Victor David Hanson, you\u2019d sweep the table. Your post-tweet Presidency column entry tops all possible contenders in its unique blend of so-bad-its-good upending suspension of logic and unearned laudatory excess that the academy is bereft of adequate means of expression to honor its achievements.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Perhaps its heaps and heaps of praises could be stacked in a pyre with the rest of your journalistic output in the same vein, your reputation placed on top, and the whole saccharine malodorous pile set ablaze.<\/em><\/p>\n That guy with your name who writes those sober and sane books and historical studies must daily be abashed at being confused for you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Paul Freedman<\/em><\/p>\n Vienna, VA<\/em><\/p>\n ___________________________________________<\/p>\n Dear Angry Reader Paul Freedman,<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Davis not David\u2014not a good start. Whoa\u2014slow down: your vocabulary and syntax of outrage have stampeded.<\/p>\n To write an effective Angry Reader letter, you must be specific and give examples, rather than start out with \u201cyou\u2019d sweep the table\u201d boilerplate. What then follows is mostly generic hyperbole without references or examples.<\/p>\n I made a simple argument: 1) Trump so far had defied expert opinion in using Twitter, sometimes crudely, for political advantage; 2) But after 10 months in office he has achievements (good economy, recalibrated foreign policy, likely tax reform, good appointments [especially judicial], soaring energy production, and deregulation; 3) Consequently, while Twitter is effective in reaching millions to convey his messages, he need not joust one-on-one with individual journalists and celebrities, but rather let his record and improving economy speak for itself and not be impaired by rhetoric distractions.<\/p>\n What, then, exactly is under dispute?\u2014Has the stock market tanked, GDP fallen to past levels, consumer and business confidence crashed, unemployment risen? What exactly did you feel was not accurate and could be refuted with your own evidence?<\/p>\n But instead of rational rebuttal, you offer cumbersome and incoherent metaphors of rage (e.g., what exactly is the image conveyed of \u201cjournalistic output\u201d and \u201cmy reputation\u201d consisting of some sort of \u201cpile\u201d that in turn is \u201csaccharine\u201d (artificially sweet) but also \u201cmalodorous\u201d (stinks) and yet combustible to boot? What a mess of a metaphor. And why as an adult do you descend to incoherent fiery imagery of burning up something (or someone?) with whom you disagree?<\/p>\n The article that you object to is actually constructive (but perhaps unwelcome) advice to Trump to cease ad hominem twittering.<\/p>\n In political commentary, I try to ensure three things that you apparently are oblivious about: offer examples to support an assertion, be clear rather than incoherent, and avoid ad hominem invective.<\/p>\n And as a historian and philologist I try to be inductive, not<\/em> start with a preconceived notion, even if empiricism results in praising those with whose politics I might disagree or criticizing figures I otherwise admire (e.g., an often duplicitous and neo-socialist FDR was a brilliant wartime leader; good men like Omar Bradley and Mark Clark often made disastrous decisions; a sober and judicious George Marshall\u2019s idea of a cross-Channel invasion in 1943 would have been an utter disaster; a rude and often arrogant Alan Brooke, chief of the British Imperial Staff, often offered wise if unwelcome strategic advice to his more polite and generous American counterparts, etc.).<\/p>\n Victor Hanson<\/p>\n Selma, CA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From An Angry Reader: Victor David Hanson, you\u2019d sweep the table. Your post-tweet Presidency column entry tops all possible contenders in its unique blend of so-bad-its-good upending suspension of logic and unearned laudatory excess that the academy is bereft of adequate means of expression to honor its achievements. \u00a0Perhaps its heaps and heaps of praises […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-2OI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11925,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-7-30-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":0},"title":"Angry Reader 7-30-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Dont worry , no silly greetings for you. Ha ha ha , reading your opinion in Albuquerque Journal made me laugh out loud. Fortunately, I rarely read such Bull Shit. Such crap is beyond belief. Thanks for the Laugh , Darrell Little \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 Dear Angry Reader\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10968,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/02-12-18-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":1},"title":"02\/12\/18 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: I was surprised this morning. Usually when I read your column I want to throw up. But today\u2019s column was absolutely brilliant Nice job Mike Benbrook Oakhurst CA \u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013 Dear Reforming Angry Reader Mike Benbrook, Vomiting is not healthy. If I were to do so each\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11440,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-10-04-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":2},"title":"Angry Reader 10-04-2018","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: it is painful to see or read your columns. I usually ignore them;today\u2019s on Nunes was pathetic. Mr. Hanson,you are a fraud and in a just world you\u2019d be condemned to occupy a spot in that special place down below where it\u2019s always hot... Delusional is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9501,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":3},"title":"Angry Reader","author":"Megan Ring","date":"October 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Comment from a Reader: Dear Mr. Hanson; I left the Republican Party soon after watching eight years of ineffective \"leadership\" by Mitch McConnell, John Bohner, and now Paul Ryan. But the tipping point came when Trump was nominated for president. I cannot belong to a political party that would nominate\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12592,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-08-29-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":4},"title":"Angry Reader 08-29-2020","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: dang dude you\u2019re racist Jacob Kovacs-Goodman ______________________________________________________________________________ Dear Angry Something or Other Jacob Kovacs-Goodman, It is not wise to level an ad hominem charge of racism against someone without producing any evidence whatsoever to support your smear. Somehow your slang \u201cdang dude\u201d rings falsely, more likely\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11643,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-02-04-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":10832,"position":5},"title":"Angry Reader 02-04-2019","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Are your fake-right fellows at NRO going to issue a grovelling apology to the CHILDREN they attacked at Covington Catholic High School? They were so eager to attack white children that they didn't even bother watching the video before condemning them. This is why we hate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Angry Reader"","block_context":{"text":"Angry Reader","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/angry-reader\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10832"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10837,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832\/revisions\/10837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}