If only Jack Bauer were here...

I've never seen 24, but I get the drift. The show has become an allegory to the right, who see the single-minded tough guy machismo that they once saw in this President personified in Jack Bauer. Further, they love the fact that the bad guys can be threatened and tortured into giving up the goods, and that through the force of will, all of these nettlesome terrorists can be beaten into submission. The Wall Street Journal picks up the theme here.

Money quote:

Well, here’s the hard, cold truth: When Islamic terrorists stop being a threat to America’s survival, viewers will lose interest in “24,” because it will have lost its relevancy. Until such time, I will continue to watch “24”—because, believe it or not, the idea that there are Jack Bauers out there in real life risking their lives to save ours does mean something to me.

It all seems consistent with the mindset that Bush brought to the table 6 years ago, and the parochial perspective that the right so happily embraced after 9/11. This is a former governor, the son of a former president, from one of the dynastic families in this country, a former CEO of a petroleum company that proudly points out that aside from Mexico, he has never traveled abroad. Think about the profound lack of intellectual curiosity, the obtuseness of that for a moment. Then consider the fact that he "doesn't do nuance" by his own admission. Then try to get your head around the reality in Iraq today, the US tied down in a roaring tribal conflict, attempting to bring order to a conflagration where ancient scores are being settled and the terms "allies" and "enemies" are fluid. The homebound President Who Doesn't Do Nuance has dragged us into perhaps the most inherently complicated and troublesome foreign policy situation that this country has ever faced.

If only Jack Bauer were here...