Bush & McCain: Joking about War

By David Corn | April 16, 2008 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)

Tonight is the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner--an annual formal affair that is the cousin to the White House correspondents' dinner. And this reminds me of one of my (own) favorite columns, which came about four years ago when I attended the dinner and watched in amazement as George W. Bush made jokes about the missing WMDs in Iraq (that is, joked about the purported reason for which he had sent Americans to war and, for some, to death). But what was most amazing was that everyone around me was laughing at Bush's routine. And laughing. And laughing. Never in my two decades of working in Washington have I felt more alienated--and, perhaps, more angry. Of the thousands of people in the room--which included hundreds of working journalists--I was, I believe, the only one to immediately write a piece questioning Bush (and his audience). That episode remains one of the more telling and revealing moments of modern-day Washington. (Talk about elitism.) And I believe it should not be forgotten. So I've posted that column below.

And on the subject of misplaced humor, I recently suggested on NPR's Diane Rehm Show that in a decent world John McCain would have been disqualified for running for president when he answered a question on the campaign trail about Iran by jokingly singing, "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" (to the tune of the old hit "Barbara Ann") My point: anyone who would make light of launching a war--and killing people with bombs--should not be given the power to do so. As I made these comments, Tony Blankley, a PR man and columnist for The Washington Times leaned toward the microphone. Do you want to defend McCain's joke? I asked. Yes, he said, insisting that we had to allow for humor in politics.

Humor in politics? That's the job of Jon Stewart. Or Stephen Colbert. (Or me--to a much, much, much lesser extent when I do standup, once every year or two.) But laughing at a president or a presidential wannabe about wars they start or can start? That's truly amusing ourselves (and others) to death--to reference the late Neil Postman's 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. I hope this time around--at the Radio and TV dinner--Bush sticks to less deadly fare when he tries to win giggles from the well-fed journalists and broadcasters in the room.
------

MIA WMDs--For Bush, It's a Joke
March 25, 2004

Only in Washington.

Last night I was at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner. It's a formal-and-fun affair where thousands of media folks assemble at the Hilton for a fancy dinner and fab pre- and post-parties. I'm not going to denigrate such soirees. I enjoy them. While bookers and producers jiggled and jostled on the dance floor and media and political celebs dissected the news du jour (this time it was Richard Clarke's dramatic appearance before the 9/11 commission), I was able to chat with former weapons hunter David Kay and learn about some troubling developments in the intelligence community (more on that down the road). And there was free sushi.

But an awful you're-all-alone moment came during George W. Bush's comments that followed the sit-down dinner. The current president is often the honored guest at this annual affair, and the audience toasts him in what is supposed to be a sign of communal and nonpartisan spirit. And the tradition is that the president has to be funny; he has to provide us with an amusing speech that pokes fun at himself and his political foes. After all, political journalists love to see politicians engage in self-deprecating humor. Bill Clinton was quite good at these performances. Bush seems to enjoy them less. Rather than do straight standup, he sometimes relies on a humorous slide show, and that was how he chose to entertain the media throng this time.

It's standard fare humor. Bush says he is preparing for a tough election fight; then on the large video screens a picture flashes showing him wearing a boxing robe while sitting at his desk. Bush notes he spends "a lot of time on the phone listening to our European allies." Then we see a photo of him on the phone with a finger in his ear. There were funny bits about Skull and Bones, his mother, and Dick Cheney. But at one point, Bush showed a photo of himself looking for something out a window in the Oval Office, and he said, "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere."

The audience laughed. I grimaced. But that wasn't the end of it. After a few more slides, there was a shot of Bush looking under furniture in the Oval Office. "Nope," he said. "No weapons over there." More laughter. Then another picture of Bush searching in his office: "Maybe under here." Laughter again.

Disapproval must have registered upon my face, for one of my tablemates said, "Come on, David, this is funny." I wanted to reply, Over 500 Americans and literally countless Iraqis are dead because of a war that was supposedly fought to find weapons of mass destruction, and Bush is joking about it. Instead, I took a long drink of the lovely white wine that had come with our dinner. It's not as if I was in the middle of a talk-show debate and had to respond. This was certainly one of those occasions in which you either get it or don't. And I wasn't getting it. Or maybe my neighbor wasn't.

