Diversions From The War

First it was the MoveOn ad and then the Repubs had to pander to Patraeus and the Dems fell in line. It took the story of the testimony of the general and put it in the back burner. Little was said about his hopeless report. Guess what? Limbaugh had to make a statement and then the Dems had a chance to divert attention from their non-successful programs an bills. And the beat goes on!

With the 2008 presidential primary season at a fevered pitch, both sides of the political noise machine are cranking up the volume, looking for opportunities to slam the other side for bad behavior, bad word choice or bad intentions. Schoolyard-style taunts flung by irrepressible partisans are blown up into national debates.

The Republican side amped up after the left-wing group, MoveOn.org, ran an ad in The New York Times characterizing Gen. David H. Petraeus as "General Betray Us" on the eve of his Congressional testimony about the status of the war in Iraq. Both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly to condemn the ad.

Then, it was the Democrats' turn to wage all-out noisefare after Limbaugh made his "phony soldiers" remark during an exchange with a caller Sept. 26.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., composed a letter to Limbaugh's boss, Clear Channel Communications' CEO Mark P. Mays, urging him to "publicly repudiate" Limbaugh's comments and to ask the popular talk show host to apologize. Though Reid said he was confident Republicans "would join us in overwhelming numbers" none signed the letter. Of 41 signatures, all were Democrats, including four presidential contenders — Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and Christopher Dodd.

In a written response to Reid, Mays said that he would not intercede since Limbaugh was exercising his right to express an opinion, adding that "if Mr. Limbaugh's intention was to classify any soldier opposed to the war in Iraq as a 'phony soldier,' which he denies, then I, along with most Americans, would be deeply offended by such a statement."

Please, will you f*ckers get down to business the American people are waiting for something, anything, that can be called a success.

CHUQ