I read the New York magazine profile of Chelsea Clinton hungering for any evidence of something idealistic she believes in. No, she seems insipid, a pale copy of her parents, with a New York lifestyle. She’s on the board of a ballet company, but tThere isn’t a shred of what her mother expressed when she graduated from Wellesley 40 years ago, during Vietnam:
our prevailing acquisitive and competitive corporate life, including tragically the universities, is not the way of life for us. We’re searching for more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating modes of living.
People are for Obama because they want a larger sense of meaning to their American lives. And in that sense the Clinton era is over. Hillary talked about it some times, but the Clintons never offered us a "politics of meaning." Bill’s one great accomplishment was economic growth in the 90s. Chelsea’s life seems to have drained into those materialist values. She works for a hedgefund.
Of course I look at it from a Jewish perspective. My people came inside with the Clintons. The most philosemitic administration in history (per Frum, from the next philosemitic administration). The two Supreme Court appointees were Jewish. The big donors to Hillary’s campaign are Jewish and Chelsea’s boyfriend is Jewish (and works at Goldman Sachs), as was her father’s most famous lover. The establishment has been by my estimate half-Jewish. The Camp David negotiating team was almost all Jewish. When John O’Keeffe writes to me that now is the time for Israel to cut a deal he’s right. It seems like this era is already passing, that the Jewish arrival-into-power generation didn’t stand for enough–besides wealth and the Iraq war–and so now it’s going into the dustbin of history. The Vietnam debacle ended a blueblood establishment that went out in the domestic convulsions of the 70s, and the great minds that gave us Iraq will give way, even if he loses, to an Obama-fostered rising class of assimilating intermarrying leftleaning ethnics who don’t play identity politics and want to reinspire our democracy. I can’t wait.
I always use the word meritocracy to describe my generation but it’s not precise. What is the meritocracy? It was a ruling class that melded the burgeoning communications industries with Wall Street and global entrepreneurialism, i.e., hedge funds and the internet. When they were young the meritocrats made the first cut via standardized tests, and these tests gave them the sense that they were the best, chosen democratically; and the meritocracy was pervaded by elitist prestige thinking. Few of them had kids in the Iraq war, and they felt no personal connection with Bush’s war, which their representative almost universally suported. And yes, my people did especially well in the meritocracy. As I reported yesterday, Pew shows that 55 percent of Reform Jewish households make over $100,000 a year, three times the national percent. We brought our entrepreneurialism to the American economy and brought our worldview to the ruling class. When 9/11 happened, the powerful press never said that Osama bin Laden was motivated by anger about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
My father has said to me that when America turns against Jews, it will happen "without fireworks." He’s right. This Jewish-flavored establishment will pass without fireworks. Though I believe Walt and Mearsheimer have played a large subterranean role in this presidential campaign–Newsweek cites them but can’t even mention their work by name in a piece on whether Obama is good for the Jews. Their ideas won’t stay subterranean. All the murmuring from Clinton’s pro-Israel braintrust and the neocons about Obama’s true agenda is going to break out in open accusation, that Obama wants an evenhanded policy in the Middle East. Again, I can’t wait. And as Obama himself has said, all the bleeding of Jews into the Republican party is over Israel. Jews now make up the conservative bulwark of the Democratic Party. We’re like Rockefeller Republicans, in their day, just as status quo oriented. Why change anything, Malcolm Hoenlein said to Haaretz, when he attacked Obama, it’s just inviting mischief…
Why change anything? My own disappointment with the meritocracy stemmed from my awareness that it was as smug and entitled as the ruling class it replaced. When PBS’s Paul Solman interviewed the Indian Vandana Shiva about her anti-globalist crusade–to stop agriculture companies from patenting ancient indigenous cures– he expressed irritation that she was anti-progress, anti-urban, anti-growth. Is there any soul in his values? When the New York Times offered a piece yesterday on the latest trend in Holocaust education for children, there was scarcely a word about the importance of the Holocaust in identity politics, to the preservation of the state of Israel and Jto the Jewish campaign against intermarriage (at a time when everyone wants to marry us, as they wanted to marry rich gentiles back when). And no mention of the ways that human suffering is unfolding before us now, including in the Occupied Territories. Some day soon these attitudes will seem quaint and ancient.
