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Beware of hatred elevated beyond all rationality

Sunday, August 31, 2008 10:40 AM PDT

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Commentary by William G. Dennis
For The Daily News

You have to give Bush haters credit for stubbornness. Years after liberal newspapers sent people into Florida to conduct their own recount and concluded Bush did indeed win that state they are still claiming Bush stole the election.

That was also a pretty good example of the way their claims keep blowing up in their faces. The most recent example is the claim that someone in the Bush White House outed Valerie Plame. Now we hear from Newsweek, which is no friend of this administration, that it was Richard Armitage. He is not an administration insider but rather a man brought into the State Department by Colin Powell and who has been critical of the neoconservatives that do surround Bush. As the AUSTRALIAN put it, “The truth destroys CIA leak fantasy.”

And this sort of blowup keeps happening. Richard Clarke was touted for his criticisms of the administration before the 911 Commission. Bush haters were quick to repeat them until Fox News dug up a tape of Clarke giving a briefing before he retired from the State Department that took exactly the opposite tack. Now all we can be sure of about Clarke is that he is a liar.

During the same hearings, a commission member and former Clinton administration Justice Department lawyer got a lot of publicity out of chastising the administration for not letting the CIA and the FBI share and coordinate intelligence on terrorists. Bush haters loved that until it was pointed out that she was the one who had authored the policy of a strict separation between those agencies while she worked for Clinton.

The haters got so desperate for something to pin on Bush that they were delighted to publicize a document that finally seemed to provide some sort of proof that Bush did not fulfill his National Guard obligations. To uncritically accept a document that was obviously typed on a machine that didn’t exist at the time the document was purported to have been written is an example of hatred elevated way above rationality.

But what takes the cake for pure blind stubbornness is the accusation that Bush lied about the weapons of mass destruction that is repeated over and over on this page.

Never mind that Bush was told Iraq had them by no one less than the head of the CIA, a Clinton appointee, who said “it was a slam dunk.” Or that “everyone,” including Mrs. Clinton, Madeline Albright, Al Gore and the heads of state of Egypt and Jordon, are all on record as saying they “knew” Iraq had them. Even after it became clear Iraq had no active programs, just old munitions produced earlier, Bill Clinton told Larry King Live that he had been sure Iraq was still producing them. I heard the tape of that being played in the following days at least three times. This paper’s Viewpoint page has been used over and over to invite Bush’s critics to explain why Bush seems to be the only one of the people mentioned above who is alleged to have lied and no explanation has ever been offered.

It is not that there aren’t good reasons to wonder about the wisdom of this president’s policies. Like Truman, he has involved us in an interminable war and, like Truman, his popularity has suffered for it. But the bulk of the criticisms we see on this page just don’t hold up any better than the examples I gave above.

William G. Dennis is a Kelso business owner.

Previous

Cheney119 wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:51 AM:

" Bush chose to attack Iraq, history will show it was stupid and unnecessary. The comparison of Truman in Korea is not consistent with Bush in Iraq. Korea was a reaction to aggression by North Korea (and later the Chinese after our invasion of North Korea over the 38th parallel) If you are going to make historical comparisons please try to make accurate ones. The real historical comparison to Iraq is Vietnam. We had no business in Vietnam and we have no business in Iraq either. "

JayPBee wrote on Aug 31, 2008 11:56 PM:

" Irrational hatred best describes the relentless Republican campaign against Pres. Bill Clinton, throughout his 8 year term. Even young daughter Chelsea was subjected to cruelly disparaging remarks.
In an Apr. 2006 interview on 60 Minutes, Tyler Drumheller, the former
CIA chief in Europe, stated that in the Fall of 2002, Pres. Bush, Vice Pres. Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and others were told by CIA director George Tenet that Iraq's foreign Minister, spying for the U.S., had reported that Iraq had NO active weapons of mass destruction program.
My own personal hatred of Dubya is for
his obsession with Saddam Hussein leading to his focus shifting from the mission of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden when OBL and his elite core fighters were trapped at Tora Bora. No U.S. ground troops were committed to the
final effort, Afghan Warlords in the area were paid to finish The Task. Bin Laden paid a certain Warlord even More, and his followers guided bin Laden out of the trap and into the safety of Pakistan.
Al Qaeda and Taliban are currently Reconquering Afghanistan, Thanks to Pres. Shrub. "

Q wrote on Sep 1, 2008 8:45 PM:

" Another Bush lover that can't face the facts! "

klb65 wrote on Sep 2, 2008 2:07 PM:

