Читать книгу Blaming No One - Dan Inc. Whitman - Страница 4

The blog postings in this volume are sequential and chronological, but I allow and urge you to read them in no particular order. Just note the date of each, for indications of my prescience in cases of political commentary.

About the 800 word limit. A number of these pieces creep around the arbitrary limit, like crabgrass. What is one to do, but favor tolerance for deviations?

I acknowledge and thank Mark Tapscott of the Examiner for his encouragement and publication of the first piece, on Laurent Gbagbo. Likewise Norbert Tchana Ngante in Douala, Cameroon, for the second on Africa-Info.org. All others come with my gratitude to American University’s Punditwire, a blog site for former speech writers. I had no idea I might qualify for such an august group, until Bob Lehrman said to me, “Well, you used to write speeches for ambassadors overseas, didn’t you?”

And indeed I did. Twenty-five years lashed to the mast of United States public diplomacy postings in Copenhagen, Madrid, Pretoria, Port-au-Prince, Yaoundé, Conakry, Accra. Such richness of experience, so one-sided, the benefits! I marvel over those moments of personal discovery (1985-2009) and camaraderie with some remarkable colleagues.

The postings in this book, however, stray from the confines of my various jobs, and certainly from PPP – pure political punditry.

“Punditwire” of course is a term coined tongue in cheek, as no one admits to the title of “pundit” but in ironical self deprecation.

Mary Robbins and Aaron Rockett have been most marvelous in their loving care of this invigorating site, and long may it live. Kari Jaksa, Sara Wotman, and Margery Thompson were unerring friends in spiffing up these texts. Two hundred lunches for Sara. She knows why. Kari was muse, rédactrice extraordinaire, manager. Banalities and errors of course are only mine. Typos belong to the Constellations.

I recommend this book for air travelers who may have a nap or a meal in the near future. These comments appear to be stand-alone reflections, none dependent on its preceding or following post. Heck, read a few, leave the book in the seat back pocket for others, and then buy another when you find you wanted more after all.

The postings here reproduced were all “published” in a one-year period, from spring 2011 to spring 2012. I guess they constitute views, notions, reactions, and autobiographical fragments. Of Francis Bacon’s options I see them as readings to be tasted, chewed, not necessarily “swallowed,” even if swallowed sounds better.

My wish is for some moments of combined and shared thought, certainly not notoriety or profit. For those, I will turn to other irresponsible pursuits.

Dan Whitman

May, 2012