Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Backpost: Stubbornness is not a Virtue

I wrote this on Friday, but didn't send it out right before Shabbos. Then, today, Sullivan links to a corroborating quote, so here goes:

Stubbornness is not a virtue. It's the combination of stupidity + selfishness. It's the ugly mirror image of perseverance.

'Not quitting' is only virtuous when its done to help others or help a cause. Most of the time, when you meet stubborn people, they are that way because they are either too stupid to know how to change their minds or are to selfish to accept another view.

I'll say more about this later, but time is short. (Friday)

Naturally this applies to Hillary Clinton, but it's a view I've held for years (ask friends and family, they'll tell you that I consider stubbornness to be a common trait among people who are considered to be 'smart' but - when manifest - tars them as low and mean intellects. Sadly, as the phrase k'shei oref (stiff-necked), implies, this is a vice found common in our people.)

Today, Sullivan linked to this comment by Philip Klein of the American Spectator (GOP rag) which pithily encapsulates my views of Hillary's stubbornness quite well:
"It has become popular in conservative circles these days to suggest that "you just gotta admire her tenacity," a sentiment that is advanced at her campaign rallies...

But what is there to admire about this so-called "tenacity"? Clinton began this campaign with a financial edge, the support of a popular former Democratic president, a built-in political apparatus, a consistent lead of more than 20 points in national polls, and more than a hundred superdelegates.

If a candidate starts off with all of those advantages and is too stubborn to drop out of the race, it's no surprise that she is still hanging on.

There is absolutely nothing admirable about a politician so narcissistic and hungry for power that she is willing to say or do whatever suits her political interests at any given moment. If the Republican Party has declined to the point where conservatives are so worried about defeating a freshman Senator that they are rooting for Clinton to do their dirty work for them, it is simply pathetic,"

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