This is how the brilliant article by Frank Rich of the NYTimes starts off, as he reviews Thomas's new book, "My Grandfather's Son", and his '60 Minutes' guest appearance last Sunday evening.
Early this morning, C-Span2 re-broadcasted their live coverage of a book signing for Thomas hosted by Armstrong Williams, and this was the first time I had ever seen major republican political players, in an informal and unscripted social setting.
At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I was struck by how 'normal' this event seemed, considering that most of those attending were right-wing republican ideologues and key supporters and purveyors of one of the most inhumane, costly, deadly and disastrous wars in US history. Attending were luminaries like V.P. Chaney, John Bolton, Michael Chertoff, Arlen Specter, Sen. Lindsay Graham, Thomas and his wife Virginia, most of the supreme court justices and their wives , and even black sportscaster, Stephen A. Smith.
The light-hearted banter and joking that flowed between the attendees, belied their deadly, flawed politics. As a comparison, I remember reading of the many social events and classical/opera concerts that leading Nazi party officials loved to attend in Germany, during WW2. The authors of those reports could not understand how architects of the evils of Nazism, could seem so 'normal' and yet be so evil. Likewise, the air of conviviality at this book signing, and it's 'fiddling while Rome is burning' in Iraq, and as it did at Katrina, seemed surreal and strange to me, and gave me an eerie and disquieted feeling while watching it.
Thomas was very upbeat and jocular while uttering bromides like "stay positive and think positive" to his well-wishers. When asked whether he read Anita Hill's NYTimes op-ed rebuttal to his books assertions, he just laughed and sneered dismissively that he would never, ever, waste his time reading it.
So this was just a tiny glimpse into Clarence Thomas's world and those who share it with him.....Happily, I want no part of that slimy world.
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