Over the years, we've all seen solid examples of the Versailles mentality in our media -- ie. the mentality that glorifies Washington and its inhabitants as heroes saving the rest of America from itself. But usually these examples are a bit subtle in how they weave the arrogance into the prose. Usually, you have to really stop and do a careful double-take when you see a piece of Versailles propaganda.That's why this recent piece (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/us/politics/24bai.html) from the notoriously servile Matt Bai in the New York Times is such a groundbreaker. Never have I seen such a monumentally blatant piece of Versailles triumphalism. In that sense, it is truly The Versailles Manifesto. Here are the key excerpts to show you what I mean:More... (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/the-ny-times-versailles-m_b_802278.html)
The New York Times' Versailles Manifesto (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/the-ny-times-versailles-m_b_802278.html)