Flip Flop or Spin?

I'm not sure that I can remember a nastier presidential election race. Or one that's as full of untruth, innuendo, and falsehood.

Through the proxies of the Republican National Committee, blatantly false charges that purport to describe how Kerry's valor during his Viet Nam service was not how it has been described in the supporting documents for his purple hearts, and his bronze and silver stars for bravery. No real evidence was ever supplied. Unfortunately there are people out there that buy this crap. The Republicans and Bush stay on the attack by characterizing everything that Kerry says as promoting terrorism, or changing his mind, or not being strong enough for America. Cheney spouts off that if Kerry is elected, America will surely be attacked by terrorists (this is the same well-reasoned Vice President who recently so eloquently told a US Senator, in public, to go fuck himself!). While Kerry has been having to spend precious campaign time defending himself against these lies, he's finally been able to start fighting back.

The one I like the best over the past week is when Kerry describes the President as living in his own little world of positive spin. According to the President and his advisors, going to war means never having to say you're sorry.

Bush criticizes Kerry for voting to invade Iraq and then changing his mind. Kerry points out that he voted (along with most of the House and Senate) to give the President the authority to go to war as a last resort. As a last resort!!. When you think about this carefully, the vote was the same as a union voting to grant their representatives a strike authorization during a labor negotiation. It strengthens the hand of the one(s) in authority in the negotiation--if the union negotiators can't reach a resolution, they are authorized to call the strike. In the case of the congressional authorization for invading Iraq was only given in the event that all reasonable solutions had been examined, including the completion of the U.N. weapons inspections. This doesn't even take into account that the vote to authorize the President to go to war was based on faulty intelligence combined with a rush to create a rationale for the invasion. Bush says he would do the exact same thing again. Kerry says he would have made very sure that the rationale for going to war was beyond reproach. Gee, if that's a flip flop, then I'm flopping.

I bought the whole "Iraq was dangerous because of WMD and this must not be allowed" argument. So did most of America. Looking back, where was Sadaam going to go? He wasn't a danger to the U.S. He was bottled up. Economic sanctions were allowing him to line his pockets yet everyone knew this couldn't go on forever. Eventually, some pissed off Iraqi (and there were millions) would have finally gotten to him. Was putting him in jail worth the price we've paid, and are continuing to pay. this doesn't even inlcude the price paid by the millions of Iraqi people caught in the crossfire of militants and their continued terrorism against both Iraqis and the coalition forces. Again, where are the WMD? Why are we in this quagmire?

Bush says he would do it again. So much for learning from your mistakes. In the mind of Bush, to admit otherwise shows a lack of strength. And as I write this, on the TV news two more American soldiers are being reported as killed. I want their sacrifice to mean something. But it has to mean more than the what's being given us.

Attack Dogs

As with probably 99.9% of all bloggers, I pretty much have come to the realization I don't have a lot to say that would interest the idle reader. However, after opening up the Blogger app tonight, I remembered I had saved a quote that I had wanted to use.

Right now it's the night after the end of the Republican Party National Convention. As with all such conventions, there was much chest thumping for achievements, real and imagined. And there were a considerable number of attacks on the character, intelligence, and leadership abilities of the Democratic challenger, John Kerry. Maybe it's a matter of perception; since I support Kerry's candidacy, but the attacks seem to have become extremely personal, bordering on the outright nasty.

I'm not naieve--I know that the people running the Democratic Party campaign aren't above such nastiness. But at this point in time, and maybe it's because the RNC really believes they are vulnerable, all semblence of decency seems to have gone out the window. The attacks range from lies and innuendo about Kerry's very real and heroic Viet Nam service record (even my Dad has fallen for the "Swift Boat" bullshit) to the truly personal snide remarks about Kerry's wife.

So I end this with the following quote from the Kerry nomination acceptance speach. Yes, it's a little personal as well, and I can understand if it makes a staunch Republican a little hot. However, these statements are truly based in fact, a point that an honest person will have trouble denying.

I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.
John Kerry, during his acceptance speech as the Democratic National Party nominee for President of the United States, July 29, 2004

I suspect the next few months will truly bring out the best in America.