Politics of negation

Historical perspective is what it's all about, for me. Barone is a master, and here is a great look at today's political scene "from above"...T
"American politics today is not just about winning elections or prevailing on issues. It's about delegitimizing, or preventing the delegitimization of, our presidents.
This thought sprang into my head as I was reading the angry and sometimes obscene Democratic Web logs and noted the preoccupation of some bloggers with the impeachment of Bill Clinton, now seven years in the past. "
...Mr. Bush's version of history is mostly in line with Reagan's. Since September 11, he has led an aggressive policy against foreign enemies, while lowering taxes and pursuing, with considerable success despite narrow Republican majorities, mostly conservative policies at home.
Democratic politicians and the mainstream media, who bridle at the Reagan version and are disappointed it has not been displaced by Mr. Clinton's, regarded Mr. Bush's victory in the Florida controversy as illegitimate and have been trying furiously to delegitimize him ever since. So far, this has proved at least as ineffective politically as impeachment was for the Republicans, but the impulse to persist seems irresistible. How long will this continue? Democrats were accustomed to writing our history in most of the last century. But without a competing vision of their own, they seem no more likely to succeed than Roosevelt's or Reagan's furious opponents. Click here for full article