I can't claim to be a historian of the U.S. Senate, or condemnations in the Senate, or the Senate's feelings about political advertisements, but the recent decision to condemn the Moveon.org ad attacking General Petraeus seems like a massive waste of time, not to mention a diversion. The ad was wrongheaded, certainly. It used a pun that it almost too obvious (it's like his name was Geceptive) to make a point that is probably untrue (there's no real evidence that he changed his results, though plenty that he may have different foundational assumptions about the entire endeavor than the Moveon.org people). But that's to be expected. Political activists exaggerate to make their point. They aren't tremendously circumspect. If they were, they wouldn't be activists. (It reminds me of something that Al Sharpton once said by way of explaining his role in the Tawana Brawley controversy. He said that as an activist, he had a responsibility to be on the leading edge of a controversy, even if he turned out to be in error. You can question the ethical value of such a person, but in a way, he's right.)
So when you have an ad, or any kind of media message, what happens next? Well, people assess it. By "people," in this case, I mean American citizens. They look at it and they decide whether they agree that General Petraeus is in fact "cooking the books" for the White House (unlikely, and probably an unfair charge, or at least the work of practiced provocateurs), or whether (more likely) he is giving as honest an answer as he can from his perspective, which is that of a military veteran who believes that force can sometimes offer a solution to international problems.
But that's not what's happening. Instead, the ad is being used as a political football, with the Senate voting to condemn and some Senators facing secondary condemnation for not voting to condemn (in the case of Hillary Clinton) or not voting at all (in the case of Barack Obama). Since when does the Senate spend/waste its time on regulating advertisements and political speech? Did they condemn the Swift Boat vets? Did they condemn George Allen for "macaca"?
The shame of it is that it's a neat, clean backfire: the ad is taking the focus off of the very problems that Moveon.org is allegedly worried about. That is partly Moveon.org's fault for using bush-league tactics, but it's also the fault of others for coming forth to meet them on that not-so-hallowed ground. The president, in criticizing the ad -- that's a strange sentence to begin to type, "the president, in criticizing the ad" -- said that "most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org - are more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military." It seems much more likely that most Americans are more easily suckered into a side debate about media and activist/radicals and style of message than they are encouraged to stay with the main issue, which is what should be done about Iraq. Even worse, it seems like maybe the president and the Senate want it that way. In the end, the ad will have a lifespan, and then that lifespan will be over, and hopefully it will focus attention on the main issue. We'll see. If it does, then it was a very narrow case of the ends justifying the means. Petraeus's reputation is safe -- most Americans don't agree with the ad -- and it was never really the issue anyway. And when people cry about the right or the left politicizing the war, here's a perfect example of how that process isn't permitted to stop once it starts.
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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Posted Sep 21st 2007 10:50AM by Ben Greenman
Filed under: Iraq, Media
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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 3)
1. YEAH LETS NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT A LEFT WING BLOG, FRONTED WITH MILLIONS FROM SOROS (YOU DIDNT MENTION HIS NAME?) AND HIS KIND (I CAN HANDLE SWIFT BOAT "AMERICAN" WAR VET ADS) THAT DEM CANDIDATES ARE SO AFRAID OF.. THEY WONT RIGHTLY CONDEMN THIS WRONGHEADED(?) AD (clinton) THE REACTION SPEAKS VOLUMNS EXPECIALLY WHEN ONE WILL RUN (obama) FROM THE FLOOR OF THE SENATE TO AVOID VOTING! SOMETHING STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN HERE AND IT SEEMS YOU DONT WANT TO ANNOY THE "TRUE DEM CANDIDATE" WHO WILL MAKE OUR POLICIES AND MAKE DECISIONS CONCERNING THE WAR AND HOW THE "GENERAL" CONTINUES TO RUN IT... IF THEY GET IN, AND I BELIEVE THAT DEM CANDIDATE IS INDEED MOVEON.ORG. THE PRESIDENT WAS RIGHT IN WHAT HE SAID, WHEN ASKED, HIS OPINION ON CSPAN. I CERTAINLY DONT ALWAYS AGREE WITH WHAT HE SAYS BUT I DID ON THIS ISSUE!
SAVANNA at 11:56AM on Sep 21st 2007
2. Greenman wrote: ." It seems much more likely that most Americans are more easily suckered into a side debate about media and activist/radicals and style of message than they are encouraged to stay with the main issue, which is what should be done about Iraq."
