Jonathan Alter is having an utterly typical week in his "Conventional Wisdom Watch" box at Newsweek this week, labeled the "You're Doing a Heckuva Job, Rummy Edition." Once again, there is absolutely no separation between what the average MoveOn.org type thinks and what Alter writes:
Bush gets the typical down arrow: "Hearty Rummy endorsement shows he still puts loyalty before reality. And accountability? Ha!"
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, another down arrow: "Puts own ego ahead of White House needs. Time to fall on your sword, for goodness' sake."
"Generals" (and by this, Newsweek means Bush-Hating Generals) get a sideways arrow: "Candor about Iraq failures is good, but where were you in '03? Families of the fallen want to know."
On the domestic front, "Taxes" get a down arrow. Now that's imprecise...when has a liberal ever disliked taxes? No, Newsweek means there's not enough "tax justice" in the world: "Thanks to the AMT [alternative minimum tax], middle-class homeowners get whacked while superrich make out like bandits."
