Fred Reed: Such a Bad Boy

Check out Fred's current offering. Right now, I'm praying for some strength of character, so I won't instantly steal some of his disrespectful names for Our Leaders: Maximum Cipher, learning-disabled jackass, Kind-of-Twofer Rice, Baffled Boy, Keystone President, Befuddlement ... But speaking of "Befuddlement," here's a quick excerpt:

The same fertile stupidity shows in his relations with Latin America. The first thing to recognize about the world below Laredo is that the countries there deeply, deeply resent American meddling. Whether you think the resentment justified, or the meddling for that matter, is irrelevant. Rule One of diplomacy here is “don’t get into Latin faces unless you really need to.”

So what does Befuddlement do? Some Cuban officials came to Mexico City and checked into a Sheraton. He had the Sheraton eject them. It was utterly childish, and utterly pointless (you don’t suppose there might be another hotel in Mexico City, do you?) and infuriated Mexico. People are still angry. And sympathetic to Cuba.

But Cuba does not practice democracy, and to Dudley Do-Right, or the Do-Right Dud, the abstraction is what counts. Cuba bad, democracy good, urg. Bow-wow.

He has no faint idea of how people work. The man is an idiot.

An old reporter’s saying holds that a “burro” is an ass, and a “burrow” is a hole in the ground. A newsman, it is said, should know the difference. Maybe presidents too.

I'm definitely, shamelessly stealing some of those names. Not today, though. Today I'm strong. Take it easy; one day at a time.

Tomorrow's another day. I'll steal 'em then.