At the end of the slide show, Bush displayed two pictures of himself with troops and noted these were his favorites. The final photograph was a shot of special forces soldiers--with their faces blurred to protect their identities--who were posing in Afghanistan where they had buried a piece of 9/11 debris in a spot that had once been an al Qaeda camp. Bush spoke about the prayer the commander had said during the burial ceremony and noted he had this photograph hanging in his private study.

So what's wrong with this picture? Bush was somber about the sacrifice being made by U.S. troops overseas. But he obviously considered it fine to make fun of the reason he cited for sending Americans to war and to death. What an act of audacious spin. One poll recently showed that most Americans believe he either lied about Iraq's WMDs or deliberately exaggerated the case to justify the war. And it is undeniable that in seeking public support for the war he made many false assertions that went beyond quoting intelligence that turned out to be wrong. (I've written about this in many other places. If you still don't believe Bush mugged the truth, check out this short guide.) As the crowd was digesting the delicious surf-and-turf meal, Bush was transforming serious scandal into rim-shot comedy.

Few seemed to mind. His WMD gags did not prompt a how-can-you silence from the gathering. At the after-parties, I heard no complaints. Was I being too sensitive? I wondered what the spouse, child or parent of a soldier killed in Iraq would have felt if they had been watching C-SPAN and saw the commander-in-chief mocking the supposed justification for the war that claimed their loved ones. Bush told the nation that lives had to be sacrificed because Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be used (by terrorists) against the United States. That was not true. (And as Kay pointed out, the evidence so far shows these weapons were not there in the first place, not that they were hidden, destroyed or spirited away.) But rather than acknowledge he misinformed the public, Bush jokes about the absence of such weapons.

Even if Bush does not believe he lied to or misled the public, how can he make fun of the rationale for a war that has killed and maimed thousands? Imagine if Lyndon Johnson had joked about the trumped-up Gulf of Tonkin incident that he deceitfully used as a rationale for U.S. military action in Vietnam: "Who knew that fish had torpedoes?" Or if Ronald Reagan appeared at a correspondents event following the truck-bombing at the Marines barracks in Beirut--which killed over 200 American servicemen--and said, "Guess we forgot to put in a stop light." Or if Clinton had come out after the bombing of Serbia--during which U.S. bombs errantly destroyed the Chinese embassy and killed several people there--and said, "The problem is, those embassies--they all look alike."

Yet there was Bush--apparently having a laugh at his own expense, but actually doing so on the graves of thousands. This was a callous and arrogant display. For Bush, the misinformation--or disinformation--he peddled before the war was no more than material for yucks. As the audience laughed along, he smiled. The false statements (or lies) that had launched a war had become merely another punchline in the nation's capital.

Comments

DC,

I wish the M$M would pick up on half of your work.

They have a "fill in the blanks" script and it doesn't include any hard questions.

Posted by: capt | April 16, 2008 11:34 AM

I know that George is a joke, but I can't find anything to laugh about.

If McCain wasn't good enough to be president in 2000, compared to George W. Bush, and George W. Bush is the worst president we have ever had, wouldn't a vote for McCain be a step in the wrong direction?

That would also not be funny.

Fill in the blanks _________ script. After this weekend I think they have progressed to cut and paste!

Posted by: geof01 | April 16, 2008 12:46 PM

David,

While your response to such callous idiotry was spot-on at the time, it did not seem to change the "Beltway Insiders' are one, big, happy family, NOT checkers and balancers" mentality that still permeates the media.

Colbert had it right...hammer 'em...to their FACE...and keep hammering them, tomorrow and tomorrow...

-T

Posted by: Hajji | April 16, 2008 12:57 PM

500 killed Americans at the time....

...seemed 500 was a lot, then.

God bless America.

