It seems we all need a reminder of who is running for president these days. Our candidates are John McCain and Barak Obama. Charlie Black, or Reverend Wright, or whoever else close to McCain or Obama who say or do something stupid isn't. This game of rhetorical gotcha is reminiscent of school yard gossip: "Did you hear what Charlie said, ummmmmmmmm". We need to hold our politics to a higher level than this. Who among us can be held responsible for everything their associates say, especially when what is said can be taken out of context.
What exactly did Charlie Black say that needed apologizing for anyway. Sure, it was a political blunder, the same as Obama's comment about the bitter among us clinging to their religion and guns. And just like Obama's bitter comment, Black is guilty of nothing more than speaking uncomfortable truth. His comment is just a restatement of current conventional wisdom on the issue of terrorism. Hell, the Republicans get criticism (and rightly so) all the time for using scare tactics to get votes. This wouldn't work unless what Black said was true: when people get scared, they run to the elephants.
We can recognize a political mistake while still maintaining our intellectual integrity. Reality matters, and people who state it, even when "it" is something we'd rather not consider, should be treated better than this. Oh, what George Carlin would have to say.
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2 comments:
Agreed, voters tend to think Republicans are 'better' at defense and such.
But for the life of me, I cannot understand why, especially in light of the events of the past 7 years especially, but even going back to Reagan and Iran-Contra.
It seems that many voters think this way simply because they keep getting told it is so.
I think that it's because Republican policy proposals tend to resemble that familiar action-hero formula that Americans know from the movies. You use your badass ability to fearlessly beat the guy down and your problem will be solved. That's what real heroes do.
Only pansies negotiate or allow their enemies to disrespect them without laying down an ass whuppin.
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