October 03, 2003
Two great pieces on Slate
The first is a really good discussion of the controversial Do-Not-Call list, a list about which I find myself increasingly ambivalent. Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor of Slate, points out that a lot of the discursive noise generated about the list is of little-to-no constitutional interest.
The second is an article about Rush Limbaugh's recent resignation from ESPN. I've never been that much of a fan of Rush. I've always thought he was a pompous blowhard. But this essay is really good, and points out that Rush didn't say anything that wasn't true, nor did he say anything he shouldn't have said. To quote the article: "If they didn't hire Rush Limbaugh to say things like this, what they did they hire him for? To talk about the prevent defense?"
OK, I'm choosing your blog to comment on the Rush matter, even though I know you are neither a Rush fan nor an NFL junkie. I just like posting on your blog.
So, on the question of whether McNabb is overrated: yes, a little bit. But there are other factors involved in his being hyped. For one thing, he plays in Philly, a major TV market. For another, as a letter to Slate noted, McNabb is a scrambling QB, which means he looks ever so much cooler than, say, Matt Hasselbeck of the Seahawks, who may in fact be better at his position.
What makes me so sure that these factors are bigger than the race card? Two words: Steve McNair. He's a better QB than McNabb, his team has been as good as McNabb's or better, and he's been a larger part of the Titans' success than Nabb has been of the Eagles'. But he gets half the media attention. In fact, I'd say McNair is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the NFL.
And oh, by the way, he's black.
I don't think Rush is a rascist. I just think he's one of many reactionary white conservatives who have somehow convinced themselves that "the liberals" are out to destroy the American virtues of fair play. He's paranoid, and it's that tone that bothers people. So even if his comments on McNabb were halfway true (and as a diehard NFL fan, I'd say that's a big stretch), it's understandable that people would assume he was motivated by hatred. Because he is angry: not at blacks, but at some liberal monolith that he's convinced is really, really big and bad.
So what I guess I'm trying to say is, I don't think Rush Limbaugh is a rascist, I just think he's kind of a... Never mind. He probably has sons who will say sarcastic things about me on their ironical metablogs.
Posted by: mesh at October 3, 2003 03:43 PM