I would not agree that we are “suckered” into the “side debate”. We intentionally step in for two reasons:
1) The “side debate” is the one we understand and comprehend better. We are not in Iraq. We do not know what is really happening.
Is the surge working? How can we know? Can we trust the Pentagon’s reports? Can we trust the media? According to “polls”, the Iraqis do not want us there. After all, who would “want” any occupying military in their homeland? But, do the Iraqis want us to simply leave? Other “polls” say “NO!” The Iraqis fear the bloodshed that will most likely occur if we simply leave. What is the truth? What is the right decision? We simply do not know!
So, who SHOULD we trust? That is an issue that is HERE and we can understand better just what is the truth.
At this time, we trust our military leaders more than we trust our politicians. But, we also trust our military leaders more than we trust the media. We also trust the military more than groups that have an obvious agenda and/or political slant, such as MoveOn.org. Some may say that is dangerous, given the history of militaries (current and past century), but, the American politicians and media have no one to blame but themselves.
Which leads to the 2nd reason the American citizenry may be willing to step into the “side debate”.
2) We do not want any one we trust to lose our trust. And to keep our trust, they must not be afraid to speak openly and honestly.
The problem is that the political arena has become too heated and too hateful. And people from all across the political spectrum are to blame. “Lefties, centrists, moderates, and connies” are too blame. The media carries an extra dose of blame. They love it when the words fly. They can’t wait to print or report what one side said about the other. The media essentially makes its living off the negative aspects of life. They thrive off reporting about disasters, crime, and discord!
[Note - A new book talks of this: “Disaster capitalism”. It talks about those interests who benefit when disaster happens. Well, doesn’t the media benefit when disaster happens?]
But, back to the central point: Anyone reporting to Congress (or any other decision-making agency) should be able to share their opinions without fear of having their patriotism or integrity automatically trashed by some group who has an axe to grind.
The MoveOn.org ad did just that. If they had posted an ad with credible counter-points to General Petraeus’s report, that would be fine. But, they replaced “substance” with a “hateful” attack of his integrity. They want to intimidate anyone who holds a view they disagree with.
As a democrat, this final point also concerns me: It does seem that many Democratic politicians hold more respect for left-wing groups like MoveOn.org than they do for the United States military.
ray at 12:13PM on Sep 21st 2007
3. Savannah, who cares if the democrats condemn this ad? Is this is not free speech? What a waste of time for the senate to vote on a resolution to condemn this ad - that was your tax dollars spent so wisely by such "concerned americans" decrying a stupid newspaper ad. It's so laughable it makes me want to vomit. People like you have no idea what is really going on in America or in Iraq and would rather harp on about the liberals and George Soros. For every Soros there are a dozen Murdochs, so nice try. Would you be so outraged to know that hundreds of millions of OUR TAX DOLLARS have been lost and stolen in Iraq by contractors like Blackwater, Parsons, Bechtel, Halliburton, etc. etc. etc. Get your priorities straight and stop blaming liberals for all of countries woes and start looking for the real perpetrators.
countdown2009 at 12:26PM on Sep 21st 2007
4. countdown...you are an idiot.
read the story again before you write.
me at 12:34PM on Sep 21st 2007
5. Rudy is on his way to shut them down... just like a virus they will pop up again... does it really matter... they are all wasting our time that's just what Bin Laden predicted this country would do, he really did look at our politic behaveor and our reactions... duh duh..duh…..Mr Bin Laden planted his seeds long ago….the whole thing just makes me sick how about you ?
logit at 1:22PM on Sep 21st 2007
6. TODAY I LOST ALL RESPECT FOR BARACK OBAMA. PRIOR TO THIS I DISAGREED WITH HIM BUT HE HAD MY RESPECT. I HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR HILLARY AND HER NEGATIVE VOTE.
IRONBLUEEYES at 2:37PM on Sep 21st 2007
7. Why should elected Demcorats condemn the ad? They did not put it there. Moveon.org is a private organization. I think the ad is wrong and as a Democrat I disagree with it.
However, let's put the shoe on the other foot. How many elected REPUBLICANS have ever condemned what James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" has said, or wacky Pat Robertson, or don't forget the late Jerry Falwell and his numerous idiotic remarks. Tell me what GOP president ever condemned them? I will tell you...NONE, that is how many.
Republicans..clean up the mess in your own back yard...Moveon.org does not speak for all DEMS, and I am assuming all right-wing organizations do not speak for all of you.
