The Age of Pessimism

6/15/2019--As only he can, David Brooks gushes on twitter over a column today in the New York Times by Roger Cohen about Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke is the subject of George Packer's book, Our Man. Cohen celebrates Holbrooke as a man who believed in America and whose pushed intervention in the Balkans may have saved 100,000 lives.

Holbrooke dies sadly neglected by President Obama, whom he tried to serve. The episode does no credit to Obama.

But the real question is, who is Holbrooke? Cohen paints him as mean, vain and empty--almost a higher class version of Trump.

And Cohen fails to draw the obvious connection. The subhead is, This is an age of Pessimism. But America can still remake, redeem and rescue. But if America is led by mean, vain and empty leaders... .