In his appreciation of the late Lucio Magri, the Italian Marxist and founder of the exemplary Il Manifesto newspaper, Perry Anderson tells the story in the most recent New Left Review of the trashing a young Magri took from Italian Communist Party elder Enrico Berlinguer for a speech Magri wrote that bordered on the substantive.

“Magri,” Berlinguer said, “you have yet to learn that in politics one needs the courage of banality.”

Leftists avoiding the Republican debates like the pox are missing some classic political banalities. And some quintessential propaganda moments, too. For a taste, here’s a bit of what Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney served up to supporters after clinching the New Hampshire party primary on January 10.