Mel And Del Tell Tales Of Hell

At first, those out there on the right refused to believe that the US Presidential race had not been won by their side. They believed, they really believed, that all the polls were wrong, that their own explanations – over-sampling Democrats, not calling enough mobiles, silent majorities, supposed gut instinct – would prevail. Now they are warning of an impending darkness and even of war.

Mel's on her favourite channel ...

And not all of these frankly batshit pundits are on the other side of the North Atlantic: two splendidly ranting and incoherent specimens are based here in the UK. Step forward Melanie “not just Barking but halfway to Upminster” Phillips, and James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole, both as certain of their righteousness as anyone on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).

Mad Mel has decided that Barack Obama is “a sulky narcissist with an unbroken history of involvement in thuggish, corrupt, far-left, black power, Jew-bashing, west-hating politics” who has “empowered Iran”, “supported Islamist takeovers”, “is backing al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria” and “hung Israel out to dry against its genocidal Palestinian attackers”.

... and so is Del Boy

And it’s complete and utter bullshit. Let’s take one item – Israel. As Haim Saban has pointed out, The Prez has continued to request $3 billion in annual military assistance for Israel, and Congress continues to approve it. He has provided funding and technical back-up for the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system. He has increased aid to Israel and given it access to the latest weapons technology.

For this, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is deeply grateful. Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said of Israel’s relationship with the Obama administration “I can hardly remember a better period of American support and backing, and Israeli cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us than what we have right now”. Mad Mel does not tell her readers this. Draw your own conclusions.

Meanwhile, to complement Mad Mel’s “America goes into the darkness”, there is Del Boy with “Hello Obama second term; bye bye Western Civilisation”. Here, Delingpole smears all opposed to him as “leftards”, blames anyone working in the public sector, the BBC, the Guardian (despite neither being part of the US media), and has an especially bitter snark at students of all kinds.

There are plenty of Delingpole patented air quotes: “Climate science”, “sustainability” and “progressive” are deployed. Western Civilisation is held to be “tottering” as a result of Obama’s victory. And it’s not fair. The USA has changed since he first visited. But the reality, for both Del Boy and Mad Mel, is that the world is not, despite their faith, as they want it to be. And the caravan of reality has moved on.

Like so many of similar persuasion in the States, they need to get over themselves.