On Accomplishments

clipped from pajamasmedia.com But Barack Obama’s election allows Americans to feel better about themselves, for electing him President. Chesley Sullenberger’s accomplishment, on the other hand, stresses the benefits of hard work, experience, and coolness under pressure — things that require effort, and that might make Americans feel worse about themselves to the extent that they realize that they might not measure up. That’s why Sullenberger’s triumph is an old-fashioned one, and Obama’s is tailor-made for the 21st Century. On the other hand, there are reasons for Americans to feel good in the Flight 1549 story, too: If you believe the worst about Americans, you’d expect Thursday’s crash to create a mob of greedy, selfish jerks clawing away for the first shot at an exit. Instead, passengers reported that it took just a single cry of “Women and children first!” and total strangers facing possible drowning stepped aside to let mothers and their infants pass.