The Weak in (National) Review presents: "Impromptoupees", where we look at whether there is any cranial substance to the zingers written by Jay Nordlinger "off the top of his head" in his self-described "breezy" column. In his 8/16/2002 column, Nordlinger refers to a George W. Bush quote that just fills him with admiration for the man. Bush said: “Most Americans don’t sit in Martha’s Vineyard swilling white wine.” Then Nordlinger writes: “Ouch. This, no doubt, was an allusion to Bill Clinton, who loved to relax (and other things) [What “other things,” pray tell? Does Nordlinger know something from personal experience that we don’t?] among the Beautiful People, except during reelection year, when Dick Morris’s poll told him to go camping out West.” And with a proudful flourish (I can see his manly chest bursting out of his shirt), Nordlinger concludes: “George W. Bush is not the kind of president who takes a poll to find out where he should vacation with his family. Say that for him, and more.” Hmmm … Yes, it’s true that most Americans don’t sit in Martha’s Vineyard swilling white wine, but neither do most Americans go boating in Kennebunkeport or eat barbeque at Crawford Ranch. So what? I wonder how G.W. knows that, when it comes to vacations, Americans wouldn’t prefer to be sitting in Martha’s Vineyard swilling white wine with the Beautiful People as opposed to sitting in Crawford Ranch eating barbeque. If Bush is implying that Clinton’s swanky vacations were “out of touch” with ordinary Americans, and, by contrast, his “rustic” vacations are not, who should we assume is the one really pandering to public opinion? And, finally, I’ll be paying very close attention to where Bush vacations during reelection year. My money says that Bush will be conveniently vacationing with little brother Jeb in Florida. …

Moving on to the question of the prospect of an African-American museum on the national Mall. Nordlinger deplores the further “balkanization” and “racialization” of our society that would come with such an initiative. I invite Nordlinger to come to New Orleans and make the same argument against the preservation of the Confederate Museum as an independent and separate collection. In my mind, there’s no difference between the two in principle. …

And last, Nordlinger’s “smallish point” regarding the TIPS program as a means to encourage an “engaged” citizenry forces me to make my own “smallish point.” There’s a TIPS program in Cuba. They’re called CDRs (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution). We all know what these neighborhood watches do. Good intentions aside, TIPS is bad, bad, bad policy. There are better ways to “engage” citizens than to encourage them to be suspicious of their neighbors, instead of trusting of them.