Edelstein on Kissinger

Dan Kohn (dan@teledesic.com)
Wed, 16 Dec 1998 16:07:40 -0800


http://www.slate.com/Code/Breakfast/Breakfast.asp?show=07/30/98

I just saw Henry Kissinger on NBC, which reminded me of this wonderful
quote from Slate movie critic David Edelstein:

Yesterday, I ended my last dispatch by referring to Henry Kissinger as
an "unrepentant, unindicted war criminal." I was giddy with power, I
couldn't stop myself; it's something I've always wanted to say in print
and could never find a way to insert into a movie review. I thought:
"Yeee-haww!!!" Hours later, when the adrenaline (and caffeine) had ebbed
and I found myself nestled in the bosom of a loving family, I thought:
"What the hell did I just write?" This e-mail/breakfast table form is a
peculiar one. It's not like talking--it's too deliberate. And it's so
much more promiscuous than real writing. It's a bastard form. Bastards
can be sexy, but this one sometimes feels too easy. So I'm going to be a
little more careful...

Having said that, I should add that I look forward to Dr. Kissinger
being dragged down to hell by the millions of Vietnamese, Cambodian, and
North and South American human beings who died in agony as a consequence
of his "realpolitik."

- dan