Shorter David Brooks:

In Iraq we American innocents face Pure Evil, and, much as it pains us to do so, we must mercilessy fight that evil, an obligation that will end, conveniently, just as Bush's reelection campaign heats up.

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Oh, and in the Brooks column, what is all this nonsense about America being a nation of dewy-eyed innocents unable to bear the sight of a drop of blood? ("...we Americans do not like staring into the face of evil. It is in our progressive and optimistic nature to believe that human beings are basically good, or at least rational.") Does Brooks get HBO? Is the multiplex near him not showing the quite successful remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? More to the point, has he never once in his life looked at crime statistics, particularly statistics on murder, for the U.S. as compared to other industrialized nations? Does he think this country is awash in guns and fundamentalist religion because we think most people are intrinsically nice?

Brooks says that if it weren't for swarthy foreign savages, Americans would barely know evil exists. Last month Gregg Easterbrook placed the blame closer to home, saying we'd all happily content ourselves with cartoon bunnies and joan of Arcadia if greedy Jews didn't force us at gunpoint to watch violent films like Kill Bill.

What planet do these guys live on?