From Palmyra to Obama

Beat the Devil

By Alexander Cockburn

This article appeared in the June 9, 2008 edition of The Nation.

May 22, 2008

Palmyra, Syria

These days, it's an almost irresistible temptation to believe that when the present incumbent finally rides his mountain bike off into the sunset in January, the world will be a better place merely by the fact of his absence. Amid the sinister twilight of the Bush years, such hopes are understandable. Looking at the blazing bodies of their comrades, used as torches to brighten up Nero's royal banquets, the early Christians must certainly have rejoiced when he passed, little knowing that not so far over the horizon loomed Domitian and other emperors eager to add uplifting chapters to the Book of Martyrs.

Is it conceivable that Obama or Clinton or McCain could be as bad or worse than Bush?

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About Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn has been The Nation's "Beat the Devil" columnist since 1984. He is the author or co-author of several books, including the best-selling collection of essays Corruptions of Empire (1987), and a contributor to many publications, from The New York Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly and the Wall Street Journal to alternative publications such as In These Times and the Anderson Valley Advertiser. With Jeffrey St. Clair, he edits the newsletter and radical website CounterPunch, which have a substantial world audience. more...
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