" Missing from your comments, Obama voted against the invasion of Iraq and has held firm to that decision regardless of all the criticism he received. He has a plan in sync with the Iraqi government to bring our troops home. As a reminder, we didn't win in Viet Nam either but we did manage to sacrifice 50,000+ young men and women to this cause! With McCain as President, we may again have the opportunity to reach that number in Iraq. Due to the extensive use of land mines in Iraq, the young men and women coming home have received terrible wounds and must now be helped in their recovery process. Neglecting their care is a dishonor to them and to our nation. As a baby boomer I saw many soldiers return from Viet Nam who were damaged beyond repair, mentally and physically and I also lost a number of dear friends there; I cant imagine that we didnt learn something from that experience. No more lost soldiers! McCain is a hawk and will keep this war alive! "

puccini wrote on Sep 3, 2008 11:59 AM:

" Another lame piece by Billy D. Thanks for not disappointing me. "

1209 wrote on Sep 5, 2008 4:52 AM:

" Pertaining to hate speech, John McCain has been quoted using racial slurs against Asians, saying, "I HATED THE G**KS. I WILL HATE THEM AS LONG AS I LIVE." (Seattle PI, March 2, 2000). John McCain has also been known to frequently use the racial slur against Black Americans, "TAR BABY" (CNN, March 17, 2007). "

Jakes Breaks wrote on Sep 5, 2008 8:19 AM:

" Not all anger is hatred of the person. Hatred of behaviors like pre-emptive war, torture, propaganda, cronyism, no bid contracts, eavesdropping on citizens start to add up to real anger after a while. The author fails to look at the big picture.

Sure! Some people hate George Bush, but far more view him as tragic. "

JMKelso wrote on Sep 5, 2008 10:04 AM:

" Liberals are only heard because they scream the loudest. They have the all too powerful media backing them and as the author of this commentary points out, and the COMMENTS responding to it prove, they continue to hold hatred without rationality. HELLO PEOPLE!!!! Bush isn't working alone. He has congress, and countless others that help him vote and decide on his courses of action. To say that Bush singlehandedly destroyed America is denial at its height. "

TheGenius wrote on Sep 5, 2008 2:56 PM:

" Remember the Tet Offensive? Walter Cronkite went on the CBS Evening News and told the nation, "The war cannot be won." In reality, Tet was the Viet Cong's last attempt to defeat American forces and they failed on an historic level, at least in military terms. 75-85,000 NLF fighters were KIA. It instead, became a propaganda victory for North Vietnam and the VC, with American media constantly bringing up the notion of a credibility gap with the Johnson administration and military leaders. Nevermind that Operation Linebacker II in 1972 wiped out almost all of the North's infrastructure. The opponents of the war would never be convinced that an American victory was possible. And that became the anti-war faction's victory against it's own country. What does this have to do with Iraq? Read over what I just wrote. Sound familiar? No one wants to talk about 11 of 16 provinces in the hands of the Iraqi government. No one wants to talk about the insurgency being on the ropes and for all intensive purposes, defeated. No one wants to talk about the lack of a single act of terroism on US soil since 9/11. It's a lot easier to play Monday Morning Quarterback, and be critical about everything without having any perspective. Remember the old cliche: those who do not study history, are doomed to repeat it. You have been warned. "

JayPBee wrote on Sep 6, 2008 12:00 AM:

" Odd Memory ya have there, genius. If
Operation Linebacker was such a rousing success, Why was the NVA able to bulldoze the U.S. armed & trained south Vietnamese Army (ARVN) in 1975?
True, progress Has been made in Iraq
(which is the Wrong War to begin with).
Two main reasons: U.S. is Paying 100,000
former Sunni Insurgents to Fight al Qaeda, Not U.S. Occupation. And Moqtada
al Sadr has ordered his Mahdi army to
set aside their weapons.
What will happen when the U.S. Stops Paying the Sunni fighters? Prime Minister al Malike & many other Iraqis want the U.S. to Leave Iraq.
Earlier I said Iraq is the Wrong War. The Right War is in Afghanistan, where the Taliban & al Qaeda are presently On the Offensive.
bin Laden & co. are languishing in their Pakistan Refuge, plotting bigger & Deadlier attacks against the U.S. "

dudester50 wrote on Sep 6, 2008 8:59 AM:

" I am so sick of hearing about the liberal media, do your research every last one is owned by right wing corparate media. "

TheGenius wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:01 AM:

