Let Him Among You Who is Not A "Mindless Knee-Jerk Cheerleader" Cast the First Stone

Recently I took part in a Facebook comment thread discussing Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. (Probably, that was my first mistake)

Now, I agree with my esteemed co-blogger that its not Obama's fault that some Euroweenies wanted to smoke his pole, but it appears that not everyone is willing to shrug and leave it there.

There was endless bloviating, bombast and hysteria on what the award meant and the reaction to it from Obama's political opposition. But what struck me about this thread was this comment that appeared early on.

"The mindless, knee-jerk cheerleaders of the latest soundbite that add nothing to the debates going on..."

As if by magic, this remark was followed up with a slew of mindless knee-jerk cheerleading that added nothing to the debate.

 For example:

"If the Nobel folks offer a prize for Hypocritical Philanderism, I'm sure the Republicans will sweep the Emmys. All those scantily dressed golden statues... so titillating..."

And the mind-numbingly predictable

"If President Obama discovered a cure for cancer- Michael Steele and the rest of the Republican sore-losers would find a way to put a negative spin on it."

Death panel joke in 4, 3, 2, 1....

"Yes - curing them would cost the tax payers billions in social security they could have saved. Bring on the Death Panels!"

And finally this incisive political analysis by someone who apparently missed the ideologically driven genocide and death camps that were a prominent feature of the wars in former Yugoslavia, which the United States was called upon to quell, in spite of the fact that they took place a short car ride or flight from most major European capitals:

"Despite all of our politics, squabbling and division, I don't think most Americans understand the dangers of ideology or the importance of changing it quite like Europeans do. When Obama wins Top Chef or Project Runway, I'm sure Americans will be the best arbiters of appropriateness."