Washington Post Sinks Further Into the Gutter
As they always do when they give space to Jennifer Rubin, who has today managed to produce the most offensive pack of lies in one column I have ever seen. The Washington Post is the major newspaper in the nation's capitol, and is still for some reason regarded as one of the unimpeachable sources of news in our country. For this reason, I can't let Rubin's column today, a virtual one-woman Wingnut Wrapup go unnoticed. I'm not going to cite all of it here, but the quantity of the column I'm reproducing below certainly goes beyond normal standards of fair use. But with an unending stream of malignant lies like this, what does fair use have to do with anything? Well, hold your breath- here we go:
"Unlike Obama’s tenure, there was no successful attack on the homeland after 9/11."
After 9/11. I see. Bush gets a pass on that one. And by the way, this is a lie. What about the anthrax attacks, unsolved and forgotten? And various right wing bombings and murders? Of course, if they come from Jennifer's side of the street, they don't count, right?
"People do remember the big stuff — rallying the country after the Twin Towers attack,"
Standing at the site of his most colossal failure and shouting through a bullhorn? That was his greatest success? In eight years?
"7 1/2 years of job growth and prosperity,"
That reminds me of the joke about the guy who jumps off of a skyscraper, and halfway down is saying to himself, "hey, this isn't too bad so far." In the other half year, he presided over the worst financial collapse in almost a century, and what's more, it was caused by the policies he championed. His only mistake was timing- he thought the collapse wouldn't come until he was back in Texas, and it could all be blamed on the next guy.
"millions of people saved from AIDS in Africa, a good faith try for immigration reform, education reform and a clear moral compass."
A clear moral compass? Bush was the most corrupt President in the history of our country. I'm not going to even begin to justify that remark- we all know it is true.
"And, it turned out that the triumvirate of Iraq-Iran-North Korea really was the Axis of Evil."
Except for Iraq, the only one of the three he attacked. And maybe Iran, which has reason to be against the United States, since we overthrew their democratically elected government and replaced it with a dictator every bit as bad as Saddam.
"Unlike the current president, who’s played politics with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, President Bush took huge political risks to back the surge in Iraq, which worked."
First of all, it was not a risk, compared to the alternative, which was to admit that he had allowed the U.S. army to be beaten by a ragtag bunch of self-equipped peasants, and to turn tail and run; second, the surge accomplished nothing except putting off the inevitable failure until people like Jennifer Rubin could blame it on someone else- just like their strategy for the economic collapse they caused.
"He is responsible for one of the most popular and fiscally sober entitlement plans, Medicare Part D."
Medicare part D was a gigantic, unfunded giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry, which is one of the factors in the explosion of our budget deficits.
"He did not foist a grandiose unpopular and exorbitant program like Obamacare on the public."
No, but he did foist a grandiose, unpopular and exorbitant war of aggression on the public, through lies and deliberate distortions, and grandiose, unpopular and exorbitant tax cuts for rich people, which bankrupted the country.
"And then there were his tax cuts, 99 percent of which were approved by the most liberal president in history."
FDR? From beyond the grave, I guess. The tax cuts were a major cause of our current budget deficits, of course, as I said above, which Jennifer blames on Obama.
"Even the TARP program, reviled by conservatives, can be credited with helping to calm the markets and stabilize financial institutions."
Markets which needed "calming" because of the destruction Bush had caused.
"To the left’s horror, it turns out that most of his anti-terror fighting techniques (e.g. the Patriot Act, enhanced military commissions, Guantanamo) were effective and remain in place. Even the dreaded enhanced interrogation, according to two CIA agents and the former attorney general, contributed to our locating and assassinating Osama bin Laden. The essence of his view on Islamic terror — that we are at war with those espousing a jihadist ideology – has been confirmed, painfully so."
All malignant lies.
"Only when we see a robotic, cold president like Obama do we remember fondly the tender, tearful love of country Bush often conveyed and the steely anger directed at our enemies."
Oh, God in heaven above. Is there a person on earth that doesn't know that the "tearful, tender love" and the "steely anger" were colossal delusions designed to sucker the rubes while his real constituency robbed the country into economic collapse?
"Only when a president completely bollixes up our relationship with both the Palestinians and the Israelis"
Lie. Lie, lie lie. The Israelis recently gave Obama their highest civilian honor- the only President to ever receive it.
"do we recall how warm and productive was our relationship with the Jewish state under Bush"
Productive of what?
"And only when we see our current president kick our friends and kowtow to our foes can we fully appreciate a president with strong personal bonds with leaders (e.g. Tony Blair) and fierce determination not to appease our foes."
Of course, Bush did nothing but appease our real foes- i.e. his kissin' cousins in Saudi Arabia, who were really responsible for 9-11, while squandering trillions attacking the wrong country.
"All of this will infuriate the left and enrage the far right"
It will certainly infuriate the left, because it is a pack of lies. That's why the right will love it.
