Rick's Cafe Americain

or, “Damn This is a Good Essay ... and Some Commentary on Nation Building from Signor Ferrari”
[the title of this post has been modified to fit your screen -ed.]

Andrew Sullivan’s essay on why he has decided to support John Kerry is well worth reading (I can’t say endorse, because he tears Kerry a new arsehole in the process—he just tears Bush a bigger one).  I am sure this is old news to the Blogsphere, but hey, I just found out who Andrew Sullivan was an hour ago (New Republic editor).

Why is it worth reading?  Well, because he is a good and knowledgeable writer who gives a straight shooting view of the candidates and the state of the world (he endorsed Bush in 2000, still things the decision to invade Iraq was a good idea and points out Kerry’s flaws in detail) and convincingly makes the case that unless you are part of the religious right or “connected” to the Republican party (my words not his) you should be voting for Kerry.  Not because Kerry will be a great President, but because Kerry is clearly the lesser of two risks in meeting the challenges ahead.

But enough about the election, there is an ideological point embedded in this essay that I want to take on—the concepts of promoting democracy through regime change and nation building.

they did a poll recently in iraq, and it looks like the mullahs are gonna win in a landslide. in a country and culture where religious leaders are the most trusted and most influential forces on ordinary people’s lives, who do you expect them to vote for?

New Republic are not neocons, I don’t care what that silly link says. TNR is a center-liberal mag. Sullivan is to TNR what David Brooks is to the NYT’s oped page.

I don’t know David Brooks nor Sullivan well enough to understand the meaning of your analogy—is Sullivan right of TNR?  Either way, the points about neocon ideology are valid regardless of whether TNR is the standard bearer or not.

Christ you guys were busy this afternoon/evening.