The media has given the Republicans the moral highground when they’ve done nothing to deserve it. What the GOP has done to this country — by supporting President George W. Bush every step of the way as he’s wreaked havoc on the Constitution and the sovereignty of a foreign nation — is a crime. Sen. John McCain, while not singularly at fault in enabling Bush’s assault on our country’s international credibility, has aided the President in his quest to wage endless war and has pledged to maintain the core of Bush’s failed policies.

As the Republican nominee, McCain is now the head of a party with a “win at all costs” mentality that just last election cycle degraded the service of a distinguished Vietnam veteran to prop up an incumbent president who had dodged the draft. McCain, who had once called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth “dishonest and dishonorable,” today featured one of the ad’s members, Colonel Bud Day, as a surrogate on a conference call to respond to “attacks” made by retired General Wesley Clark.

There’s been a disturbing double-standard in the way that the media has treated McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, respectively. The media has defended McCain on the issue of his service in a way they have never defended Obama on attacks based on his race, religion, or patriotism.

Before judging Clark’s comments, it’s necessary to put them in context:

Bob Schieffer: Well you, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, “untested and untried,” And I must say I, I had to read that twice, because you’re talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He’s been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is untested and untried? General?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it’s a matter of understanding risk. It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn’t held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn’t a wartime squadron. He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn’t seen what it’s like when diplomats come in and say, ‘I don’t know whether we’re going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-’

Now, see if you can spot the loaded set-up:

Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.
Bob Schieffer: Really?!
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: But Barack is not, he is not running on the fact that he has made these national security pronouncements. He’s running on his other strengths. He’s running on the strengths of character, on the strengths of his communication skills, on the strengths of his judgment. And those are qualities that we seek in our national leadership.

Our friends in the media are no stranger to loaded questions. That’s why they quickly caught onto McCain’s suggestion that a question was loaded when he referenced that old wife-beating joke:

McCain: I appreciate his support. As you know, the lieutenant governor is our chairman.
Q: Why snub the governor?
McCain: I didn’t mean to snub him. I’ve known the lieutenant governor for 15 years and we’ve been good friends….I didn’t intend to snub him. There are other states where the governor is not the chairman.
Q: Maybe it’s the governor’s approval rating and you are running from him like you are from the president?
McCain: (Chuckling) And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago . . .

Here’s how the media would have preferred Clark respond to Schieffer’s set-up:

Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago . . .

By acknowledging the loaded set-up, Clark would have absolved himself of all guilt. Instead, the media misconstrued his comments and painted them out to be a burden on Obama, since Clark was acting as his surrogate.

The MSM, who know very well that Clark was set up, have feigned disgust at Clark’s comments while feigning ignorance at personal attacks directed towards Obama by Republicans. When prominent McCain supporter Grover Norquist likened Obama to “John Kerry with a tan,” the media never responded. Following the comment, Think Progress asked, “Will those who attacked Obama for “race-baiting” now acknowledge the validity of his concerns?” The answer: no.

So here’s the new joke: Members of the media know what a loaded question is, but they couldn’t spot it if they were paid exorbitantly to sit in front of a camera all day and provide you with honest analysis. Like usual, the joke’s on you.

From my post at The New Argument

The media has given the Republicans the moral highground when they’ve done nothing to deserve it. What the GOP has done to this country — by supporting President George W. Bush every step of the way as he’s wreaked havoc on the Constitution and the sovereignty of a foreign nation — is a crime. Sen. John McCain, while not singularly at fault in enabling Bush’s assault on our country’s international credibility, has aided the President in his quest to wage endless war and has pledged to maintain the core of Bush’s failed policies.

As the Republican nominee, McCain is now the head of a party with a “win at all costs” mentality that just last election cycle degraded the service of a distinguished Vietnam veteran to prop up an incumbent president who had dodged the draft. McCain, who had once called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth “dishonest and dishonorable,” today featured one of the ad’s members, Colonel Bud Day, as a surrogate on a conference call to respond to “attacks” made by retired General Wesley Clark.

There’s been a disturbing double-standard in the way that the media has treated McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, respectively. The media has defended McCain on the issue of his service in a way they have never defended Obama on attacks based on his race, religion, or patriotism.

