I once worked on a Connecticut State Senate campaign for a retired Air Force servicewoman who was a former Undersecretary to the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in the 2000’s. During the campaign, she mentioned that many long-time politicians working in D.C. had contracted “Potomac Fever”. What she meant was that they had lost their common sense, living in their isolated capitol fishbowl. They became arrogant and self-righteous. She further stated that those with Potomac Fever thought the earth revolved around D.C., and nothing existed, (of any consequence), outside the beltway.
Years later, I’m reminded of this when I read the continual ad hominem attacks against Donald Trump, mostly written by those pundits living and working in D.C.: Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Jonah Goldberg, Steven Hayes, etc. (Men whose opinions I usually value.)
Contrast this observation with the following. There are pundits outside the beltway who recognize the Trump effect and have not immediately launched into horrible personal attacks: Rush Limbaugh, from FL, Howie Carr, from Boston, and Ann Coulter, from Connecticut. (One notable exception is Laura Ingraham, from D.C., who thinks Trump has put voice to the concerns of many Americans.) What all of these people have in common is that, as radio talk show hosts, they speak to regular Americans—not just the political elites–across the country every day. Their fishbowl is the nation as a whole, not just D.C.
Hmmm. So, back to George, Charles, et al. My open question to you is this: Are they right in slamming Trump, (and his supporters, by extension), or do they maybe have a touch of Potomac Fever?