Monday, September 25, 2006
Dear Democrats
by Tom Bozzo
The NYT quoted Rep. Jane Harmon as follows:
Remember, it's true (!) that many combinations of a half-trillion dollars' expenditure plus the combat strength of the U.S. military could have been spent to reduce the threat of terrorism.
The administration response — that the Iraq bombshell “is not representative of the complete document" — is itself a signal of weakness. Arguing that it's "out of context," even if true, is a lot different from claiming that the NIE has been misrepresented; you don't need to be an overly sharp litigator to take it as an admission of truth. Obviously, it would be interesting to know how the complete document might differ. More focuses on the stunning successes to date in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan? If you think Iraq is a Charlie Foxtrot, just wait for the sequel? The possibilities are endless.
So, dear Democrats, just consider the blogiverse as the Iron Lady to your Bush père: this is no time to go wobbly.
P.S., it's not too late to do the right thing on the torture bill, either.
Please pay attention to the monkeys at their keyboards: this is a political gift right up there with John Kerry learning in the 2004 presidential debate that President Testy McBlinker had no coherent plans to un-screw the pooch in Iraq. Sen. Kerry's strategerists erred grandly in viewing that as a distraction from their efforts to run on economic issues. This is a chance to set that right by acknowledging what is not only right but also popular!
The NYT quoted Rep. Jane Harmon as follows:
This administration is trying to change the subject. I don’t think voters are going to buy that.Since the obvious needs to be said as loudly as possible, let me note that the trick, right out of Karl Rove's playbook, is for Democrats to work Iraq into everything the way any Bush speech is a fusillade of malapropos 9/11 references. That these tactics were endorsed by our conservative blog-pal Bryan Smith, presently applying his new PhD to cancer research in another state instead of blogging, is no flaw. (Real conservatives should deplore the wastes of blood, treasure, and military power.)
Remember, it's true (!) that many combinations of a half-trillion dollars' expenditure plus the combat strength of the U.S. military could have been spent to reduce the threat of terrorism.
The administration response — that the Iraq bombshell “is not representative of the complete document" — is itself a signal of weakness. Arguing that it's "out of context," even if true, is a lot different from claiming that the NIE has been misrepresented; you don't need to be an overly sharp litigator to take it as an admission of truth. Obviously, it would be interesting to know how the complete document might differ. More focuses on the stunning successes to date in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan? If you think Iraq is a Charlie Foxtrot, just wait for the sequel? The possibilities are endless.
So, dear Democrats, just consider the blogiverse as the Iron Lady to your Bush père: this is no time to go wobbly.
P.S., it's not too late to do the right thing on the torture bill, either.
