UK Economist: There's an epidemic of outrage (in the USA)

[Taxloss]

THE most striking thing about Americans to many outsiders is how nice they are. They have none of the aloofness of the British or the froideur of the French. On the contrary, they go out of their way to be warm and welcoming. This is the land of the smiley face and the “have a nice day” greeting. Put simply, Americans like to be liked.

Yet turn on cable television and you are confronted with a series of people who are in a perpetual state of outrage. They are incensed (if they're on the left) that Barbara Bush has stipulated that her Hurricane Katrina donation should be used to buy software from a firm owned by one of her sons; furious (if they're on the right) that Hillary Clinton has invoked Jesus's name in decrying Republican immigration policies; and pig-wrestling mad (and here outrage goes bipartisan) that Yale University has admitted a former spokesman for the Taliban.

The current king of outrage is Bill O'Reilly, the host of a Fox television show who only has to look at the camera to convey a sense that some monstrosity has been committed. But there are plenty of others. Sean Hannity (also at Fox) and Joe Scarborough (at MSNBC) are furious about whatever the Democrats have done that day. Over at CNN, Lou Dobbs, under the guise of presenting a news programme, bashes the government for failing to fix America's borders, and big companies for exporting jobs abroad. The oddest of the lot is Don Imus (also at MSNBC) who sits there with a cowboy hat on his head and a scowl on his face, fulminating about whatever irritates him at that moment.

Cast your eyes up to Capitol Hill and the scene is only marginally more restrained. The Democrats have abandoned the idea that politics stops at the water's edge to berate the Bush administration for its “dangerous incompetence” over Iraq. The Republicans can't decide whether they're more outraged at the Democrats' treason or the tide of immigrants. The House Republicans want to build a wall across stretches of the Mexican border. Willie Whitelaw, one of the last great British patrician politicians, once accused Harold Wilson, the Labour leader, of going around the country “stirring up apathy”; these days all too many American politicians, amateur and professional, are going around the country stirring up outrage.

More (it's a very interesting piece):

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6744563

[Pharaoh]

1. and don't forget ahnold!

[boobooday]

2. “stirring up apathy”

What a perfect turn of phrase. Describes the current state of the media to a "T."

[Minnesota Libra]

3. Good editorial and spot on too nt

[old_techie]

4. Hurray for Lou Dobbs!

[pinto]

5. Interesting read from your side of the Atlantic. Thanks for the post.