Article Summary:
In this editorial, Mitch Daniels pays tribute to the late P.J. O’Rourke, a brilliant and hilarious writer who was a perceptive critic of American politics and culture. O’Rourke was known for his ability to puncture political pretensions with sharp wit and humor, drawing comparisons to H.L. Mencken and Will Rogers.
As a college-age leftist turned libertarian, O’Rourke directed his comedic talents towards both Democrats and Republicans, skewering the excesses and inefficiencies of big government. His pithy one-liners, such as “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys,” became widely quoted.
The author laments the current lack of political humorists who can “encourage a little humility in its big shots and to inspire laughter at a government ever susceptible to the affliction of arrogance.” Figures like Mo Udall and Bob Dole, who could deploy humor effectively, are sorely missed in today’s polarized political landscape.
The author also notes that humor in politics serves to “remind us, in the end, that other things are more important” and can help heal divisions. He fondly recalls his last planned interaction with O’Rourke, where they had planned to share a bourbon together, a poignant reminder of the personal loss with the writer’s passing.
Article Excerpt:
Politics has always involved a degree of pretension, but never like today, when “performative” has become perhaps the sector’s most-apt adjective. The puncturing of pretensions is a noble profession, and nobody could puncture one like P.J. As in, “Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.”
[…]
But his shillelagh swung in both directions. “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.” He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016: “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”
Read the Full Article
