William Saletan has a very interesting post over at Slate.com this evening (check the 7:15 entry) on one of Monday night's speakers at the Republican National Convention. Ron Silver, an actor known for his role on The West Wing, was once a typical Hollywood liberal, but now thinks of himself as reformed. Specifically, he believes that it was completely right for the United States to attack Iraq in retaliation for 9/11. Saletan writes this:

Silver doesn't present himself as a Hollywood guy. He calls himself a New York guy. He talks about his parents and grandparents who lived here. He says his neighbors were murdered here on 9/11. "We will never forget. We will never forgive. We will never excuse," he thunders. The crowd applauds wildly.

I recognize this character: the Angry Jew. (Relax, I'm Jewish.) No Christian could get away with saying, "We will never forgive" in prime time at a major party convention. Forgiveness is a fundamental Christian value. You can condemn Osama Bin Laden's evil all you want, but you're not allowed to make the point in terms of denying forgiveness.

Jews don't have this problem. We're Old Testament people. We don't read that stuff about turning the other cheek or the meek inheriting the earth. We tried the meek approach and got slaughtered. We read the part of the Bible that talks about Yahweh and slaying the Philistines and your blood shall be on your own head. That means you, Osama.

[...]

"This is a war in which we have to respond," Silver declares. The crowd eats it up. But respond how? This is where all that talk of strength and courage breaks down. What good are strength and courage, if they're applied without judgment? If you go bravely into war in the wrong place, based on the wrong intelligence, where's the virtue in that? Where's the virtue in spending the blood and treasure of your country—and squandering its anger and resolve—against the wrong target?

Jews like to argue about such philosophical matters, so I'll challenge Silver. Courage without judgment is no virtue in the Jewish tradition, Ron. It's no virtue in the American tradition, either.

Like many of the other speakers on Monday night (such as John McCain and his militaristic speech), Silver was preaching to the choir. Although this style of jingoistic militancy might play well with the right wing base, I cannot imagine this type of rhetoric is appealing for the majority of Americans who aren't so happy about the President's policy in Iraq.

So which party is really out of the mainstream then? (and equally important, will the media ask this question?)