Et tu, Van den Heuvel?

Hey all you Democrats, if you need to be reminded of what a real old fashioned Emmett Tyrell style hit piece looks like, this one defines the genre as well as anything you’ll see from The American Spectator. It’s an excellent example of character assassination, done with the patented snotty superiority that drips most copiously from those whose main contribution to political discourse is the metaphorical shiv in the metaphorical backs of their own allies.

I haven’t up to now recognized myself as a servile member of a “group of hushed, groveling supplicants staring dewy-eyed at their savior Caesar,” and frankly I’ve never seen any such thing at the Clark events I’ve attended. (But, my goosestepping martial spirit was thrilled to read that Clark joked with a pastry salesgirl about really loving “napoleons.” I think that pretty much says it all about what Clark is really up to and I couldn’t be happier. My savior wants to invade Russia. And this time he’ll do it right.)

In fact, the “napoleon” comment merely foreshadows the main contention (aside from how silly his stupid volunteers are) that the “neo-Nixonian” Clark wants to replay the Vietnam war in Iraq so that he can emerge the winner. This is as sophomoric a psychological insight as anything the blond pundetts ever spewed with such prurient delight about Clinton’s alleged sexual pervertedness. In much the same way, this claim is nothing more than a fevered Naderite’s masturbatory war-porn fantasy.

(On the other hand, maybe it’s a meme I shouldn’t dismiss out of hand, even though it’s completely wrong. It certainly has a better chance of getting the ever more fascist Republicans out of the White House than “Hell No, We Won’t Go.”)

I have not been one to argue that the candidates have to play nicey-nice in this primary. These guys are big boys and they have to learn how to take a hit if they expect to be in shape to face the Bush Bullyboys. But, if this low-life hit piece is used against Clark by any of the other Dem candidates or their supporters it’s going to start a bloody civil war — and that is playing right into Rove’s hands.

I sincerely hope that nobody takes the bait. It can only start a cycle of reaction and retribution and that will end up hurting the eventual nominee.