Douthat half-right on equal opportunity nuttery

Ross Douthat punches somewhat above his weight to note that, in the wake of the James Lee hostage-taking at Discovery's offices, that it's not Greens or Libertarians or LaRouchies alone who hold conspiratorial beliefs.

But, he only punches somewhat above his weight. A comment like this undercuts his insightfulness:
If we understand those paranoias to be symbolic beliefs, rather than real convictions — an attention-grabbing way of saying, “I consider Obama phony, dishonest and un-American” — then conservative behavior makes a lot more sense.
How can he say that without in-depth polling? Let's look at some issues.

The "Socialist" claim, especially if it comes from the same people who want government to take its hands off their Medicare? Nope, real belief. Out of huge ignorance.

The "Muslim" claim? Well, those Muslims are often A-rab "dune coons," etc. C'mon, Ross, it's code-word racism. At least in a fair percentage of the cases. (And, the refusal of America's first black president to engage with that isn't helpful.)

But Douthat partially redeems himself:

Such beliefs can still be dangerous. The line between what’s symbolic and what’s real isn’t always clear, and a determined demagogue can exploit symbolic beliefs as well as real ones.

He concludes by noting the folly of political establishments, though Obama's is one of political will and political chess-playing, while Bush's was one of arrogance and ... yes, since he didn't deny the claims he had been chosen by God ... conspiracy.

Sorry, Ross, they're not equivalent.