History buff and political essayist Sarah Vowell (The Partly Cloudy Patriot) has never been shy about her liberal leanings – in one of her most famous pieces, “The Nerd Voice,” she wrote about weeping at W.’s first inauguration – and, honestly, one wishes the Democratic Party could put her on the payroll stat, such an engaging, ingratiating personality she is.
Case in point – last night’s appearance on The Daily Show, in which she neatly cut down to size the Republican Party for repeatedly invoking the tragedy of 9/11 in one breath, and then dismissing New York – even the whole Eastern seaboard – as a liberal orgy of unpatriotism in the next:
“I feel like the East Coast was American enough for Al Qaeda, so it should be American enough for them.”
The whole six-minute clip is embedded below – and it’s good stuff, especially her impassioned defense of elitism – but if you’re looking for more, then mark your calendar now – Vowell will be at Book People on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7pm promoting her new book The Wordy Shipmates.
This article appears in October 3 • 2008.
