by Heidi Parent
01/16/04
Adolf Bush?
Everyone's favorite liberal group, MoveOn.org, recently held a contest asking ordinary, every day Democrats to submit thirty-second ads that would "enlighten viewers and help them understand the truth behind President Bush." But two of the more than 1,500 submissions gave MoveOn more than they bargained for.
The two ads in question compare President Bush to Adolf Hitler, and not at all in a subtle way. If you haven't seen them, here's a summary.
Over footage of Nazi flags on parade, the Nazi military in action (tanks, artillery, planes dropping bombs, etc.) and Hitler whipping a crowd in to a frenzy with chants of Seig Heil!, the ad's creators superimposed text graphics which say, "A nation warped by lies," "Lies fuel fear," "Fear fuels aggression," "Invasion," "Occupation," "What were war crimes in 1945 is foreign policy in 2003."
The other ad shows Hitler addressing a crowd in full rant, cuts to Bush and then asks the question, "Sound familiar?"
Bush supporters were of course outraged. But ads as vitriolic as these should not come as a surprise. With the hatred the Left has for President Bush, I predict we will see more ads like these before November. And as I said in the last issue, that would be a good thing for Republicans. So if George Soros wants to keep funding ads that will ultimately help Bush, I say, keep 'em coming, MoveOn!
It's a bird, it's a plane…no, it's Wesley Clark!
Wesley Clark recently said the September 11th attacks "could have been prevented." No surprise; many have made that charge. But ol' Wes took his Bush bashing a step further when he boasted, "I think it can be prevented again if we have the right leadership. That's me. I will protect America." (Cue the superhero music). He went on to add, "if you're asking me, as a citizen, you know, should you be worried about this, I'm going to tell you, you should not be worried about this. And if I'm President of the United States, I'm going to take care of the American people. We are not going to have one of these incidents."
This guy's ego makes Bill Clinton's look nonexistent. Anyone with half a brain realizes America remains, and will continue to remain, a vulnerable target. Security measures can be increased, but a society as free and open as ours will always remain vulnerable. And any candidate with half a brain should realize that. Moreover, any candidate with half a brain wouldn't be stupid enough to make such a bold, undeliverable statement. But "half a brain" is the key phrase. When it comes to Wes "half a brain" certainly applies, but so does "double the ego." Word is, if elected president, Super Wes's first order of business will be to have a phone booth installed in the Oval Office.
Naivete, thy name is Howard Dean
In an effort to sound fair and impartial, Howard Dean recently said he would not prejudge Osama bin Laden's guilt for the September 11th attacks. "I've resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found. [As President] I will have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials."
How big of you, Howard. Now join us in the reality of the dangerous world in which we now live. Are you aware, Dr. Dean, that Osama has claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and threatened to inflict even more damage on our country? Furthermore, we're not talking about prejudging the guilt of a common thief; the 9/11 attacks were acts of war, for goodness sake! Once that line is crossed, the rulebook goes out the window because in order to wage a successful war, one must prejudge. Enemy combatants are not read their Miranda rights before they are captured or killed. Search warrants are not obtained before storming an enemy compound.
Howard's view, in a nutshell, is what's wrong with Liberalism. To Liberals things are never black and white, as in "you are either with us or you are with the terrorists." To them, there is always a gray area. To them, passing judgment is a bad thing. Instead we should try to understand the motivation behind the crime. This position allows them to claim, in their warped view, the moral high ground. We are the Neanderthals for passing judgment. But they are the enlightened ones because they are so open-minded. I shudder at the thought of someone with a mind as open as Dean's leading our country during these dangerous times.
Howard's Army!
After receiving the backing of 2000 presidential election loser Al Gore, Howard Dean racked up an endorsement from another failed presidential candidate, Bill Bradley. At a press conference that was unintentionally humorous, visually speaking (looking like Mini Me, the 5' 8" Dean was barely visible in the background as the 6'5" Bradley towered in the foreground) the former Senator threw his support Dean's way, saying Howard Dean's "campaign offers Americans new hope." Hope for what, he did not say. But it made me wonder - with backing from all these losing candidates, can the endorsement of Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale be far behind?
Howard's Deft Strategy
You gotta give Dean his props on this one. He has successfully employed a strategy of leveling attacks on President Bush without leveling attacks on President Bush. (Of course the failure of the media to hold him to account has helped tremendously.) Perhaps the best example of this strategy is his "Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time" charge. During an interview with National Public Radio, Dean said, "The most interesting theory that I've heard so far - which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved - is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis." You see, by spreading this as a rumor, or in his words - "just a theory," it allows him to back off at a later date, if that becomes necessary. But it also, most importantly, allows him to accuse the President of treason without actually accusing him of treason or presenting any evidence to support his charge. The beauty here is that the damage is done with little or no consequence for the gossip spreader. ("Hey. I'm just repeating what I heard…")
So I've decided to share with you a rumor I'm hearing around the party circuit about Howard Dean. It involves Dean, three sheep, a cow, some baby oil, a resin lawn chair, two cans of whipped cream, and a bottle of maraschino cherries. Now, I didn't actually see this first hand (thank God!). It's just the skinny I'm picking up around town. (See how easy it is?)