The inimitable Bob Somerby has a compendia of Cohen.
"This is not the place to examine why Bush is so hated," Cohen continues. But does his acquaintance really "hate Bush?" It's hard to tell from the exchange he describes. What exactly did Cohen's friend mean when he compared this election to 1939? Either Cohen didn't ask, or the answer wasn't colorful enough to be included in this column. Did Cohen's friend really say or imply that American Jewry might be wiped out in a Bush second term-or did Cohen add "that bit" without prodding? What exactly did his friend mean? Cohen doesn't bother to tell us. But so what? We're supposed to tremble with rage about this gentleman's private and largely unexplained comment. Meanwhile, is nasty Bush-hatred occurring in public? Cohen cites that one obscure novel, but seems to have found nothing else.
According to Cohen, he hates this stuff-this fearsome lack of moderation. "The demonization of Bush is going to cost John Kerry plenty," he even declares. Cohen’s views are very clear: "[S]ome of us cherish moderation, recoil from conspiracy theories and would like, if possible, to stick to the facts." We tend to support those values ourselves. But as we read, we found ourselves wondering when Cohen began to feel them so strongly. ...
COHEN (10/14/97): [C]onsider why so many people spent so much time and money looking into Foster's death. His widow, Lisa, has remarried and moved on to a new phase in her life. Only Washington remained mired, fixated, believing that the Clintons could be so evil that they would-God only knows how-murder their troubled friend, move his body from the Oval Office or where the Rose Law Firm billing records were kept (Iron Mountain, I suppose) and place that gun in his hand. The scenario is so preposterous it wouldn't even make a bad movie, but the investigations came one after another.
Some of this, I grant you, is Clinton's fault. He is not a truthful man, and maybe that accounts for the venomous attacks that come his way. Last week, for instance, Mark Helprin, a Wall Street Journal contributing editor, called Clinton "the most corrupt, fraudulent and dishonest president we have ever known." Helprin is a novelist, so a little leeway should be granted, but has he forgotten Richard Nixon? Nineteen of the president's men went to jail—and not, mind you, for crimes committed before coming to Washington.
Cohen gave leeway to novelists then, even when their nasty claims were being published in important places. But Cohen didn't show much outrage by the jihad against Clinton, who had brought the venomous attacks on himself. "Now can we have an investigation into why there have been so many investigations?" he quipped. "I ask that question a bit tongue in cheek-but also because I am at a loss to explain what has happened in Washington since George Bush departed the place and Bill Clinton came in." Today, though, he sees the problem clearly. When an intelligent man complains privately about Bush, Cohen goes into print to describe it as "hatred." But back then, when crackpots drove the discourse for a decade, he chuckled. He couldn't figure it out.
I think Richard is due for the Big Vacation. I hear that it's fun out in Fantasyland, that they have Clear Skies and Healthy Forests and Bill Bennett provides the entertainment for everyone, no matter your proclivity. Cohen the Tool would be right at home there.
And everyone there would just idolize Beloved Leader. He'd be sooo happy.
