Originally Posted by pondering_it_all
So is Rudy stupid, or does he just think his potential supporters are?
I wouldn't go so far as to say "stupid". I think "mildly disinterested in exerting the effort necessary to absorb the truth" would be closer to the mark.

We were taught by the propaganda of the day (1979-1980) that President Carter was a wimp and that negotiations were no substitute for decisive (read: murderous) action. The fact that the hostages were released by virtue of negotiation rather than decisive (read:murderous) action - regardless of who was negotiating for what - flies in the face of the "accepted wisdom" and therefore must be discounted, even by the reasonably intelligent.

Ronald Reagan is still by far and away a more popular figure than any of the current crop of Presidential candidates, especially among the elite Punditocracy. Hence the delusion.

Steve
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love,
to respect and be kind to one another,
so that we may grow with peace in mind.
(Native American prayer)