A raspberry to William Raspberry

raspberry: a sound of contempt made by protruding the tongue between the lips and expelling air forcibly to produce a vibration; broadly : an expression of disapproval or contempt [from Merriam-Webster Online]

I almost always enjoy William Raspberry’s columns in the Washington Post. Even when I disagree I find him thoughtful and fair in his treatment of opposing arguments. Today, however, he did not meet the standard that I have come to expect from him.

His column today was ostensibly a lament at the prevalence of negative ads in the recent campaign.

Almost across the board, the campaign focus was on the utter awfulness of the opponent — variously described as a brazen liar, a threat to the economy and a slave to special interests.

He emphasized that he did not complain because he was disappointed in how the election turned out, but then he added:

I don’t like the results, I admit, but principally because I had hoped that the Democrats would retain at least one house of Congress as a restraint on a president who seems determined to take us into an immoral and unwise war.

Isn’t this calling the president immoral? Or if not, so morally obtuse that he doesn’t know what he is proposing is immoral?

Sorry, Raspberry, but today you get the raspberry.

Say What? (1)

  1. Dean Esmay November 12, 2002 at 12:06 am | | Reply

    Q: How do you spell “Raspberry?”

    A: Pbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbt!

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