“Sleazoid, but smart” – Thought for the week

Courtesy Michael Zebulon, this brief excerpt from “Settlements, Agreements and Legitimacy”…please read each sentence carefully and think…

When the speaker names no names, cites no authorities, skirts the facts, skips the terms, buries the background — all the while speaking calmly and matter-of-factly, taking care to couch lynch-mob intimations in the passive voice, while moving smoothly and swiftly forward, without pausing for anybody’s absorption of, and reflection upon his damning demagogy — he forestalls or neutralizes any responsive demand to stand-and-deliver, even as the vile toxins are permitted to lodge and fester unscrutinized in the consciousness of the unwary. Smart.

Sleazoid, but smart. And actually, not nearly as arcane or mysterious as it sounds; typically, politicians (and politician-wannabes) learn the fancy footwork early-on. Of course, for the demagogically-inclined, these dance steps are more than just another tool in a seasoned politico’s belt. They are his stock-in-trade.

Reminded me of Dear Salil, I read lots and lots…