" The reason the NVA steamrolled over the US-trained South is because we were gone at that point. The NVA pretty much knew that they could bide their time while Americans back home whined unti the troops came home. Withdrawal of US forces made it inevitable that the NVA would go back on the offensive as soon as we cleared out of Dodge. Nixon wanted "Peace with Honor," and failed. The lessons learned have been applied with the surge and the handing over of more provinces. No one wants to say it, but we will have a presence in Iraq for a long time, much like we have in Germany, Japan, and Korea. Democratic stability does not happen overnight. But no one wants to hear that something worthwhile requires time, effort, and sacrifice. That wouldn't be convienent. After all, the new American motto is, "Give me convience or give me death." It is in America's best interest to have a stable, democratic Iraq. One more thing: Bill Clinton was impeached because he committed perjury, which is an offense that can lead to jail time. That isn't a witch hunt or irrational hatred, that's a lawyer who thinks he is above the law. He's lucky that he was only impeached, because he probably should have been removed from office. At least he got disbarred. "

ratkins wrote on Sep 6, 2008 11:18 AM:

" Same old s..., differant President. "

JayPBee wrote on Sep 6, 2008 12:03 PM:

" The South Viet Army was armed & trained,
over a 10+ year period. You obviously think we should have kept a huge military presence there perpetually to prop up the Saigon regime.
Iraq isn't Germany, Japan, or Korea, it's smack in the middle of Muslim Middle East. Maliki and the Iraqi Parliament want the U.S. to Leave. The U.S. has armed & trained the Iraqi military for 5+ years,time they stand, or curmble, on their own.
Like our Repub rulers, and those Repubs vying to carry on their Sad Tradition, you seem to have a mental void about Afghanistan.
So Clinton committed perjury, near the end of his term. What's your point? The Repubs were on his and Hillary's cases
the whole 8 years he was President.
And Bill left Dubya a Record Budget Surplus, which Shrub eliminated Quickly. "

TheGenius wrote on Sep 6, 2008 1:23 PM:

" Don't get me wrong, mistakes were made in Vietnam. That's why it is important that we learn from them in applicable situations in Iraq. The idea of cut & run in Iraq is a bad one. Redeploying troops from Iraq to Afghanistan is a good idea, and is necessary to stem an uprising in that theatre. But I stand by having a strong military presence in that region, Iraq especially. If we leave Iraq, and tyranny again takes over, then we get blamed for leaving them. If we stay, they won't like us for staying, even if stability happens. So, basically, whomever wins the election has got a no-win situation. It's pointless to argue whether or not we should have gone in the first place- we've been there five years, and I don't think Doc Brown is pulling up in the DeLorean anytime soon. If we can help establish democratic republics in Iraq & Afghanistan, then I think that is in our best interests. By the way, the Clintons are the eptitome of crooked politicians. I wouldn't trust them to run a lemonade stand. "

JayPBee wrote on Sep 6, 2008 9:16 PM:

" I forgot to mention earlier that Bill Clinton lied about oral sex. Dubya lied about saddam having WMD's.
When Clinton lied, No one died.
clintons are "crooked"? THAT was Never Proven, in 8 years of Unrelenting Repub
probing & investigating. "

JD Hogg wrote on Sep 7, 2008 6:52 AM:

" We know for a fact Iraq had WMD's...remember the Iran-Iraq War? Hello! He had USED them against his neighbors. We also know that Saddam would REPEATEDLY kick out weapons inspectors, and his military would REPEATEDLY fire on U.N. fighter jets that patrolled the no-fly zone according to the cease-fire agreement from the first gulf war. Lets not forget about the horrible things that Saddam did to retaliate against the Shiite and his political adversaries...the mass graves. the rampant destruction of life....these liberals may like to see things differently from the comfort of their own home, but I, for one am proud to have a President that was not a coward and stood up to confront evil. History will prove Bush did the right thing. I served in the military during the first gulf war, and I have family there now, and we all agree that Bush has done the right thing. Sure, we did not expect a guerilla war campaign to be started up by the neighbors of Iraq, but, we are now prepared for them and will take them on as needed as well. You Liberals keep hating, you will say and do ANYTHING to get your man into office won't you? How sad. "

pilaf wrote on Sep 7, 2008 10:36 AM:

" You are right, there are plenty of reasons to "wonder about the reason of this president's policies". That doesn't add up to "hatred beyond all rationality to me". Bush has an extremely low approval rating, and as much as this his supporters like to blame this on the fictitious "liberal media" it is his own fault. The fact that he is never in doubt even when he has been proven wrong is why. "

JayPBee wrote on Sep 7, 2008 10:54 AM:

" Well, JD, Where were these WMD's after the U.S. military invaded, occupied, and Searched Iraq? You seem to be referring to Saddam's use of poison gas aginst first the Iranians, then the Iraqi Kurds. Such weapons were Known Factors. Your hero Dubya was intimating
there was Much More.
Forget the rah-rah rhetoric: "...a President who was not a coward and stood up to confront evil." Ridiculous!
Bush turned his attention from killing or capturing the cornered Osama bin Laden, and in doing so Betrayed the families & loved ones of the victims of the Twin Towers & The Pentagon in the 9-11 Attacks. Not to mention betraying the American People as a whole. On the basis of a Lie.
The guerrilla camnpaign you mention was Not "started up by the neighbors of Iraq." It was basically Homegrown.Foreign fighters joined of their own accord, Not assigned by bordering countries.
Your crystal ball is picking up the Wrong images- History will show the facts- Bush Lied, Many Died.
"...a President that was not a coward..." Why did he spend his National Guard service defending the skies over Alabama, while the Vietnam Nam was raging?
Oh, yeah-the aforementioned Osama bin Laden is enjoying his Pakistan refuge, plotting bigger and deadlier atacks against the U.S. and Europe. And Taliban and al Qaida are reconquering Afghanistan. "

DW wrote on Sep 7, 2008 11:45 AM:

" For starters klb65, Obama never voted against the war. He wasn't in the senate yet. He was still a community organizer in 2003. We are winning in Iraq, and that is the last thing that liberals want. They want to hang there hat on a lost war. Disgusting!! And Pilaf, Congress has a much lower approval rating than President Bush. And lets see......liberal democrats are the majority!!!! William Dennis has it right. The hatred for Bush by liberals is beyond all rationality. I have mentioned this many times in these posts on TDN. The hatred runs deep and it is unapologenic and mean spirited. I do not know how liberals with so much hate for one person, or political party go through the day without loosing their minds. I could not live that way. But it is entertaining to see the rants of Cheney119, and 1209. "

slowburn wrote on Sep 7, 2008 2:05 PM:

" DW: "The hatred runs deep and it is unapologenic and mean spirited. I do not know how liberals with so much hate for one person, or political party go through the day without loosing their minds." You seem to have a short memory. I think it's safe to describe conservatives' hatred for all things Clinton as unapologetic and mean-spirited. Or Gore. Or Kerry. Or how about Pelosi and Gregoire? How many of your fellow GOP cheerleaders have managed to lose their minds? "

DW wrote on Sep 7, 2008 2:13 PM:

" Well, slowburn, have you read the book "Liberalism is a mental disorder". You should pick up a copy, it might open your eyes a bit. "

Ms. Z wrote on Sep 7, 2008 3:27 PM:

" Personally I look forward to the posts of Cheney119 and of 1209, at least I know I will get something thought provoking and not some spam email parroted retoric that some people spout. I tend to look for posts from people who actually think and not just spout the same slams against liberals (like it is a disease) over and over again never truly saying anything of substance. "

DW wrote on Sep 7, 2008 3:57 PM:

" And if you would "slowburn" please give me examples of all the name calling and hate speach coming from the right. Oh and 1209, don't bother with your G**k thing that your quoting. Bugs Bunny called 'em "Japs", and "Monkey Face" in the 40's. And that was in all the theaters. If you don't believe me just go to you tube and search "Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips". So 1209, are you condeming Rev. Wright for all the racists comments that he made when Obama was a member of that church?? "

slowburn wrote on Sep 7, 2008 4:47 PM:

" Are you kidding, DW? Try this. Google "conservative radio host". 2,950,000 hits. "Liberal radio host" brings up 683,000 hits. Or try this. Print out a transcript from any random show from any of the top conservative radio hosts over, say, the last 10 years. Odds are pretty good you're going to find the kind of name-calling and hate speech you're looking for. If you think the conservative voice is somehow morally superior to the liberal voice, I'd say you're not really as interested in intelligent discussion as you claim to be. Dish it out? Sure. Take it? Not so much. "

DW wrote on Sep 7, 2008 5:29 PM:

" Well Mr.Z here's a thought for ya. Years from now President Bush will be vindicated for the actions that this country has made during his watch. It would be interesting though, to have lived another time line in which Gore would have won the election in 2000. Maybe Gore would have talked nice to the hapless terrorists, (I mean freedom fighters), and they would have seen the light and dropped all their hatred for anything that is not islam. Maybe the radical muslims would have seen the light of good and generousity (sp) that the west has to offer. Or maybe, unlike George Bush could have, Gore would have turned the whole middle east into a glowing ball of glass that would be radio active for a thousand million years. Thank God we did not find out. "

TheGenius wrote on Sep 8, 2008 10:53 AM:

" Liberals are really good at coming up with cathcy little rhymes, but that's about it. All that talk and the only thing worthwhile they can do with it is float a blimp. "

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