2.

    John S.

    October 1, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    That is a tough one, but if he’s going to quote a notorious leftist like Arendt, I’m going out on a limb and guess (B).

  3. 3.

    whippoorwill

    October 1, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    I believe B is from R. Susskind”s book. Therefore B is my final answer. Achameanajob is a mouth without any real power.

  4. 4.

    Davebo

    October 1, 2007 at 12:49 pm

    Achameanajob is a mouth without any real power.

    Are you kidding? He’s getting ready to bring about a new world order controlled by Iran.

    Just ask Norm P.

  5. 5.

    whippoorwill

    October 1, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    Just ask Norm P.

    Ah, Podperson just needs his tinfoil hat adjusted so as can here the Persian devils crawling through his sewer pipe.

  6. 6.

    Mike

    October 1, 2007 at 1:06 pm

    As far as I know, A doesn’t have the power to arrest a random citizen, lock him away indefinitely, and have him tortured. B does, so I have to assume that by “totalitarian dictator” Ms. Arendt meant B.

  7. 7.

    Fwiffo

    October 1, 2007 at 1:32 pm

    I’m gonna wager that Sully’s reverencing A, given Achmadinejobberods reference to the non-existence of teh gay in Iran.

  8. 8.

    Tax Analyst

    October 1, 2007 at 1:58 pm

    Well, much like a Certs (both a Candy mint AND a Breath mint), I believe this quote could be applicable to BOTH situations, although I’m going to lean towards “B”, because you EXPECT someone like Mr.Dinner Jacket to spout fabrications to support his propaganda, but we’ve already seen plenty of evidence and examples of the utter contempt that the Bushites hold “facts” and “truth”…much like the Red Queen, “truth” is what they want it to be, no matter how totally that “truth” is at odds with the actual reality of events. These guys are no stranger totalitarian spin…to borrow from Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit”, logic and proportion have indeed fallen sloppy dead. The only thing that’s been missing so far has been the funeral.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    October 1, 2007 at 2:14 pm

    I’m gonna bet A for the same reasons as Zifnab and Fwiffo.

    *goes to check*

  10. 10.

    Jake

    October 1, 2007 at 2:38 pm

    B.

    The term “Leader” doesn’t apply to the figure head/firebrand/loony toon known as Ahavealongname.

  11. 11.

    bernarda

    October 1, 2007 at 2:48 pm

    As Sullivan is a notorious “barebacker”, I suspect it is “A” because of the silly comments about no homosexuals in Iran.

  12. 12.

    KCinDC

    October 1, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    Since neither speaker is a totalitarian dictator (though Bush is closer to being one than Ahmadinejad is), I’m not sure how the Arendt quote is applicable.

  13. 13.

    garyb50

    October 1, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    First, let me just say that I would consider it excruciating torture to be forced to read even one more sentence of whatever that quote was pulled from…

    One vote for A.

  14. 14.

    sglover

    October 1, 2007 at 3:15 pm

    Darling Andy has long been in a perpetual quiver about Iran. He always claims that he’s learned from his disgraceful conduct during the early years of the Iraq debacle, but it’s pretty clear that he’s ready to buy pretty much the same disinfo for an attack on Iran.

    If ‘A’ isn’t the answer, I’ll be amazed.

  15. 15.

    JakeB

    October 1, 2007 at 3:20 pm

    The fact that you offer the choice makes me suspect A.

  16. 16.

    crayz

    October 1, 2007 at 3:57 pm

    Gah, who writes like that? It’s like all the words within the sentences played musical chairs

    *looks up author*

    Oh… a German

  17. 17.

    MobiusKlein

    October 1, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    When Ahmadinejad says Iran has no gays, he has the power to make that statement true.

    But I presume A.S. could be persuaded that Bush has similar delusions.

  18. 18.

    Nikki

    October 1, 2007 at 4:28 pm

    What a bozo.

  19. 19.

    HyperIon

    October 1, 2007 at 4:54 pm

    The assertion that the Moscow subway is the only one in the world is a lie only so long as the Bolsheviks have not the power to destroy it.

    wtf?
    wouldn’t destroying it make it even less true?
    what does having the power to destroy it have to do with the assertion that it is unique?

    i

    might

    understand if the statement mentioned the power to destroy all other subways…

  20. 20.

    TrishB

    October 1, 2007 at 5:27 pm

    crayz – from what I’ve seen working for a very large German conglomerate, that’s pretty much standard fare for German prose whether in translation or direct to English. Shit, and I only work with IT types, not philosophers.

  21. 21.

    Delia

    October 1, 2007 at 6:28 pm

    B

  22. 22.

    Dreggas

    October 1, 2007 at 7:18 pm

    sglover Says:

    Darling Andy has long been in a perpetual quiver about Iran. He always claims that he’s learned from his disgraceful conduct during the early years of the Iraq debacle, but it’s pretty clear that he’s ready to buy pretty much the same disinfo for an attack on Iran.

    If ‘A’ isn’t the answer, I’ll be amazed.

    Sure he’s in aquiver over Iran, however he hasn’t been calling on anyone to bomb them into the stone age either. Rather he has hoped for the unrest within the society in Iran to bring about a new revolution. Honestly I think he’d go apeshit mad if we did what that old far Podheretz suggested.

  23. 23.

    numbskull

    October 1, 2007 at 7:44 pm

    What WAS the name of that dumbfuck “senior adviser to Bush” who said that ab-so-lute-lee dumb-fucking thing about making new realities while “you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.’’?

    No matter what happens, we MUST make sure that that particular dumbfuck is never, ever, ever, ever allowed ANYwhere near the levers of power again.

    Does anyone know the identity of that particular dumbfuck?

  24. 24.

    sparky el dunce

    October 1, 2007 at 8:31 pm

    Interesting exercise.

    Asking the question makes me think “A” is the answer, but the quote itself is much closer to “B”.

    I hope it’s “B”. Given the runup in attempts to paint Iran as the worstest ever, if I’m wrong I don’t think there’s much reason to read him.

  25. 25.

    Jess

    October 1, 2007 at 9:19 pm

    Does anyone know the identity of that particular dumbfuck?

    I believe it was yet another anonymous campaign spokesperson. But you know he had to be quoting Rove or Cheney.

  26. 26.

    Jess

    October 1, 2007 at 9:31 pm

    What is a particularly nice touch is the George Orwell quote at the top of Sullivan’s page–how true it is!

  27. 27.

    rachel

    October 1, 2007 at 10:32 pm

    Does anyone know the identity of that particular dumbfuck?

    No, so we’re going to have to keep all of them out from now on.

  28. 28.

    MobiusKlein

    October 1, 2007 at 11:29 pm

    Does anyone know the identity of that particular dumbfuck?

    No, so we’re going to have to keep all of them out from now on.

    “I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”
    – Ripley

  29. 29.

    James

    October 2, 2007 at 5:14 am

    “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality,” Piped the Japanese PM.

    The American raised an eyebrow. “So your saying you do want a couple of mushroom clouds over your cities.”

  30. 30.

    Redhand

    October 2, 2007 at 7:04 am

    I think it’s A, but B is a really tempting choice. As to, “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality,” we see in Iraq the limits of “empire” when things don’t go according to plan.

    I can’t wait for this Presidency to be over with. It’s been one of the darkest chapters in American history.

  31. 31.

    eric

    October 2, 2007 at 11:39 pm

    I so want to say B. In fact I will.

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