Daily Inspiration Quote by Michael Kinsley

Kinsley skewers a very modern species of moral vanity: the person who wants the thrill and utility of cruelty without the social cost of owning it. The target isn’t straightforward nastiness, which at least has the decency of honesty; it’s the cowardly half-step where someone floats a jab, then retreats behind manners, deniability, or “just asking questions.” That’s why the line lands as journalism-grade satire: it treats “nice” not as a vibe but as an ethic, and then exposes how easily civility becomes camouflage.

The construction is a trapdoor. “Nice enough” arrives twice, each time narrowing the moral space until there’s nowhere to stand. First, the speaker won’t be “associated” with the remark, suggesting a keen awareness of reputational fallout. Second, he’s still “not nice enough not to make it,” meaning the impulse to wound outruns whatever conscience he claims. Kinsley’s kicker - “Lacking the courage of one’s nastiness does not make one nice” - flips a familiar defense. People often equate shame with goodness, as if feeling bad (or fearing backlash) absolves the act. Kinsley insists shame can be pure self-protection.

The context is the media ecosystem Kinsley knows best: politics, punditry, and professional opinion-making, where barbs are currency and plausible deniability is a career skill. It’s a warning about how “civility” rhetoric can launder aggression, letting people weaponize politeness while still doing the damage. Nice isn’t refusing to be seen as nasty; it’s refusing to be nasty in the first place.