The Story Not Being Told

The Swift boat veterans are probably not directly coordinting with the Bush people, but they would definetly stop if asked by the Bush people. I think there is a difference between the liberal 527's and the swift boat vets. The liberal 527's are in the process of rebuilding the liberal cause in the US. They are related, but essentially independent much like the Club for Growth. CfG is definetly a Republican arm, but they are not under direct control as evidenced by their opposing the white house in several races this year.

The biggest missed point for me is that most the Republican leadership either never served in the military (Cheney, Delay, Frist) or barely served (Bush). While many of the Democrats most brutally attacked served above and beyond the call of duty (Kerry, Cleland, Dascle). Why is there not an ad to that affect. I can imagine the script now. http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html

"Groups related the President Bush and the Republican's are attacking John Kerry's service"
"The same type of attacks were used against John McCain and Max Cleland, both served honorably"
"Let's look at the facts"
(Names and pictures flash on the screen)
John Kerry -- Volunteered US Navy 5 medals
Tom Dascle -- 1st Lt., U.S. Air Force
Al Gore -- Volunteered US Army
Max Cleland -- U.S. Army 3 medals
Even Ted Kennedy -- US Army

President Bush -- Served in National Guard
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert -- Avoided the draft
House Majority Leader Tom Delay -- Avoided the draft
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt -- Never served
Majority Leader Bill Frist -- Never served
Majority Whip Mitch McConnell -- Never served
Dick Cheney -- Avoided the draft

"Some things should remain sacred. Respect those that served... Especially when you did not."

www.swiftboatliars.com

Media Rant

I just finished (changed the channel in disgust) watching good ole Wolfie Blitzer on CNN. He was covering a story related to a pre-convention "bounce" for GWB. It is based on the newest LA times poll. If you were to actually believe the CNN story, you would think that the race has changed fundamentally in the president's favor. While it maybe be possible, one poll does not change the race. A good journalist would have at least mentioned that other polls, including CNN's contradicted the results. The media has become so craven....

What is fair?

I have been doing a lot of thinking the past few weeks about how Democrats can win in the Fall against an increasingly vicious Republican party. In addition, I have been giving a lot of thought to what kind of discourse we want. Do we want to win at all costs? What is the role of the press?

The SBVFT have made me realize how low we have sunk in our political discourse. Of course, this is nothing new historically. Is this kind of attack just part of the process or should the Dems be more aggressive at defending themselves? The war records of GWB and JFK could not be more stark. I do not blame GWB for seeking a spot on the national guard, but we should give credit where it is due.

I think the press has become increasingly out of touch and jaded. It is time for the media to stop giving every side of every story equal coverage. All points of view are not equal. Truth does exist... It happens to Republicans and Democrats, but I think the Republicans have become more adept at manipulating the system. I look at many of the members of the Washington press corp with absolute amazement. It is clear to me that they see everyone in the hinterland as unintelligent, unsophisticated and uniformed.

I am little sad at the state of things....