Dept. of Misdirection: With Iraq a Disaster, GOP Goes Crazy Over a Newspaper Ad
Arianna Huffington
The HuffPo
Does anybody really believe the problem with the war in Iraq is too much questioning of those in authority, too much bluntness, and not enough deference to those who have been in charge of the war for the last four years?
That's apparently the feeling of all the conservative talk-show hosts and GOP presidential candidates who came down with the vapors over the MoveOn ad that had the temerity to question Gen. David Petraeus. Tens of thousands of dead civilians, nearly 4,000 dead American soldiers, half a trillion dollars spent, and the squandering of America's moral authority -- none of that seems to have ruffled their feathers very much. But the ad? Now that has got them royally steamed.
Rudy Giuliani is up in arms, railing against "character assassination on an American general who is putting his life at risk." John McCain thinks "MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country." Even Don Rumsfeld popped his head out of his spider hole to blast the ad.
It's the political version of the old lawyer's axiom: When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both are against you, attack the plaintiff. And when the war is an unmitigated disaster, the facts on the ground are against you, and your only plan for the future is 'more of the same,' go crazy over a newspaper ad.
I experienced a similar thing in 2002, when we produced a pair of edgy TV ads drawing a link between America's dependence on foreign oil and national security (a point that has since become the conventional wisdom, even adopted by oilman George Bush). But at the time, conservatives raised the roof, "how dare yous" filled the air, and we were accused of having gone too far in making our point.
Now it's déjà vu all over again. Was the MoveOn ad blunt? Yes. Did it go for the jugular? No doubt. But while the way it chose to make its points can be debated, the accuracy of those points cannot.
Does anyone really doubt why the president hid behind Petraeus' medals and sent him on a week-long talk-show tour to sell a policy he could no longer peddle himself?
(Continued here.)
The HuffPo
Does anybody really believe the problem with the war in Iraq is too much questioning of those in authority, too much bluntness, and not enough deference to those who have been in charge of the war for the last four years?
That's apparently the feeling of all the conservative talk-show hosts and GOP presidential candidates who came down with the vapors over the MoveOn ad that had the temerity to question Gen. David Petraeus. Tens of thousands of dead civilians, nearly 4,000 dead American soldiers, half a trillion dollars spent, and the squandering of America's moral authority -- none of that seems to have ruffled their feathers very much. But the ad? Now that has got them royally steamed.
Rudy Giuliani is up in arms, railing against "character assassination on an American general who is putting his life at risk." John McCain thinks "MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country." Even Don Rumsfeld popped his head out of his spider hole to blast the ad.
It's the political version of the old lawyer's axiom: When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both are against you, attack the plaintiff. And when the war is an unmitigated disaster, the facts on the ground are against you, and your only plan for the future is 'more of the same,' go crazy over a newspaper ad.
I experienced a similar thing in 2002, when we produced a pair of edgy TV ads drawing a link between America's dependence on foreign oil and national security (a point that has since become the conventional wisdom, even adopted by oilman George Bush). But at the time, conservatives raised the roof, "how dare yous" filled the air, and we were accused of having gone too far in making our point.
Now it's déjà vu all over again. Was the MoveOn ad blunt? Yes. Did it go for the jugular? No doubt. But while the way it chose to make its points can be debated, the accuracy of those points cannot.
Does anyone really doubt why the president hid behind Petraeus' medals and sent him on a week-long talk-show tour to sell a policy he could no longer peddle himself?
(Continued here.)
Powered by Blogger
1 Comments:
It’s officially the re-election season when candidates are challenged to repudiate actions of a third party … and leading the bandwagon is Norm Coleman .
Timing is everything in mudslinging, and Norm’s right arm will show no evidence of arm fatigue for the next fourteen months. Slinging mud is easier than explaining why he has represented Minnesota so poorly !
Post a Comment
<< Home