Conservative Desperation
August 31st, 2006For this administration to compare Iraq to World War II (see any mainstream media appearance this week by a Bush appointee) seems like the final act in what has been a tragedy from the start. Before I start a rant, I think Keith Olbermann’s response to Donald Rumsfeld’s speech to the American Legion says it better than I can:
Will any of this have an influence on who people vote for this November? o
Wow. That was beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Jesus H. Hernandez!! Couldn’t have said it better myself. When I heard the beginnings of the comparisons to Nazis and fascists, I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
And in answer to your last question: Doubtful, at least from these parts. We’re sheep, remember? baahaa, baaaahaaa…..
I, for one, hope that people see Olbermann’s thought provoking critique and decide to take a stand.
Well…I was listening to NPR this evening and they were talking to one of the vets in Utah (I think it was Utah) who had attended one of Bush’s speeches. He did the whole comparison thing there, too, and the vet was really offended. But then he went on to say, “I’ll still support him.” He ALSO said, and this is what kills me, that he doesn’t know if Bush “knows what he’s doing” but he STILL will support him.
So, no. I don’t think this will change the voting habits of the hard-core Republicans.
yes, wow amazing. thanks for the linkage.
When I came across the cnn.com report of Mr. Rumsfield’s speech on Tuesday, I immediately wrote him an open letter stating that he was suffering from moral and intellectual confusion. Unfortunately, it was nearly as eloquent as Keith Olbermann. Now the President is spewing the same rhetoric. There may be some hardcore Republicans who will continue to vote for Bush, et al. But I’m mad enough now to do what I can to shut them up and work to replace every Republican in state or federal office that supports him/them. The end result, I’m NOT morally or intellectually confused anymore!
Thanks for sharing the clip!
definitely. very murrow of him (except for the part where he actually quotes murrow, because murrow wasn’t the kind of guy to quote himself, really). he’s the only non-yahoo on the air.
Nope, won’t make a difference most unfortunately.
Here’s another OpEd response to Rummy y’all may like.
(L.A. Times free sub possibly needed)
http://tinyurl.com/el4em
How many days till Jan. ‘09 again? Sigh.
Brilliant. I hope it starts a bigger conversation on the subject. I only wish we had these types of conversations, say, four years ago.
As for the 2006 elections, I tend to be a pessimist. The incompetence of the Bush Administration was in full bloom during 2002 and 2004, but it didn’t seem to make a difference.
But it’s looking like I may be wrong. It looks like there is a very real chance that the Dems will take back the house. If that happens, congressional hearings will be coming to a town near you.
Impeachment? Dare to dream. But it seems quite likely history will not judge this administration kindly.
Magnificent.
Thank you for this link. Sometimes it’s really hard to feel optimistic, but then a single voice can make a difference for another day.
My goodness, he seems really worked up. Clearly he’s a very clever man, it’s no wonder his ratings are so good.
I have to hope people have had enough of this tomfoolery, otherwise I won’t be able to get out of bed in the morning.
jon, glad to see you’re feeling a bit better and have got the old fire back in your belly. the good kind of fire, I mean.
I think it may only have an effect on the free-thinking moderates that are lurking around. The die hard lefties and righties are going to stick with the home teams, I reckon.
I have a feeling that the ol’ pendulum is swinging back around though. It’s time for it.
This is the Bush administration’s third major attempt to rally support for its increasingly unpopular war. None of these rhetorical blitzkreigs have significantly swayed public opinion for very long, and approval ratings have steadily declined.
I doubt that rhetoric from either side of the debate will affect the results of the November elections. There’s a growing feeling of disillusionment with the current government, however, and I think even Republicans are starting to consider a change in leadership. All the polls suggest that many incumbent Republicans face an uphill battle, to say the least, which was certainly not the case in 2004.
Finally an articulate liberal pundit with some cojones! Olbermann’s is the only tv commentary I can bear to watch these days. Missed this show, so thanks for the link.
“Impeachment? Dare to dream. But it seems quite likely history will not judge this administration kindly.”
I abhorr the concept of life lived in hindsight, but i’m afraid Mr. Workman is right, and the only justice for our time will be the judgement of future generations.
ps…Jon, I know Heather must have her reasons for leaving the comments closed, but can I just say well played, my good man, well played.
Chivalry is not dead, you are one of the finest men I have ever had the pleasure of comming in contact with. Thats not ass kissing, I just think if my son grows up to be anything like you, I will have done a good job.
I don’t know whether to be relieved or aggrieved after watching that. Relieved, because at least *someone* said it, spoke out, argued eloquently. Agrieved because I believe everything he said was true and not enough people understand why they should care. I am without cable television right now, so I thank you Jon for provoking my thoughts by posting it on your site.
If I wouldn’t have been at work, that speech would have brought a tear to my eye.
Wonderful.
Will it make a difference in how we vote? Not if there’s another “terrorist threat”. Was everyone paying attention to the timing of the England/liquid bomb scare? Good.
This guy is great! Makes me wonder how much longer he’ll be left on the air…and I wish he’d made the correct analogy to WWII: Bush’s administration is not the administration of a blind fool hoping to appease a growing threat to the world at large. It is a fascist, growing threat to the world at large.
All the comments have been have so far been an anti-Bush circle jerk so let me say this; WWII these 3 wars (Afghanistan, Iraq and general War on Terror) are not, but they are standing up to a new form of fascism and that is where the WWII comparison begins and ends. Now I know all of you are furiously pounding away a response, after reading that last sentence, about how American is being just as fascist through our current military endevors. But there is a fine line between fascism, and any of its 31 flavors, and what I think more aptly describes America’s position, cultural imperialism. By any definition America is an imperialist nation and that is not necessarily a bad thing. There always will be nations with imperialist goals, so why not be the leader? The muslim extremist movement that has spawned homicidal fundamentalists is a reaction to America’s cultural imperialism. And while our cultural imperialism spreads sex and materialism along with tolerance and knowledge, the response on the fundamentalist’s part to this rapid expansion and redefinition of cultural norms has been shun it all and revert to what they believe to be holy and ordainded by God. That goes for almost all fundamentalists Christian and Muslim alike. It just so happens that what some fundamentalist muslim sects believe to be ordainded by God infact repeals all of the rights that America as a nation is built on.
In summation, no it’s not WWII and that is a stupid, lame tactic. Yes, it is a violent form of fascism that cannot be tollerated and yes Keith Olberman is very eloquent.
Thank you for posting this – it’s good to see someone still practicing responsible journalism like Olbermann.
If I had my way as a historian, I would wipe the whole Munich Agreement right off history books. It so overused and misused.
but on the upshot for the Administration:
Thanks for posting this, it needs as wide an audience as possible.