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{ 13 comments }
"The Clintons never offered us a 'politics of meaning.'"
That's for sure. The Clintons' politics were never about anything but gratifying their limitless personal ambitions and feathering their own nests.
As Phil has said before, the manner in which Hillary withdraws will be telling. Will she go gracefully on March 5th, or continue her grim Long March into the spring? Will she endorse and campaign for Obama, or withdraw into a wounded, stony silence?
If they thought they could, the Clintons doubtless would run a third-party campaign. Maybe Ralph Nader needs a savvy, experienced running mate.
The "meaning" that the Clintons gave was of policy wonk, which IS of hard work, inquiring into reasons and options.
It just wasn't mystical, nor simplistic.
A couple of key difference between the old Rockefeller Republican establishment and the new Jewish establishment: the old timers didn't have a foreign country competing for their loyalties, and the old timers were Christian in a majority Christian country, and thus felt a deeper connection to the American masses and their traditions than the Jewish establishment does.
A problem with the Jewish establishment is that it always seems to keep one eye on the escape exit, as perfectly expressed by Phil's dad as quoted above: "…WHEN America turns against Jews…"
How well can an establishment that fears and loathes the majority it presides over possibly represent that majority‘s interests? In fact, does it hate that majority enough to help lie it into an unnecessary war on behalf of the country who’s traditions it feels a deeper emotional connection to? It certainly appears so.
I was listening to an NPR report on the lack of doctors in Israel(is there a day that goes by that NPR doesn't report from Israel?) that was very telling. The report stated that Israel lacks doctors, and that the Israeli government is recruiting for doctors in the U.K. and the U.S. for JEWISH candidates.
The reporter didn't miss a beat when stating that only Jewish candidates would be accepted. My guess is that somewhere in his career, he has bemoaned exclusivity among other groups harshly.
A female doctor from Philadelphia stated that she loves to work in Israel on a trial basis because she loves to care for "her own people." There was no mention of giving back to the society that produced her.
If that is the meritocracy, what good is it for the majority of Americans? Will we even recognize our nation when the meritocracy has been purged?
so what has all this jewish meritocracy in government really brought to america……what hath it wrought? if you need the answer to be pointed out to you, just look at where we are and what we are entangled in. the financial and political geniuses educated at americas best colleges have brought us down the road to today.
what is the value of these over educated ignoramuses in government and the press whose moral judgement is clouded by loyalties to another nation and whose conscience is so callous that they send our soldiers to die in the middle east for a cause that is not our own, and where is the press? they are lying and covering up lies to keep americas citizens blinded from the truth that would liberate them. why is the press so afraid to speak up and tell americans about our israel centric middle east policy, and why cant congressmen and women speak up and tell us the truth? who are these oppressors who can muzzle the press and the politicos in america? that they are muzzled there can be no denying, otherwise where are the debates? why the self censoring? who are they afraid off?
if america only knew we would have a revolution that would make the first american revolutiton pale in comaparison.
quien le va a poner el cascabel al gato?
americas brightest minds and best educated men and women have led us into this nightmare, the government and our foreign and domestic policies along with wallstreet can not be trusted, the dollar has been debauched, and our political leaders are servants to their oppressive masters-the lobbies, who whether by hook or by crook get them to dance to the tune they play.
what is there to be proud of in these oppressors?
Well I am not so sure we have a jewish meritocracy to blame as much as we have had a convergence of gentiles with an agenda in power who then appointed Jews, who may have had an agenda, to various positions they thought would serve their purpose.
If the goal of both was to bleed the country dry and run it into the ground they pretty much suceeded. If that wasn't their goal then we have to admit they are pretty much too stupid and incompetent to be involved in running any country or financial system.
