In last night's debate, Bush repeated over and over about supporting the troops, mixed messages, etc., building on a recent Bush campaign theme.
There's an (obvious) aspect to this that is unfair to Kerry, and even Bush is painted into a difficult corner.
It's unfair to Kerry because using this logic, it places out of bounds an issue of hyper-importance, probably the most important issue of the day. Even if one supports Bush 100%, surely the possibility must be recognized that on some future date, a president will error, maybe severely, and that the issues can and must be debated.
From Bush's perspective, it is somewhat necessary for the president to assume the role of head cheerleader. (Offset in part, one hopes, by the overriding responsibility to be honest.) Giving Bush the momentary benefit of the doubt as to wisdom of going to war, it's his job to be commander-in-chief, and it's gotta be hard when things go poorly.
Still, to stifle debate about the war by using not-entirely-oblique inferences that to debate is to be unpatriotic, is (imo) shameful.
It's especially sickening to see it come from a columnist like Hitchen's (who has fallen so far into the sewer that it's no longer a surprise) in his article subtitled The vile spectacle of Democrats rooting for bad news in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There's an (obvious) aspect to this that is unfair to Kerry, and even Bush is painted into a difficult corner.
It's unfair to Kerry because using this logic, it places out of bounds an issue of hyper-importance, probably the most important issue of the day. Even if one supports Bush 100%, surely the possibility must be recognized that on some future date, a president will error, maybe severely, and that the issues can and must be debated.
From Bush's perspective, it is somewhat necessary for the president to assume the role of head cheerleader. (Offset in part, one hopes, by the overriding responsibility to be honest.) Giving Bush the momentary benefit of the doubt as to wisdom of going to war, it's his job to be commander-in-chief, and it's gotta be hard when things go poorly.
Still, to stifle debate about the war by using not-entirely-oblique inferences that to debate is to be unpatriotic, is (imo) shameful.
It's especially sickening to see it come from a columnist like Hitchen's (who has fallen so far into the sewer that it's no longer a surprise) in his article subtitled The vile spectacle of Democrats rooting for bad news in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Er, except that he is a puppet. Maybe he won't be one eventually, but he is one now. This is reality folks.
