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...because he refused to vote one way or the other on the measure condemning it. He essentially ignored it, which is what I've been trying to do.
There have been plenty of mock-outrage political incidents in the last few years, but this one is truly a scandal about nothing. Outside of the studios of CNN and Fox News, outside of the realm of talk radio and political blogs--absolutely NO ONE cares about MoveOn.org's ad. 90% of the country isn't outraged by this criticism of General Petraus, but most of them aren't going to rise to MoveOn.org's defense either--not because they dislike the organization, but because they realize the organization is perfectly capable of defending itself.
MoveOn isn't hurting from this--they've made no enemies that they didn't already have, and frankly, they probably knew the right wing would respond in this matter. As a result--free publicity, new members, and a whole lot of contributions. I'm not so cynical that I'd say this was a calculated move on their part, but still--they know full well what they were doing. (We can all agree, from our past experience in elementary school, that using someone's last name as a punching bag is pretty incendiary--and yes, I'm aware that "Betrayus" wasn't an original insult.) They also probably relished the oppurtunity to see the Right Wing Spin Machine on full cycle--what, almost 2 full weeks after the ad was posted?--decrying this dastardly excercise in free speech.
It's hilarious watching poor Giuliani squirm, trying to convince people that because Hillary hasn't rushed to condemn the ad, she's somehow in bed with those crazy "radical left-wingers". (Guilt by non-association? Didn't that fail in the 50's, when elected officials were accused of being pinkos if they didn't denounce communism enough?) Bill O'Reilly and Limbaugh bloviating away about how outrageous it is to make an insulting pun on someone's name--even though they've been guilty of doing the exact same thing for years? It's all completely transparent, and no one in the country is buying it--Bush and the war are as unpopular as ever, and most Americans agree with MoveOn's message, if not the way it was delivered.
As for the Senate's condemnation of MoveOn's ad--which accomplished exactly WHAT, again?--I bear no grudge against the Democrats who voted for it, although once again, Obama's decision was the correct one. Senators like Leahy, Levin, and Webb don't need to prove to me that they're on our side--their past actions have spoken louder than some phoney baloney pledge. Why then, did they do it? I don't know--perhaps they're suckers for a man in uniform. Or perhaps they were annoyed with MoveOn.org for providing a fresh, if flimsy, target for Republicans to take aim at. Or perhaps bullies made fun of THEIR last names when they were children, and thus they sympathized with the general. Who cares?
I don't. Taking sides in a completely manufactured controversy makes us dupes of us all--especially in a controversy where no one is hurting one way or the other. MoveOn scored some notoriety points, Right Wing blowhards scored some new talking points, and each individual in the Senate scored some political points from their respective bases, no matter which way they voted. No personal liberties have been attacked with more than just words. No one is in jail. No one has been tasered. And sadly, soldiers and civilians in Iraq continue to be killed.
But the only person who, in my eyes, came out clean was Barack Obama, who knew that either voting for or against the condemnation would be a vote in favor of extending this "controversy." In his own words,"the focus of the United States Senate should be on ending this war, not on criticizing newspaper advertisements. This amendment was a stunt designed only to score cheap political points while what we should be doing is focusing on the deadly serious challenge we face in Iraq.'' He also voted for Boxer's measure codemning the attacks on the “honor, integrity and patriotism” of any individual who is serving or has served in the Armed Forces--which, before we get too mad at Boxer, name-checked the sad cases of Max Cleland and John Kerry.
In the past, Obama has said he wants a change in Washington, pledging to elevate the political discourse if he gets elected. He doesn't completely have my vote yet, but at least he's talking the talk and walking the walk.
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