Before judging Clark’s comments, it’s necessary to put them in context:

Bob Schieffer: Well you, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, “untested and untried,” And I must say I, I had to read that twice, because you’re talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He’s been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is un- untested and untried? General?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it’s a matter of understanding risk. It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn’t held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn’t a wartime squadron. He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn’t seen what it’s like when diplomats come in and say, ‘I don’t know whether we’re going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-’

Now, see if you can spot the loaded set-up:

Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.
Bob Schieffer: Really?!
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: But Barack is not, he is not running on the fact that he has made these national security pronouncements. He’s running on his other strengths. He’s running on the strengths of character, on the strengths of his communication skills, on the strengths of his judgment. And those are qualities that we seek in our national leadership.

Our friends in the media are no stranger to loaded questions. That’s why they quickly caught onto McCain’s suggestion that a question was loaded when he referenced that old wife-beating joke:

McCain: I appreciate his support. As you know, the lieutenant governor is our chairman.

Q: Why snub the governor?
McCain: I didn’t mean to snub him. I’ve known the lieutenant governor for 15 years and we’ve been good friends….I didn’t intend to snub him. There are other states where the governor is not the chairman.
Q: Maybe it’s the governor’s approval rating and you are running from him like you are from the president?
McCain: (Chuckling) And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago . . .

Here’s how the media would have preferred Clark respond to Schieffer’s set-up:

Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago . . .

By acknowledging the loaded set-up, Clark would have absolved himself of all guilt. Instead, the media misconstrued his comments and painted them out to be a burden on Obama, since Clark was acting as his surrogate.

The MSM, who know very well that Clark was set up, have feigned disgust at Clark’s comments while feigning ignorance at personal attacks directed towards Obama by Republicans. When prominent McCain supporter Grover Norquist likened Obama to “John Kerry with a tan,” the media never responded. Following the comment, Think Progress asked, “Will those who attacked Obama for “race-baiting” now acknowledge the validity of his concerns?” The answer: no.

So here’s the new joke: Members of the media know what a loaded question is, but they couldn’t spot it if they were paid exorbitantly to sit in front of a camera all day and provide you with honest analysis. Like usual, the joke’s on you.

From my post at The New Argument

Sen. John McCain’s new ad, entitled “Putting Country First,” relates the United States’ determination to put a man on the moon to his new plan to decrease dependence on foreign oil by lifting the moratorium on domestic drilling. Energy independence, we’re told, is our “next national purpose.”

Now, you might say the McCain camp is putting quite a glorified spin on the prospects of domestic drilling. Well, guess what? It doesn’t stop there! Once we implement McCain’s plan, gas is going to be deadlocked at $2.55 a gallon! Or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

In the advertisement, we watch as a patriotic American fills up his gas tank at a price of around $2.55 a gallon. But wait, doesn’t gas cost $4.08 right now? Did the McCain camp use stock footage? Are his advisors, like McCain, unaware of the current price of gas?

WISCKOL: I’d like to ask you a couple questions suggested by voters here. They’re not reporter-type questions.

McCAIN: Sure. It’d be a pleasure.

WISCKOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?

McCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters. I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.

The answer is, none of the above. They’re simply bluffing. A 2007 report by the Energy Information Administration states:

The projections in the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030.

All you need to remember is, when McCain puts country first, your automobile can run on dreams, which provide better mileage than fumes of vacuous hope.

From my article on The New Argument.

Images of Obama’s second appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone surfaced this morning. He tells Rolling Stone about the “eclectic” collection of artists featured on his iPod. But tomorrow we will not be discussing his taste in music, for you will see that Obama is laughing at America, the land that Sean Hannity and I love so deeply.

Photo link and credit: Flickr. Click to see the photo in question.

Here’s what I presume Sean will say:

First off, Obama shouldn’t even be wearing a flag pin. It’s well established that he hates America for its freedom. But why does he have to laugh at us? And that’s what he is doing: laughing at your mindless belief in Jesus Christ and the fact you can’t afford to be a member of his San Francisco country club. He laughs, because he’s a terrorist whose primary purpose is to crap on your way of life.

I’ve got your back, Sean. Do you what you must do to educate the masses.

http://www.thenewargument.com/?p=192