Jennifer continues with a round of abuse of Obama which is just as big a pack of lies as her insane hagiography of Bush, but enough is enough.
How can we be expected to have a rational conversation of the state of our country when this is what passes for mainstream analysis from one side of the debate?
Well, I'll answer my own question: we can't. And that is where we are stuck.
"Unlike Obama’s tenure, there was no successful attack on the homeland after 9/11."
After 9/11. I see. Bush gets a pass on that one. And by the way, this is a lie. What about the anthrax attacks, unsolved and forgotten? And various right wing bombings and murders? Of course, if they come from Jennifer's side of the street, they don't count, right?
"People do remember the big stuff — rallying the country after the Twin Towers attack,"
Standing at the site of his most colossal failure and shouting through a bullhorn? That was his greatest success? In eight years?
"7 1/2 years of job growth and prosperity,"
That reminds me of the joke about the guy who jumps off of a skyscraper, and halfway down is saying to himself, "hey, this isn't too bad so far." In the other half year, he presided over the worst financial collapse in almost a century, and what's more, it was caused by the policies he championed. His only mistake was timing- he thought the collapse wouldn't come until he was back in Texas, and it could all be blamed on the next guy.
"millions of people saved from AIDS in Africa, a good faith try for immigration reform, education reform and a clear moral compass."
A clear moral compass? Bush was the most corrupt President in the history of our country. I'm not going to even begin to justify that remark- we all know it is true.
"And, it turned out that the triumvirate of Iraq-Iran-North Korea really was the Axis of Evil."
Except for Iraq, the only one of the three he attacked. And maybe Iran, which has reason to be against the United States, since we overthrew their democratically elected government and replaced it with a dictator every bit as bad as Saddam.
"Unlike the current president, who’s played politics with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, President Bush took huge political risks to back the surge in Iraq, which worked."
First of all, it was not a risk, compared to the alternative, which was to admit that he had allowed the U.S. army to be beaten by a ragtag bunch of self-equipped peasants, and to turn tail and run; second, the surge accomplished nothing except putting off the inevitable failure until people like Jennifer Rubin could blame it on someone else- just like their strategy for the economic collapse they caused.
"He is responsible for one of the most popular and fiscally sober entitlement plans, Medicare Part D."
Medicare part D was a gigantic, unfunded giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry, which is one of the factors in the explosion of our budget deficits.
"He did not foist a grandiose unpopular and exorbitant program like Obamacare on the public."
No, but he did foist a grandiose, unpopular and exorbitant war of aggression on the public, through lies and deliberate distortions, and grandiose, unpopular and exorbitant tax cuts for rich people, which bankrupted the country.
"And then there were his tax cuts, 99 percent of which were approved by the most liberal president in history."
FDR? From beyond the grave, I guess. The tax cuts were a major cause of our current budget deficits, of course, as I said above, which Jennifer blames on Obama.
"Even the TARP program, reviled by conservatives, can be credited with helping to calm the markets and stabilize financial institutions."
Markets which needed "calming" because of the destruction Bush had caused.
"To the left’s horror, it turns out that most of his anti-terror fighting techniques (e.g. the Patriot Act, enhanced military commissions, Guantanamo) were effective and remain in place. Even the dreaded enhanced interrogation, according to two CIA agents and the former attorney general, contributed to our locating and assassinating Osama bin Laden. The essence of his view on Islamic terror — that we are at war with those espousing a jihadist ideology – has been confirmed, painfully so."
All malignant lies.
"Only when we see a robotic, cold president like Obama do we remember fondly the tender, tearful love of country Bush often conveyed and the steely anger directed at our enemies."
Oh, God in heaven above. Is there a person on earth that doesn't know that the "tearful, tender love" and the "steely anger" were colossal delusions designed to sucker the rubes while his real constituency robbed the country into economic collapse?
"Only when a president completely bollixes up our relationship with both the Palestinians and the Israelis"
Lie. Lie, lie lie. The Israelis recently gave Obama their highest civilian honor- the only President to ever receive it.
"do we recall how warm and productive was our relationship with the Jewish state under Bush"
Productive of what?
"And only when we see our current president kick our friends and kowtow to our foes can we fully appreciate a president with strong personal bonds with leaders (e.g. Tony Blair) and fierce determination not to appease our foes."
Of course, Bush did nothing but appease our real foes- i.e. his kissin' cousins in Saudi Arabia, who were really responsible for 9-11, while squandering trillions attacking the wrong country.
"All of this will infuriate the left and enrage the far right"
It will certainly infuriate the left, because it is a pack of lies. That's why the right will love it.
Jennifer continues with a round of abuse of Obama which is just as big a pack of lies as her insane hagiography of Bush, but enough is enough.
How can we be expected to have a rational conversation of the state of our country when this is what passes for mainstream analysis from one side of the debate?
Well, I'll answer my own question: we can't. And that is where we are stuck.
Comments
Did you see the Jonathan Chait article http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/bush-terrible-president-also-not-a-smart-man.html