Roger Kimball points the reader to a proposal by Arnold Kling another word for the political glossary - not just for Campaign ‘08, but for all politicians. (from Kling’s post):
“The term ‘Spitzer’ belongs in the dictionary,” Mr. Kling observes, “and its definition should be ‘any politician.’ We ought to think of all politicians as Spitzers. No, they don’t all have lurid involvements with prostitutes. But they all have an inflated view of their superiority over the rest of us.”
Kling goes on to add a particularly sharp definition:
Suppose that we define “Spitzer” as someone who believes in the aggressive use of political power. A Spitzer believes it is his mission to tell us what to do for own good.
Kimball believes that nearly all politicians, and most petty bureaucrats fall into that definition of a ’spitzer.’
Kling comes up with a strong condemnation of future political appointees or politicians filled with hubris:
Yes, he’s a real Spitzer all right.
Kimball’s post is about so much more than the moral turpitude of Elliott Spitzer.
Quoth James Carville in 2002: “You in New York are so blessed to have an attorney general who just showed what it was like to be a Democrat.” I don’t often agree with James Carville, but this time he hit the nail on the head. I only wish that the disease were confined to Democrats. It isn’t.
Kimball’s post is well worth the read.
