President Bush's handlers have worked hard to craft an image of rock-steady consistency for him (and we have to give them credit -- it can't be easy when your raw material is someone who's publicly reversed himself on almost every single position he's ever taken), but the truth remains that he's wildly inconsistent in all but a few aspects, of which the most notable is a stubborn refusal to take responsibility for anything. When the going gets tough, we know we can count on President Bush to blame someone else. So now, in Bush's Mad Tea Party version of reality, Democrats who ask questions are undermining the escalation in Iraq, which would otherwise be working just fine. In an interview with Keith Olbermann last night, John Kerry talked about the latest version of the Republican blame game, what they're trying to accomplish by it, and the truths that need to be faced in a realistic, level-headed way if we're going to salvage anything from the mess in Iraq.
Keith Olbermann led off with a barn burner of a Special Comment, which set up the context for the conversation he had with Senator Kerry. Check out the Special Comment here. You can find the interview with JK a bit further down on the same page, here, and it's good to go there -- let MSNBC know that people want to see more JK! -- but just in case some people have trouble with that link, we're posting a backup of the JK interview here.
The latest duck-and-cover move by the Administration was an attempt to paint Hillary Clinton as a troublemaker and aider-of-the-enemy for merely asking whether the Pentagon had begun serious planning for safely withdrawing our troops -- ever. She received a letter rebuking her and saying that talk of withdrawal (any withdrawal, not necessarily an immediate or precipitous one) only unnerves our allies. The Administration thus tacitly admits what John Kerry has been saying all along: we have let the Iraqi politicians believe that they can have the security blanket of a U.S. military presence for as long as they want, so that they can feel free to squabble among themselves and jockey for position instead of making compromises and forging a working, stable government. Even as the Administration denies that that's the position we've put ourselves in, it insists that merely to ask questions about whether there's any kind of a plan for eventual withdrawal is to undermine our allies. In this interview, Senator Kerry defends Senator Clinton against the Administration's attack and talks about how Democrats need to stand up to this kind of bullying.
Senator Kerry also describes recent briefings he's attended by General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, briefings which, as he reports, offered scant evidence of any significant progress in Iraq and instead showed "a quiet, subtle moving of the goalposts." Finally, he makes clear once again how important it is to take seriously the complexity of the political situation in Iraq and the futility of attempting a purely military solution to a problem that can only be solved, if at all, through political and diplomatic efforts.
Postscript: JK sent out an e-mail to supporters today with the following note at the end:
"You and I know damn well what happens at moments like this: the Administration attacks their opponents ruthlessly. They smear, they lie. Yesterday they went after Sen. Clinton. I stepped up to defend her. Tomorrow who knows which Democrat they'll attack. Here's what I'm asking you: I don't care if you have a horse in 2008, or who you're supporting. Anytime you see a Democrat get attacked, please step up and defend them."
Comments (5)
Posted by MarjorieG | July 20, 2007 5:02 PM
John Kerry will always be stand-up, generous and support the truth. I hope the rest of us have learned lessons, and don't engage in a repeat of 2004 by repeating lies. Letting them build by not refuting them, and shooting our candidates' chances in the circular firing squad.
We don't engage in party-building, or do the work on issues in between elections, depending on the late delivery of a charisma. Then we tear it down.
The media only portrays or conveys appeal when creating their candidate, who will also happen to like media consolidation. They're biased, and we buy into it.
Thank you for these videos, KV.
(However in a minority on liking the orange, may I seque into preferring the pink tie trend.)
Posted by Otter | July 20, 2007 5:07 PM
I just want to compliment all of the KVT team for not only serving up heaping big bowlfuls of steaming fresh content every day, but doing so with such delightfully pepper-flavored sauce on the side. It's not just mighty good viddles, it's mighty good readin' too!
Posted by Marjorie G | July 20, 2007 5:34 PM
Yes, excellently writing and observation. Mea culpa for just mentioning!
Posted by fedup | July 20, 2007 8:39 PM
"You and I know damn well what happens at moments like this: the Administration attacks their opponents ruthlessly. They smear, they lie. Yesterday they went after Sen. Clinton. I stepped up to defend her. Tomorrow who knows which Democrat they'll attack. Here's what I'm asking you: I don't care if you have a horse in 2008, or who you're supporting. Anytime you see a Democrat get attacked, please step up and defend them."
Yes we do. You know if he were in that horse race HE would also be the first one to step up and defend his fellow Democrats, because it is the RIGHT thing to do and no Democrat should ever take the side of the attackers, period.
Posted by JI7 | July 21, 2007 4:27 AM
and if other Dems had supported and defended Kerry as he does for others then he wouldn't have needed to put more money and time into the attacks against him.
as we have discussed before. HE did respond but the media doesn't report it or they accuse him of having mental problems and not discussing real issues.
the problem was not the tv ads but the whore media which reported the attacks against him as if there was some truth or questions to it.