-T

Posted by: Hajji | April 16, 2008 1:05 PM

I hope this time around--at the Radio and TV dinner--Bush sticks to less deadly fare when he tries to win giggles from the well-fed journalists

- David Corn

They'll be no torture his week. The Pope is in town and George and his principles are on their best behavior.

Posted by: Neil | April 16, 2008 1:11 PM

I'm thinking the Bush legacy demands something off color or insulting, it is what they do.

Maybe Laura can do the "milk the male cow" thing?

The Pope will get a good chuckle either way as he snubbed his WH dinner.

That is papal humor at its best!

Posted by: capt | April 16, 2008 1:16 PM

Almost 1,000 dead since the glorious "surge" started.

What did they die for? A little less violence?

The surge was in answer to failed policy yet the surge has not changed the failed policy.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!

Posted by: capt | April 16, 2008 1:20 PM

1000 dead in the past year vs 3000 dead since 2003. Isn't that an increase?

Off the cuff and doing it in my head I would say that is a 33% increase. 3,000/4=750 1000/750=1.33%

Good thing they aren't running out of puppies.

Posted by: geof01 | April 16, 2008 3:26 PM

1000 dead since the surge and Obama is gunna change that, but why can't Obama CHANGE his own brothers from killing each other?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama's indoctrination

By Ralph R. Reiland
Monday, March 31, 2008

The Department of Justice reports that approximately 8,000 blacks were murdered in the United States in 2005. In one year, that's exactly double the total number of American military deaths during the entire five years of the war in Iraq; in one year, that's 10 times the average number of American military deaths per year since the start of the war.
A recent study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice shows that blacks committed murders in 2005 at a rate seven times higher than whites.

The vast majority of those 8,000 black murders in 2005 were intraracial -- black victims being killed by other blacks. Similarly, Justice Department statistics covering the years 1976 through 2005 show that 94 percent of black murder victims were killed by blacks, and 86 percent of white murder victims were killed by whites.

Conversely, in inter-racial terms, 6 percent of black murder victims during those years were killed by non-blacks while 14 percent of white murder victims were killed by non-whites.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8000 dead in one year since Obama started his community activism? Wow, that record sucks!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 5:23 PM

Let's see what Obamas community activism has got us:

Obama =

1. A new house from Rezco
2. A new job in the State legis.
3. A new job as a US Sen.
4. opprtunity to run for Prez

Black Community =

1. 8000 black on black murders in one year

Wow!
Seems Obamas surge has been a huge success!!!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 5:31 PM

Better to remain silent and have them think that you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove them right.

Posted by: Hajji | April 16, 2008 5:32 PM

Obama Campaign Not Saying Whether He'll Release 1997-1999 Tax Returns

By Greg Sargent - April 16, 2008, 1:50PM

The Clinton campaign has been demanding that Obama release his 1997-1999 tax returns, and today on an Obama campaign conference call, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe was asked if he would do just that.

Plouffe's answer:

"We released our full tax returns for the entire decade, same period...we'll be releasing shortly our full 2007 tax returns."

The Obama campaign confirms that Plouffe was referring to 2000-2006, the same period that the Clintons released their returns for a few weeks ago. Plouffe didn't address the question about the 1997-1999 returns.

Hillary's returns from the 1990s -- when she was First Lady -- are available, obviously. It's still unclear whether Obama's 1997-1999 returns will be released.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What donors is he trying to hide folks?

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 5:46 PM

What donors is he trying to hide folks?
Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 5:46 PM

Um, donors don't show up on personal tax returns. You do file a personal tax return, don't you LBH?

You're confusing the IRS with the FEC. (I know, t's all just alphabet soup to you) For example, when McCain filed for public financing, he didn't file with the IRS, he filed with the FEC. And when McCain spent money in excess of the legal limit for someone who agreed to the restrictions of public financing, it has nothing to do with the IRS. Now McCain is facing a lawsuit for breach of contract and the FEC (but not the IRS) will be called to testify.