However I do agree with Phil's father that if the US turns against the Jews it will be without fireworks. It will be more along the lines of witholding trust of Jews, maybe excluding their opinons on certain things and not wanting jews serving in elected positions in the US..a flare of suspicion if a Jewish name is on a news report..ferreting out the ones speaking on American interest and matters that you can trust to be honest and without an Israeli agenda and the ones you can't. When I read international news and a jewish name is attached to it I always google them to see if they have made any personal statements about their beliefs or loyalties that might mean I can't take their reporting as objective when reporting on the "terrier wur" for instance. There are some like Daniel Levey that I can rely on to be straight on facts even though he is totally pro Israel, then there are others that I won't even read because I have learned from previous experience they are slanted and dishonest in their facts because of their personal Jewish indentity.
Would I be double checking jewish names if not for my education on the Israeli fetish in Orwellington, DC and the lobby?…probably not, I never did before.
However I do this on a lot of people besides jews who are promoting certain things to see if they have any questionable motivations in what they are pushing.
There is no particular moral to this tale except that we are going to have to come up with some new rules to get out of our current mess and avoid repeating it in the future.
Phil: " . . . at a time when everyone wants to marry us, as they wanted to marry rich gentiles back when. . . "
I'm not sure what you're saying here–that women no longer want to marry rich gentiles? Or that there just aren't very many of them around anymore compared to rich Jews? My understanding of female psychology is that women always want to marry good providers. If they are gentile, that's fine. If they are Jewish, that's also fine. Ethnicity doesn't matter so much as income.
i enjoy reading philip weiss because of his keen insight into the jewish meritocracy as he dubbed it and because he comes across as a sincere american who loves this nation and dislikes the direction in which the ruling elite has led our country.
thank you for expressing your point of view mr weiss.
among my jewish friends these subjects are shunned due to lack of interest in politics or because they just like to go along to get along, israel to them is this mythical land which stands for safety and goodness, and whose actions surely must be justified.
i've gone from being a supporter of israel to hating the way the zionist jewish american lobbies oppress my nations political system. my christian belief system always held the nation of israel and jerusalem above reproach, i am now repulsed by men like john hagee and pat robertson who support the actions of israel and lobby for war against men and women of muslim beliefs. i am glad i read ilan pappe and other israeli revisionist, i now see israel in a totally different light.
Re: Israel has too many doctors. Where did they all go? Israel had way too many after so many immigrated from Russia with their
free education.
Observer: The moral of the tale is you now always check out the source for likely bias and in that sense you have become like–guess who?
Charles Keating write:
"Re: Israel has too many doctors. Where did they all go? Israel had way too many after so many immigrated from Russia with their
free education.
Observer: The moral of the tale is you now always check out the source for likely bias and in that sense you have become like–guess who?"
I guess that was directed at me. I have no clue about the number of doctors in Israel. The report stated that a large number of former Soviet doctors are retiring, or are soon to retire, and are creating the crunch.
I was pointing out the attitudes of the reporter and the interviewees, and used their words as a source of bias.
To Xymphoric folk comming here, a glimpse of the past.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/02/a_few_thoughts__2.html
Excerpt follows:
====================
February 10, 2007
A Few Thoughts About Obama's Threat to Zionism
My dad's real smart, even if he doesn't agree with me on my Middle East politics, and a couple weeks ago he said something that stuck. He was saying that Jimmy Carter's book is a sign of rising anti-Semitism (something I disagree with), a sign we're entering a new phase for Jewish power in the U.S. That the result of Carter's book and Walt-Mearsheimer and other developments that I cheer and my dad fears is that Jews will have less power. I said, "So are you talking about pogroms?" My father made a little face. He's very poetical and ironical. "No. Without fireworks."
Not to belabor the obvious, but my father was saying that these big sociological questions are going to be brokered and renegotiated beneath the surface, quietly, and Jews and gentiles will adjust to a new reality. Smart guy, my dad….."
====================
And, of course, to the Mondoweissenian folk who want to be acquainted with Xymphora's viewpoint:
http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2008/02/racist-posting.html
It will be interesting to see the lack of fireworks when Obama
and McCain debate in the general election.
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