Monday, April 24, 2006

What's so bad about swagger?

George W. Bush swaggers and it drives his opponents crazy.

Reporters covering the Duke lacrosse case note that the team is notorious for its bad behavior and its swagger.

A swagger can denote confidence, pride, even arrogance. Is that the problem?

What, then, of Hillary? She does not swagger, but she does not lack for confidence.

Keith Olbermann does the news on MSNBC with a smug disdain that is palpable. The people who hate swagger love Countdown. So it is not a matter of humility versus arrogance.

Maybe we should ask Harvey Mansfield.

In the meantime, this review of Tom Wolfe at the Bothers Judd might offer some clue.

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