Posted by: Neil | April 16, 2008 6:07 PM

Poor Jimmy, even Obama is throwing the worst President in history under the bus!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama Reassures Jewish Leaders

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 1:59 PM

PHILADELPHIA -- Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday criticized former President Jimmy Carter for meeting with leaders of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas as he tried to reassure Jewish voters that his candidacy isn't a threat to them or U.S. support for Israel.

The Democratic presidential candidate's comments, made to a group of Jewish leaders here, were his first on Carter's controversial meeting scheduled this week in Egypt.

Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain called on Obama to repudiate Carter in a speech to The Associated Press Monday.

Obama told the Jewish group he had a "fundamental disagreement" with Carter, who was rebuffed by Israeli leaders during a peace mission to the Middle East this week.

"We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction," Obama said.

"We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements."

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 6:15 PM

Niel,

Slow day at the funny farm?

You are correct for once, donors aren't listed but donors they have worked for are.

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 6:33 PM

You do file a personal tax return, don't you LBH?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I make to much money to do turbo tax my friend.

Thanks to your big government liberal tax and spend politicans I have to hire an accountant to do my taxes.

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 6:40 PM

Must resist the urge TO slide off my chair and roll around, laughing my ass off.

"I make *to* much money..."
Posted by: LBH Author April 16, 2008 6:40 PM

That was TOO freekin' funny. It doesn't make TOO much sense. I can't wait TO get the Wednesday Night Funnies started. We're not laughing AT you, child. We just think some of your writing is TOO, TOO freekin' funny. On TO the show.... LOLOL gas-n-sip homeschooler.

"A former Pentagon official said this week that before the start of the war in Iraq, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gave the Bush administration a list of h"orribles," things he believed could go wrong, which the Bush administration apparently mistook for a to-do list."
--Amy Poehler

"According to a new poll, Barack Obama has a 24-point lead over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina. Obama is doing particularly well with one important demographic: voters."
--Amy Poehler

"More bad news for the Detroit Tigers, they lost again last night. ... After winning the night before, they're now one and eight. Yeah. They won one, lost eight. Or, as Hillary Clinton calls that, first place."
--Jay Leno

"Hey, did you see that a fire burned down Hillary Clinton's campaign office in Terre Haute, Indiana? You know, I knew Hillary's campaign was facing financial trouble. When you're burning the building down for the insurance money, that's not a good sign. Hillary was very upset by the fire. Luckily, she says she was glad she was able to run into the burning building, save six children, then go back and rescue three puppies. So that worked out."
--Jay Leno

"Hey, you see Bill Clinton out there defending Hillary? Well, he's defending Hillary's story about her Bosnia trip. And he blamed the press for blowing it out of proportion. He said, she made the comment at 11 p.m., exhausted after a day of campaigning. He should have left it there. Then he went on to say that Hillary is 60 years old and when the people attacking her are 60, they'll forget some things, too. Is that the best defense for somebody running for president? She's just old and forgetful, that's all. She's not a liar. She's just old and forgetful. ... Thanks a lot, Bill! Women love that when you yell out how old they are."
-Jay Leno

"Well, experts are now suggesting, if Hillary loses Pennsylvania, she could be finished. I don't want to say Hillary's days might be numbered, but her Secret Service code name is Katie Couric."
--Jay Leno

"Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the news, which always makes me happy. That's right. This week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be speaking at a convention of gay Republicans. ... Yeah, Arnold could get in trouble because he plans to start his speech by saying, 'Hello, girly men.'"
--Conan O'Brien

"According to his tax return last year, Vice President Cheney donated $166,000 to charity. ... Yeah, most of the money went to Cheney's favorite holiday charity, Coal for Tots."
--Conan O'Brien

"Between gasoline prices and the mortgage foreclosures, people are hurting. And you know who finally noticed this? John McCain. He changed his position on people losing their homes, from his original, 'Drop Dead,' to a new policy called 'Go F*ck Yourself Plus.'"
--Bill Maher

Posted by: Pandemoniac | April 16, 2008 7:16 PM

"Um, donors don't show up on personal tax returns. You do file a personal tax return, don't you LBH? You're confusing the IRS with the FEC. (I know, it's all just alphabet soup to you) "
Posted by: Neil April 16, 2008 6:07 PM

Look at you, trying to school the homeschooler (just like when Capt was trying to school him on the difference between "there" and "their"). IRS? FEC? We both know LBH can't spell "cat" unless you spot him the "c" and the "a." (with apologies to Hollywood Henderson)

And don't forget that the Dingbats love to say that the working-class folks that populate the gas-n-sip don't pay taxes (ergo, don't need tax breaks). The chances that LBH has filed a tax return are on par with the chances that he's cracked open a dictionary.

