|
|||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
It's generally considered a political candidate's job to do and say whatever they can get away with in the course of a political campaign. We expect a candidate to use exaggerations and embellishments about their own record and the record of an opponent in an attempt to win votes. It is seen as the opponent's job to call the other candidate on their misstatements and exaggerations. Meanwhile, they will make plenty of their own. This is nothing new in political campaigns. And such practices are hardly confined to the world of politics. It's just the way things work; therefore, we take everything that is said in the course of campaign with a grain of salt. The media normally acts as the final backstop in preventing a candidate from going too far with campaign hyperbole. Responsible news media will let candidates duke it out and only intervene when a candidate steps over a very fluid line in a misstatement of the facts. Ah, if only the media elite were responsible. All it takes is for John Kerry to tell a tall tale and Reuters is jumping on the CBS News bandwagon. So when John Kerry says that George W. Bush used the term "mission accomplished" in a speech, you would think the good folks down at Reuters would remind readers that Bush said no such thing. John Kerry was telling a bald-faced lie and it was up to a responsible organization like Reuters to tell us so. But you wouldn't know that based on their headline: "Kerry Rips Bush on 'Mission Accomplished' Remark." Reuters even goes so far as to call it the "Mission Accomplished" speech. Problem is, Bush never said it. As has been explained countless times in the past, a "Mission Accomplished" banner was put up behind the podium by the crew of the aircraft carrier Bush was speaking on. And as a matter of fact, the mission of the aircraft carrier and the entire United States military was accomplished. Saddam Hussein was out of power and the transition to freedom and democracy had begun. It's not until the end of the story, when they know most have either stopped reading or formed their opinion as to what Bush said, that Reuters reminds us that Bush didn't make the statement. Dan Rather would be proud.
|
|
|
Home | PUSA Columnists | Talking Heads | Links | Submit | Contact Opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect those of PoliticalUSA.com.
|
