HURT: ‘Game Change’ celebrates Washington narcissism

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The movie “Game Change” has hit the small screen, and like the vast majority of Americans everywhere, I just can’t wait to skip it.

Don’t get me wrong: I like a good political drama as much as the next guy. But there is little drama here. Most people already know that the old, white codger loses to the young, smooth-talking black guy.

Add to that all the decency of Hollywood and the integrity of Washington, and you have one crappy movie that goes straight to TV and probably isn’t worth watching.

But don’t tell the self-enthralled Beltway crowd that gathered for a screening last week in Washington. Nothing inspires the people of this town like the opportunity to sit for two hours thinking about the only thing they care about: themselves.

According to reviews of the gala event, many of the political operatives depicted in the movie and the “reporters” who cover them sat in a dark theater together — doing God knows what.

The film reportedly features and even celebrates turncoats in the Republican campaign who, any way you slice it, can be held responsible for giving us President Obama, Obamacare and the Obama economy. But, of course, they survive their incompetence and now their treachery simply because they were already so deeply entrenched in this poisonous town.

As part of his turncoat campaign, longtime Republican operative Steve Schmidt — who became a “made man” working for former President George W. Bush — told his friends at MSNBC that “the notion of Sarah Palin being president of the United States is something that frightens me.” And then he went on to lump her into the same category with the morally corrupt and pathologically dishonest John Edwards.

For this, Mr. Schmidt is heralded around here like some kind of hero. The media lavishes leg-thrilling praise on him.

But what people like Mr. Schmidt don’t understand is that the reason so many Americans fell in love with Sarah Palin is not because they hate Democrats. It’s because they hate Republicans. Specifically, Republicans like Steve Schmidt.

Democrats have always been honest and shameless about their unceasing tax thievery and forced charity as a way to pay for cradle-to-grave big government. Republicans were supposed to keep these Democrats in check, but instead over the years abandoned their post and jumped belly-deep into the trough.

Once in it together, old-style Democrats and the turncoat Republicans exploded the size of the federal government, bankrupted our treasury and looted our retirement accounts.

Mrs. Palin may not read the New York Times every day, and she may not have the most sophisticated foreign-policy portfolio. But she is infinitely more qualified to be president than the liars, looters and turncoats that got us into this mess.

• Charles Hurt can be reached at charleshurt@live.com.