"Staring failure in the face and calling it 'winning' -- that's the closest thing we have to an American religion. It's the native tradition, from Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick to Ron Burgundy in Anchorman. And if that's our religion, Charlie Sheen is our Vatican assassin warlock. Lots of us can look back on ruined lives, lost jobs, squandered fortunes. But to look back on it all and shrug, 'I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' frickin' rock star from Mars'? That's up there with Ahab threatening to strike the sun if it insults him."
-- Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone
Adding: Here's a related quote from Matt Taibbi's mailbag segment yesterday:
"He’s definitely a symbol of something, can’t really put my finger on what – he’s like what America’s soul looks like with its clothes off or something. They could easily update E Pluribus Unum by replacing it with Duh…Winning and it would fit modern America just right."
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