Posted by: Pandemoniac | April 16, 2008 7:25 PM

This from the guy with a fake SS# and stealing jobs from real Americans TOO funny. How's that?

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 7:33 PM

"You know they had hearings this week, about Iraq, ... with General Petraeus, and John McCain had another senior moment, where he couldn't remember who the Sunnis are, the Shiites. I'm beginning to worry about this guy. They asked him afterwards if this would affect his presidential campaign, and he said, 'I'm running for President?'"
--Bill Maher

"A new report from the Associated Press, says that the senior Bush administration officials met regularly in the White House to discuss and approve specific torture techniques. All the heavy hitters were there. Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, and Ashcroft and Tenet. Everybody except Bush himself, they left him with a sitter."
--Bill Maher

"Yeah, a lot of people want Bush to boycott the Olympics. ... Seems to me that's very backwards. If you're trying to piss off the Chinese, don't you want to send President Bush over to China. 'Hey, squinty! When do I get to see the ninjas?' They'll be like, 'Oh, f*ck it, Tibet is free, just get this moron away from me.'"
--Bill Maher

"Here's something interesting I learned. Did you know, John McCain does not use the Secret Service protection? ... Yeah, yeah. He hasn't been using them. He has his own team. In fact, you know what you call those six guys that surround John McCain all the time? Pallbearers."
--Jay Leno

"And Hillary Clinton now running ads in Pennsylvania that say she was raised on pinochle and the American dream. Pinochle? Well, that'll help with the young voters, huh? I mean, come on. What kids aren't playing pinochle now?"
--Jay Leno

"All the candidates where there, and while the media was focusing on them and them asking the questions, Senator Mel Martinez of Florida said to Senator John Thune of South Dakota, 'We could be naked juggling, and no one would notice,' that's what was said. 'We could be naked, and nobody would notice.' And Senator Larry Craig said, 'I would.'"
--Jay Leno

"The campaign is on everyone's mind right now. And it was a big night for Hillary Clinton last night. Did you hear about this? ... Last night, in New York City, Elton John held a big fund-raiser for Senator Hillary Clinton. Yeah. It was big. Yeah. Things got off to an awkward start when Hillary and Elton showed up wearing the same pantsuit."
--Conan O'Brien

"Of course, a lot of controversy right now about China. During a speech, President Bush urged Chinese leaders to talk to the Dalai Lama and called him a really fine man. Cool. Yeah. Bush said, "I used to be reluctant to meet with him. Then I found out he's not a real llama. That was weird."
--Conan O'Brien

"I just want to quickly say how inspired I was by General Petraeus's testimony this week. If I got this right, my understanding of what he said to Congress is that the war is going well enough that there is no need to end it. And, just as importantly, it's not going well enough that there is any possibility of ever ending it. It's like the old gambling rule, you do not leave the table when you're winning. Or when you're losing. Let it ride. Anyway, it's official, the troops will be in Iraq until Bush leaves office. And that is not passing the buck to the next president. That is ridiculous. With the current state of the dollar, it's more like passing 85 cents, tops."
--Stephen Colbert

"Politics is getting more and more interesting now. According to the insiders, Condoleezza Rice has been actively lobbying to be John McCain's vice presidential candidate. That would be interesting, don't you think? Condoleezza Rice, John McCain. Kind of like ebony and ornery."
--Jay Leno

"Here's your technology at work. The Pentagon now has developed a handheld lie detector that's gonna be distributed to troops. It's amazing. They can actually aim it at someone, and when the person is talking, they can tell if that person is lying. In fact, when the military showed this to Senator Clinton, she said, 'Get that damn thing away from me.'"
--Jay Leno

