Sid Blumenthal's "unprecedented decline of U.S. prestige" is so yesterday

Like Johnny-come-lately British PM Gordon Brown, who's scrambling to catch up with what WSJ eds dub "the new Continental zeitgeist," Tiny -- above keeping tabs on the backyard zeitgeist from atop the woodpile -- has "no truck with anti-Americanism in Britain or elsewhere in Europe."

"The 'unprecedented decline of U.S. prestige' is so yesterday," we wrote in the comments of one of The News Junkie's posts at Maggie's Farm, where he quotes "the revolting, oily Sidney Blumenthal [who] is back working for the Clintons again." We were referring to the new dance step the WSJ calls "the Sarkozy," about which more in a moment. But first let's listen to Blumenthal's complaint:

Under crisis conditions of an extraordinary magnitude political leadership of the highest level will be required in the next presidency. The damage is broad, deep and spreading, apparent not only in international disorder and violence, the unprecedented decline of U.S. prestige, and the flouting of our security and economic interests but also in the hollowing out of the federal government's departments and agencies, and their growing incapacity to fulfill their functions, from FEMA to the Department of Justice.

Old Sid is obviously in the throes of what Peter Berkowitz in his own WSJ commentary yesterday called "a Bush hatred and a corollary contempt for conservatism so virulent that it had addled the minds of many of our leading progressive intellectuals." A particularly advanced case of the syndrome came to our attention via EURSOC:

On the Independent's dismal new blog site Open House, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown claims that the BBC is indeed biased -- in favour of the right . . . [asserting] "They diss the only consistently left of centre papers in the country -- and so ditch the European Union, internationalism, multilateralism, fair immigration policies, equality, regulation, redistribution, legitimate (as opposed to illegal) wars."

Alibhai-Brown's list of grievances seemed to spew forth from the same black hole of "contempt for conservatism" that had inspired Sidney Blumenthal's soaring apocalyptic pronouncements. Back down on the ground meanwhile, the WSJ's editors were marveling at "the sight, unimaginable this time last year, of a new generation of European leaders clamoring to make friends with America":

Nicolas Sarkozy's star turn in America last week didn't escape notice in London, which used to pride itself on the "special relationship."

Of late, the friendship has felt less than special. On becoming Prime Minister this summer, Gordon Brown threw a few bones to the Harold Pinter gallery. He brought the America-skeptic Mark Malloch Brown from the U.N. to serve in his cabinet. In his first meeting with President Bush, the PM was all straight talk, making a point to strike a contrast with the chumminess on display whenever Tony Blair dropped by Camp David. Little changed on policy, but the symbolism and body language were cool. And, it turns out, out of step with the new Continental zeitgeist . . .

So Monday night, in his first major speech on foreign policy since moving into 10 Downing Street, Mr. Brown sought to out-Sarkozy the Frenchman. "It is no secret that I am a lifelong admirer of America," he said in London. "I have no truck with anti-Americanism in Britain or elsewhere in Europe . . .

Whether the Prime Minister's sudden effusiveness about the Yanks was prompted by the Sarkozy visit doesn't matter. But his speech recognized that the action today in Europe is in France and Germany. Paris and Berlin buried disagreements over the Iraq war and reached out to Washington on the strategic challenges faced by the trans-Atlantic alliance. London feels left out.

As we noted in our above-referenced comments at Maggie's Farm, "Sid might want to check out 'Doing the Sarkozy' in today's WSJ. Or maybe not. When denial is your lifeline, you're immune to facts on the ground."

Update: We loved Captain Ed's take:

It appears that we have become the belle of the European ball . . .

I blame George Bush, that dastardly unilateralist! Where's Don Rumsfeld when we need him?

Where, indeed.

Update II:  Where are the animals when you need them? As always, at Modulator, whose Friday Ark #165 is now boarding.

Update III:  Where are all the loonies when you need them? As usual, the nut cases are running the asylum at Dr. Sanity's Carnival of the Insantities.

Comments

[goomp]

Liberals may have high IQs, but they are ignorant of the history of mankind and of human nature.

[Teresa]

Why am I picturing Sarkozy as the Pied Piper... all the rats following him. Heh.

It is amazing to watch Sarkozy turning the tide in Europe. A "Wow" moment indeed. However, it will make the Blumenthals of the world screech that much louder.