Yglesias: “Bernstein says liberals hate Bush not because he’s a conservative, but because he’s an opportunist. Delong explains that, no, the problem with Bush isn’t his conservatism, it’s his opportunism. They’re both right.” But riddle me this, Batman: how many politicians who aren’t opportunists get very far in the world? It’s sometimes wearisome, sometimes amusing, to see partisan Democrats and Republicans consistently accusing the other side of things that both sides are consistently guilty of. Or, put another way, (insert Yiddish accent here) “Nu, Clinton wasn’t an opportunist?”
Bush and Clinton particularly grate the other side because they are opportunists who, as noted earlier, send out strong and controversial cultural cues, which they, in part, use to solidify a base far more loyal than their actual policies would allow. The same cues that solidify the base inevitably upset the other side’s base.
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