At it again

If bullshit could kill...David Brooks this morning hammers out a masterpiece from one of his favorite column templates: reduce two positions to the most banal generalizations possible, spin into a false dichotomy that makes them appear to be a fundamental clash of ideas, then make the one accorded to Bush sound a bit more appealing:

Put this way, the argument we are having about international relations is the same argument we are having about domestic affairs, just on a larger scale. It's a conflict between two value systems. One is based on a presumption of a world in which individuals and nations should be self-reliant and free to develop their own capacities - forming voluntary associations when they want - without being overly coerced by national or global elites. The other is based on the presumption of a crowded world, which emphasizes that no individual or nation can go off and do as it pleases, but should work instead within governing institutions that establish norms and provide security.

Brooks employs the same tactics that Heritage Foundation 'academics' have been using for years: subverting the layman's opinion by positing your fringe beliefs as equal competition for the established consensus. What a hack.