klein on krauthammer

Joe Klein, the once anonymous author of Primary Colours, is one of the grand poobahs of the Washington media establishment. An unashamedly liberal Democrat, pugilistic in style, he writes with an authority derived from long experience, first-hand knowledge of key players like the Clintons, and sheer diligence: he likes to read up on the subject at hand and, in the case of foreign policy, visit the countries he writes about (he also likes to lets the reader know, in no uncertain terms, that he has done his homework). What really distinguishes Klein's writing from his peers is its rage, sometimes on the surface, sometimes just beneath. He rages at his political opponents, at his critics, and - perhaps - at his faint suspicion that people don't take him quite seriously enough.

Anyway, all this is by way of introduction to a trivial but revealing exchange occasioned by a flattering Politico profile of Charles Krauthammer, the conservative Washington Post columnist, and somebody whom Klein might regard as his opposite number. Here's the quote they elicited from Klein:

"He became ground zero among the neo-cons, but he's vastly smarter than most of them," said Time's Joe Klein, an admirer and critic who praised Krauthammer's "writing skills and polemical skills" as "so far above almost anybody writing columns today."

"There's something tragic about him, too," Klein said, referring to Krauthammer's confinement to a wheelchair, the result of a diving accident during his first year of medical school. "His work would have a lot more nuance if he were able to see the situations he's writing about."

How Klein this is. First, he singles out Krauthammer as someone worthy of his respect, in order to insinuate his contempt, not just for Krauthammer's fellow neo-cons, but for just about every other columnist out there. But he can't bear to leave it there, because to do so would imply he regards Krauthammer as an equal. So makes this rather odd, and perhaps distasteful, reference to Krauthammer's disability.

Well, this evidently kicked up a bit of a fuss, because Klein felt compelled to refer to it in a post on the Time blog:

The usual neoconservative malingerers have been hammering me about a quote I gave to Politico, regarding Charles Krauthammer's limitations as a columnist.

Obviously, I didn't mean to imply second-class status for disabled people. On the contrary, the distance and perspective that comes with physical deficits often leads to enhanced insight and abilities. The greatest President of the past 150 years sat in a wheelchair. 

 So it is possible to write brilliant, nuanced commentary—on the war in Iraq, for example—without visiting there. But it sure does help to understand a complicated situation in an unfamiliar culture if you can see it for yourself. Indeed, I believe the leavening effects of direct experience are especially valuable for those who are blinkered by ideology and debilitated by extreme views.

And while Krauthammer's skills are impressive, his commentary has been dangerously bellicose, arrogant and wrong.  Given his influence with the Bush Administration, his unflinching support for American unilateralism--his invention of the notion of  a unipolar world--did extensive damage to our nation's security and reputation overseas, and caused the unnecessary loss of  life.

So, there you have it. To sum up: Krauthammer is the best columnist out there (bar one), despite being not being able to walk. He is also a mass murderer.

Comments

[jncc]

The only bright spot in suffering a horrible injury is that it tends to increase one's empathy and compassion for others, yet those traits are notably absent in Krauthammer's commentary on social issues.

[Marbury]

Is that true? Does suffering an injury tend to increase one's empathy and compassion for others?