"In a nationwide survey just released today, high school seniors, on the average, answered correctly only 48% of the questions about personal finance and economics. Only 48%. But that's still 10% better than Bush's economic team."
--Jay Leno

And a special funny for my DMW mogizzle, LBH:
"In the congressional newspaper Roll Call, it reports that a growing number of Democrats are acknowledging that 90-year-old Senator Robert Byrd may be too old to chair the Appropriations committee. Really? 90, huh? I love the fact -- they can overlook the fact he was in the Ku Klux Klan, but if you're in the AARP, sorry, sorry."
--Jay Leno

Posted by: Pandemoniac | April 16, 2008 7:38 PM

The chances that LBH has filed a tax return are on par with the chances that he's cracked open a dictionary.

~~~~~~~~~~

What's the point, all that correct spelling and you're still a dumbass! It just goes to show homeschoolers are wiser, more successful and better looking than you public school retards!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 7:39 PM

Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em"

[...]

In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.

"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/hillary-clinton-on-workin_n_97017.html

*****

This is one of the reasons why I never warmed up to HRC?

Posted by: capt | April 16, 2008 7:40 PM

Where are McSame's tax returns?

Hmmmm?

Posted by: capt | April 16, 2008 7:42 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's 48% better than the idiots in charge of Congress!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 7:46 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Homeschoolers scored 98% correctly, go figure!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 7:47 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! That's almost as funny as when Obama confused Iran with Iraq in the Petraeus meeting. You can call it his Jr moment!

Damn I'm TOO funny!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 7:50 PM

http://www.bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/10234

David Corn and James Pinkterton
Zeitgeistial Straws in the Wind

Barack Obama: crypto-Marxist or simply misunderstood? (08:47)
Jim predicts Rev. Wright won’t stay quiet (06:00)
Thoughts on paying your taxes (07:12)
Moktada al-Sadr’s ominous humanitarianism (07:30)
David foresees a bipartisan antiwar consensus in Congress (02:53)
Our era in a nutshell: Police vs. dancers at the Jefferson Memorial (10:04)

Posted by: Neil | April 16, 2008 8:08 PM

And don't forget that the Dingbats love to say that the working-class folks that populate the gas-n-sip don't pay taxes (ergo, don't need tax breaks).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone pays taxes;

They pay taxes on the gas, the vehicle they drive, car registration, sales tax, insurance, beer and cigs they buy at gas n sip. The cell phone they use when getting gas. Then when they can't afford to pay anymore after a few measly gallons of gas and all those taxes, they drive off and get into an accident with an illegal immigrant. Then pay taxes for the emergency service provided to the illegal immigrant. Go to the hospital along with illegal immigrant and pay for his health care through taxes. Then he dies after all that and the Democrats come to his family and take half his property to pay his death tax.

You're right , who am I kidding, we don't pay enough in taxes!

Posted by: LBH | April 16, 2008 8:09 PM

Clinton-Obama Debate: ABC Decides Top Issues Facing Americans Are Gaffes, Flag Pins and '60s Radicals

By Greg Mitchell

Published: April 16, 2008 10:15 PM ET
OR

Why Greg Mitchell is right and David Brooks is wrong, again.
http://tinyurl.com/42g7pa

Posted by: Neil | April 17, 2008 10:35 AM

For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with… “It’s not the first time I made a misstatement that was mangled up, and it won’t be the last,” said Obama [about the overblown “Bittergate” scandal], with refreshing candor. But candor is dangerous in a national campaign, what with network newsniks waiting for mistakes or foul-ups like dogs panting for treats after performing a trick. The networks’ trick is covering an election with as little emphasis on issues as possible, then blaming everyone else for failing to focus on “the issues.”

Posted by: Neil | April 17, 2008 10:43 AM

ABC and the "debate" did what the M$M wanted . . .

The legitimized the tabloid questions to justify revisiting the same crud when BHO debates G'pa.

They have to steer clear of the issues.

"Mission Accomplished"

Posted by: capt | April 17, 2008 11:34 AM

Heee Heeee Heee!

ABC has blown the cover of Obama as the leftist, radical, hate America, liberal he truly is and progressives are livid!

Hey Pando-TOO funny!

Obama is your boy and he is going down big time against McSame!

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 12:20 PM

Hamas Endorses Obama

Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:21 AM

