Politics

Forget the 999 Plan, He's Got a 666 Plan

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Bill Kristol reacts to last night's debate:

A third e-mailer Thursday evening, watching the debate, was reminded of Yeats's "The Second Coming:"

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

There's some truth to that. But I can't help wondering if, in the same poem, Yeats didn't suggest the remedy:

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Sounds like Chris Christie.

As Jim Poniewozik pointed out, "I think Bill Kristol just endorsed Chris Christie by comparing him to the Antichrist." A lesson for all pundits: If you're going to spout a cliché—and as great a poem as "The Second Coming" is, quoting it is as clichéd as prefixing a word with "cyber"—you should think hard about what the words you're using actually mean.