The left’s newest icon: Barry Goldwater

Kennedy, Clinton, Carville, Franken, and Ben Bradlee — whose name Greg Mitchell’s crack staff writer misspells as “Bradley” — all gave interviews to his granddaughter for her new documentary, which she claims proves he was “a kind of liberal.” And that’s true, albeit only with respect to particular social issues and only then if you’re willing to call Ted Kennedy “a kind of libertarian.”

Goldwater was, of course, better known for those aspects of his philosophy that weren’t “kind of liberal”: his passionate belief in small government (which led him to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on federalism grounds) and, most famously, his reputation as the hawk di tutti hawks. Here’s a collection at PBS of six Johnson campaign ads from the 1964 election, including the infamous “Daisy” spot. Watch them all; the others aren’t quite as shameless as “Daisy,” but they’re right on the cusp — and downright comic in light of all the left-wing pants-dumping these days about GOP fearmongering as an election tactic.

Can’t wait ’til Feingold’s supporters update “Daisy” and unleash it on Hillary in the primary. And lord knows, if ever there was a line of political thought waiting to be abused by the nutroots, it’s this one:

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