By: Newsmax Staff Article Font Size

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has received an endorsement he might well wish he hadn’t — from the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas’ top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, delivered his endorsement in an interview with WorldNetDaily and WABC Radio in New York.

“We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections,” Yousuf said.

“I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle. And he has a vision to change America, to [put] it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance.”

The U.S. and Israel have been seeking to isolate Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June and is classified by the State Department as a terrorist group.

Obama, as well as presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain, have all referred to Hamas as a “terrorist organization,” according to WorldNetDaily.

Asked about Obama’s criticism of former President Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas during his Middle Eastern trip, Yousuf said:

“I understand American politics and this is the season for elections and everybody tries to sound like he’s a friend of Israel…

“I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse when one of them will be the president.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well done Jimmy Carter~

**MISSION ACCOMPLISHED**

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 12:27 PM

Daily Show: Play the “George-Bush-Can-Predict-the-Future” Game

at C&L

Posted by: capt | April 17, 2008 12:27 PM

You Cornnuts better start begging Al Gore to jump in or HOPE for change will be a pipe dream!

LOL Pando~

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 12:29 PM

[...]

For someone who voluntarily became a Marine and served with such distinction, the questioning of Wright’s patriotism is deeply offensive. While there may be grounds for criticizing Wright’s positions on other issues, his patriotism is not one of them. George Stephanopoulos and ABC owe Jeramiah A. Wright Jr. a public apology.

http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=328626

****

ABC should have been put out of business when they broadcast "Path to 9/11" - we took the channel off our line-up back then and this confirms we did the right thing.

Posted by: capt | April 17, 2008 12:37 PM

Oh no wait, this isn't supposed to happen, becuase the surge has been a failure!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iraqi Political Blocs Move Closer To Reconciliation, Coalition

Wall Street Journal ^ | 4/17/2008 | CHIP CUMMINS

BAGHDAD -- Two of Iraq's biggest sect-based political blocs -- often-bitter rivals -- are moving toward a broad governing coalition that could boost the standing of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ahead of provincial elections scheduled for the fall.

In an interview here late Wednesday, Iraq's Sunni vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, said Sunni lawmakers are discussing rejoining Mr. Maliki's Shiite-dominated government in as few as two weeks. A top aide to Mr. Maliki confirmed the discussions, and gave an equally rosy estimate for when the talks could be completed.

The new political goodwill between the two sides could be fleeting. Past attempts at bringing the Sunnis back into government have failed. And political deals -- even when they are announced -- frequently fall apart or stall for months. But the thawing at least presents a glimmer of hope for some measure of political reconciliation between Iraq's various sects.

Mr. Hashemi said the reason for his new willingness to rejoin the government is the goodwill Mr. Maliki has engendered by a recent, government assault against Shiite militias in Basra. The government said last month it was targeting criminal gangs in the southern oil capital, parts of Baghdad and other cities. But the operation appeared to center on fighters loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 12:38 PM

For someone who voluntarily became a Marine and served with such distinction, the questioning of Wright’s patriotism is deeply offensive.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marine~

Timothy McVeigh voluntarily served in the Army~

Does Obama consider them patriots?

Who knows, that's the problem!

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 12:43 PM

Can a criminal be a patriot? Can an admitted torturer be a patriot? Is Bush a patriot?

Flag pins are patriotic but cow bells aren't?

All probing questions that should have been in the debate.

Posted by: capt | April 17, 2008 12:47 PM

Obama showed what a light weight he really is in last nights debate. He couldn't answer one tough question without whining about being asked that question and then not giving a straight answer. Kind of like Pandonial, must run in the progressive family tree.

Posted by: LBH | April 17, 2008 1:03 PM

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