Saluting Hypocrisy

Let's get it out of the way right up front and move on to the meat of the matter. In this case, that means dealing with MoveOn.org before moving on. Its 9/10 full page ad in the New York Times was beyond stupid. The word play on Gen. David Petraeus' name ("Petraeus/Betray us") was the stuff of sophmoric idiocy. And it handed conservatives and Republicans in Congress not merely a life preserver, but a full-fledged cruise ship with which to repair to and now comfortably wait out Democratic attempts to curtail Bush's Iraq policy. Yeah, brilliant.

Republicans have had a field day excoriating MoveOn.org, not to mention reveling in calling on virtually every prominent Democrat to condemn the ad and the organization as well for disparaging an honorable military man. If you're a Republican, pressuring Democrats to distance themselves from the Left sure beats being pressured by the Left to distance yourself from your president.

And most leading Democrats did themselves no favors (or honor) by failing to immediately and forthrightly call the ad for what it was--stupid.

Naturally, the ad sideshow sadly (but happily for Republicans) obscures the bigger issues.

There is in fact an entire shipload of shitheads, liars and neocon crazies who deserve full-page and full-force villification for their various roles in paving the way into, and perpetuating the present fiasco that is Iraq.

David Petraeus isn't one of them.

But ask yourself this: where was all that conservative outrage three short years ago when another honorable military officer was similarly slimed? And five years ago when an honorable military man in his wheelchair was attacked?

In the presidential campaign of 2004, Democrat John Kerry was set upon by the so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," a group formed, bought, and paid for by right-wing money. Kerry, a highly-decorated Naval Lieutenant in Vietnam (including a Purple Heart) had his
integrity, his war record--his war wounds themselves--called into question. With only one notable exception (Arizona Sen. John McCain) Republicans were uniformly silent.

Just as they were in the mid-term elections of 2002, when Georgia Democratic Senator (and former head of Veterans Affairs) Max Cleland was defeated by Congressman Saxby Chambliss.
All Chambliss did was question Cleland's patriotism by running ads juxtaposing Cleland with the likes of Saddam and Osama. All Cleland ever did that was patriotic was fight for his country in Vietnam. Chambliss didn't; he got out on account of a bad knee. Bad knees are not something Max Cleland ever has to worry about, having lost an arm and both legs in Vietnam.

And from Republicans in response to what many consider the single-most nasty political attack (Chambliss') ad in recent American history? Not a word.

And now Republicans are outraged over an ad impugning an honorable military man.
Unlike them, at least David Petraeus has some honor.