Jonah Goldberg Day - the Aftermath

It happened yesterday, but this is a great example of how the conservative side of the blogosphere only tears down, while we on the left both tear down and build up (multitaskers).

Two years ago yesterday, Jonah Goldberg (who is who he is only because his mom is a super-rich publisher and he writes for all of those money-losing conservative mags, making him the recipient of both nepotism and welfare) made a bet with Juan Cole that went as follows:

Anyway, I do think my judgment is superior to his when it comes to the big picture. So, I have an idea: Since he doesn't want to debate anything except his own brilliance, let's make a bet. I predict that Iraq won't have a civil war, that it will have a viable constitution, and that a majority of Iraqis and Americans will, in two years time, agree that the war was worth it. I'll bet $1,000 (which I can hardly spare right now). This way neither of us can hide behind clever word play or CV reading. If there's another reasonable wager Cole wants to offer which would measure our judgment, I'm all ears. Money where your mouth is, doc.

One caveat: Because I don't think it's right to bet on such serious matters for personal gain, if I win, I'll donate the money to the USO. He can give it to the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade or whatever his favorite charity is.

Ha, ha, liberals are terrorists!

Well, yesterday the bill came due, and clearly Goldberg lost the bet. Iraq is in civil war, the constitution is doing nothing for security or political reconciliation and is a worthless document, and the majority of Americans and Iraqis believe the war was a mistake. Goldberg kind of admitted this, but claimed that because Cole never took the bet, as he found the notion of wagering on human lives revolting, he doesn't have to pay up.

As a matter of intellectual honesty, I'm perfectly willing to admit that, had Cole had the courage to accept the wager, he would have won and I would have made good on it. But, since he didn't, I won't be jumping through hoops for this crowd beyond this post.

It's intellectually honest to admit that he lost the bet, but dishonest not to admit that his judgment on Middle East matters, which was the entire point of his bet, pales in comparison to Juan Cole's. In fact, he's yet to admit that.

So Goldberg got a good thrashing in the blogosphere. But then Nitpicker made the best decision of this entire affair; he decided he'd get a group to COVER JONAH'S BET. And he did.

Here's the list of the people who've covered Jonah's bet:

David Rees
Matt Ortega
Charles Kuffner
Christopher Dumler
TRex
Sean-Paul Kelley
Jesus' General
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga
Adam Bonin
Tom Tomorrow
Ian Welsh
Stephanie Taylor
Hoffmania
Taylor Marsh
Robin Marty
David Neiwert
Walter Ludwig

And there are others, some who asked not to be named and some who said they simply could not bring themselves to post "in honor of" Jonah. I'll post others as they come in, but it should suffice to say that far more than $1000 was raised.

It's a good cause and I hope you consider donating more to the USO. It really is a great boon to service members and their families.

So Goldberg comes out of this looking like a fool, a cheapskate, out of his depth on matters of foreign policy AND a petulant whiner, giving him the perfect resume to continue his career as an LA Times columnist. Meanwhile Nitpicker and the aforementioned bloggers look like people who are smart, classy and generous.

This is the entire division between right and left, at least on the blogs, in microcosm. I'm glad to be on the side I'm on.