Right now the temperature of partisan dispute, and tempers on all sides, are rising sharply. Much more heat and smoke is being generated than clarifying light. The calm consideration of issues is on nobody’s priority list. The awful, grating noise of ranks closing is drowning out any voices trying to be objective. “Who is not for me unconditionally is against me unforgivably”; that is the rule which governs opinion at times like these. “My enemy’s enemy, however disreputable, is my friend.” It is dogma time in the barnyard.
It is not a good time for commentators and columnists.
