Thursday, March 18, 2004
FactCheck.org--Tempering My Praise
Looking at FactCheck.org again today, I have to temper my praise from Monday a bit. They've begun the practice of undercutting their criticism of Kerry with criticism of Bush in the same article. For example, in the most recent one, they verify that Kerry actually did vote no on a appropriations bill to send $87 million to the troops in Iraq to shore up their defenses, etc. But they can't leave it at verifying the fact; instead, they must tell us that the extra $87 million wouldn't have been needed had Bush provided enough in the way of supplies (particularly armor) in the first place.
Certainly Bush has made some misjudgments about what was/is needed in Iraq. But when the need was discovered, he made an effort to rectify his earlier misjudgment. Kerry played politics and voted to deny necessary aid, and then tried to divert attention away from his actions by blaming Bush.
As for Kerry's vote to authorize the President's use of force, only the most disingenous would argue that that didn't really mean that he voted in favor of the Iraq war.
Really, anyone who says they didn't realize that voting to authorize the use of force meant that there was a strong possibility Bush would actually use that force has no business pursuing the presidency. World leaders, I would think, should be able to read the intentions of other world leaders, particularly when they telegraph them as much as Bush does.
Their CPB connections are starting to show--subtly, of course, but that's the way the liberal media works, so they can deny bias at a later date and your average reader/viewer, unfamiliar with rhetorical manipulation, will believe them.
I try to get back to blogging about education soon. I don't have much to say about it right now, save that I cannot believe the grades my students received on the objective portion of their latest exam. How many times do you have to repeat something to a college student before it sinks in?
Certainly Bush has made some misjudgments about what was/is needed in Iraq. But when the need was discovered, he made an effort to rectify his earlier misjudgment. Kerry played politics and voted to deny necessary aid, and then tried to divert attention away from his actions by blaming Bush.
As for Kerry's vote to authorize the President's use of force, only the most disingenous would argue that that didn't really mean that he voted in favor of the Iraq war.
Really, anyone who says they didn't realize that voting to authorize the use of force meant that there was a strong possibility Bush would actually use that force has no business pursuing the presidency. World leaders, I would think, should be able to read the intentions of other world leaders, particularly when they telegraph them as much as Bush does.
Their CPB connections are starting to show--subtly, of course, but that's the way the liberal media works, so they can deny bias at a later date and your average reader/viewer, unfamiliar with rhetorical manipulation, will believe them.
I try to get back to blogging about education soon. I don't have much to say about it right now, save that I cannot believe the grades my students received on the objective portion of their latest exam. How many times do you have to repeat something to a college student before it sinks in?
