Saved By The Grievance
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“The episode about former SecDef Mattis is dreadful. Brian’s criticism of Mattis is entirely incoherent, deeply personal (when he says Mattis obviously has ambition because he has no family, and his assertion that everything about Mattis is curated), and borderline unhinged. The only articulated reason for why he’s got any beef at all is the fact that Mattis’ book isn’t an exposé on how horrible Trump is. I detest Trump, though obviously not to Mr. McGrath’s degree, but Mattis does not have any obligation to write such a book, and Mr. McGrath never supplies an adequate reason why Mattis has such an obligation. His best attempt was something along the lines of “to inform the public of the stakes of the next election.” That’s in no way good enough to justify the level of vitriol I heard from Mr. McGrath. If you don’t already know what you need to know about Trump or the stakes of the next election, you haven’t been paying attention for the past three years. We don’t need Mattis to tell us anything sordid about the Administration, because Trump spills most of it out into the open anyway. He can’t even keep top secret satellite photos secret for goodness sake! What exactly does Mr. McGrath think he’s hiding that Mattis has an obligation to reveal while Trump is still in office, and that is so urgent it justified the over-the-top display I just listened to? I’d also like to bet Mr. McGrath $1 billion AND a dinner at the Trump hotel of his choice that Sec. Mattis will, in fact, talk about Trump at some point in the future, once Trump is out of office. Why am I so certain? Because Melanie is right: Mattis is operating under the framework that he won’t talk about sitting presidents. How do I know this? Because I read his book. It’s in the Prologue, p. XII. He talks about past presidents: H. W. Bush, W. Bush, and Obama. Difference is, they’re PAST presidents, not sitting. He’s pretty clear about this, so it’s a deplorable lack of due diligence that Mr. McGrath didn’t know this—you don’t even have to read the whole thing (or very far into it) to find that out—before spouting off as he did.
Finally, there’s Mr. McGrath’s assertion that Mattis is in a political office, so he should act like a politician. This is absurd on its face. The office of SecDef is politically appointed, and a reasonable argument could be made that those appointed are technically political actors. However, if one chooses not to act like a political actor, why is that at all something to be upset over? Having read the book, Mattis’ behavior during and post-SecDef seems perfectly consistent with his behavior as a Marine, and that feels like something we should applaud. But Mr. McGrath wants Mattis to act like a politician spurned by Trump so he’ll dish out dirt like everybody who’s talked to Michael Wolff. Whether you think his character is curated or not (to me that’s a despicable charge to level without evidence), we shouldn’t be actively hoping somebody betrays it simply because that’ll further confirm our view that “Orange Man Bad!”
In the end, Mr. McGrath’s grievance saved this review from being one-star. It was well-articulated, if at times a little caricaturish in how it portrays the pro-gun rights camp (though nobody of sound mind can deny the gun rights movement has some problems, several serious). I found it well thought out, measured, and reasonable...in other words, the reverse of the previous 90% of the podcast. It’s what I usually expect from Mr. McGrath.
I’ll end by saying I’m not a Mattis acolyte. I think the mythology that’s been created around him is overblown, despite my opinion that he was a great general and a very good SecDef. This isn’t a bad review from a stung Mattis fan. This is a review from someone who came hoping for a measured dissection of his legacy, and ended up with wildly emotional and nonsensical screeching. Very disappointed.”
adog430 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
09/14/19
More reviews of Net Assessment
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“This is quickly becoming my favorite foreign policy podcast.”
facebook s**** via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/23/24
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“Great podcast. Enjoy tuning in each week. I disagree with the reviews claiming this podcast is “anti-conservative.” They were clearly written by some very far right people. I find the conversation to be very centrist in nature. If you came here looking for Fox News, move along.”
dhof925 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
06/12/22
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“Great podcast, 360 discussion of issues...tracking the big issues with insider perspectives. Fun and easy to listen to!”
Sassey05 via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
05/14/21
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