David S. at 3:04PM on Sep 21st 2007
8. Here's the political ad that started this mess. It's called "War Games." It begins with a wide shot of the White House and it zooms in on a computer in the Oval Office. All you see is the hands and a few cowboy references and you hear the unmistakable voice of you know who. He's typing on the computer and it speaks to him. Would you like to play a game? Junior responds, "I'm no idiot, I saw the movie." All of a sudden a bright idea strikes him. He types, "Can I have a shield?" Long commercial short, the theme from "War Games" was used as an ad to change campaign finance law. It forced the candidates to accept responsibility for their ads. Should this ad be banned? This ad happened before 9-11. What impact did this have on the Bush administration and the lead up to 9-11? Who is the Bush Fly? Sometimes, you can't move on without telling the whole truth. How we got into this mess is vital to ending it as much as it is for us to understand how Bin Laden got away. Banning political attack ads is unconstitutional. No Senator should have voted for this! The Military don't set policy. They must remain politically neutral! General Petraus crossed the line by making this personal. He should have reported privately to President Bush and he should have reported what Petraus accomplished. General Petraus' boss was far more critical than this Move On add! Report what his boss said!
Cecil Jones at 3:09PM on Sep 21st 2007
9. ray, your "moveon.org" paranoia, which I have seen on other comment boards, is truly amazing.
I hope it leads you to change your party affiliation. America doesn't need any more QUISLINGS.
Captain Negative at 4:54PM on Sep 21st 2007
10. "They replaced “substance” with a “hateful” attack of his integrity."
Ray, they didn't have any 'substance' in there because any idiot who has followed the news over the past 5 years knows the fucking substance!
I have friends over in Iraq right now, who I BEGGED not to join the Army, to the point of threatening to tie them to a chair in order to keep them from signing up for a death/suicide mission.
They are now e-mailing me everyday saying that the mission in Iraq is a FAILURE because the Iraqi sects do not want to play together nicely, there is too such hatred among them from what Saddam did and other things dating back nearly 1000 years.
Christopher Kidwell at 5:25PM on Sep 21st 2007
11. Why is it so hard to believe that BetrayUs got where he is today because he learned to tell his "bosses" exactly what they want to hear. He knew exactly that the Commander-in-Chief wants a Crusade in the Middle East lands. The only thing certain about the future of the Middle East is that Bush's Crusade will unite the Islamic world with a common enemy. And the enemy is Us! We've been betrayed and we waste political energy, treasury, and the lives of brave soldiers trying to defend our mistakes. Bush & BetrayUs ... there were no WMD (except the airplanes that fly over US airspace). Get over it!
whhmjr at 5:41PM on Sep 21st 2007
12. I can't understant the Rep's wanting to attack Freedom of the Press and Free speech--Oh yes I can--they don't like the truth.
Dancerpl2 at 5:55PM on Sep 21st 2007
13. I rarely donate to political organizations or affiliations but I plan to give money to MoveOn.Org. Their ad about the General was a little over the top but the organized spin of the repukes and the right wing makes me sick. It has been said the the repukes in Congress will start to vote againist Bush after their primaries.That will mean another 500 our our troops dead. No wonder Hagel is not seeking reelection. Who would want to be a republican these days?
LiarBush at 7:03PM on Sep 21st 2007
14. Where were all the repugs when the Swift Boat Ad were taken place and all the lies they were spreading. If the shoe fits wear it.Little boy Dead Beat George can't handle the truth.
Bruce at 9:24PM on Sep 21st 2007
15. I am for freedom of speech in any form. No matter what party. This was not freedom of speech. This was character assassination and no bases for your alligations. Who question his character? The wife of a coward and draft dogger.It is going to have it consequences. That is if she should become commander-in-chief (God Help Us), the solders will not forget her demeaning their General. She's not worth kissing his boots. If I call your mammy a bitch whore is that ok for the sake of freedom speech.???
The Democratic Party has been highjacked by move-on.org and other leftist organizations. Not only that the Party is impotent. Move-on is anti-black and anti-semitic. It tried to destroy Lebermenm with their lies. This is a very dangerous organization, that for the sake of freedom of speech trying to destroy America. The politicians you have in your pocket to include Clinton the Lez don't have freedom of speech. They are your puppets
John H. Momtgomery Jr. at 1:19AM on Sep 22nd 2007