Next Trifecta

Well, we just had the character actor trifecta with Don Knotts, Darren McGavin, and Dennis Weaver. Now it’s time for a new round in the celebrity death pool. Harry Browne is dead. Who will be the next obscure political figure to go? If we limit it to unsuccessful presidential candidates, can I nominate Ralph Nader and Jimmy Carter? Alas, that’s probably wishful thinking on my part. In both cases, even if they die, the damage they have done will live on.

While I loathe both men, I think Ralph Nader’s legacy is the more troubling. Set up a non-profit group with a noble sounding name and then bitch incessantly, manufacture data, and lobby like hell until you get some crappy piece of legislation passed. The entire system of PIRGs should be burned to the ground and all the people working in them given jobs directly affected by the legislation they promoted. The legion of copycat organizations are just as damaging as the original group.

Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, simply provides a shining example of presidential incompetence. While bad, he didn’t set up a network of gullible dimwits to carry on his incompetent doddering. There’s no “Idiocy In Foreign Policy” network that tries to continue his legacy of bitter failure. I don’t count the donks, because they predated him and have a legacy of worthwhile foreign policy they can point to, although all of it predates me.