September 26, 2002
GORING YOUR OWN OX:
Gore on War (Richard Cohen, September 26, 2002, Washington Post)Bully for Al Gore!Speaking in San Francisco the other day, the president of most of the people--he won the popular vote, remember--ventured where few prominent Democrats have dared and criticized President Bush's approach to a war with Iraq. Almost instantly, of course, Gore was excoriated for playing politics with such a serious matter and, worse--much, much worse--complicating his party's strategy for the midterm elections. [...]
As for the Democrats, many of them are so afraid of being labeled appeasers that they want to quickly give the president the war resolution he wants--so they can then turn to the weak economy as a campaign issue. Many of these Democrats happen to share Gore's misgivings, but, to put matters in their crassest terms, they seem quite willing to sacrifice the odd 19-year-old soldier for the odd congressional seat. [...]
So, bully for Gore. He has raised some important issues. This is the solemn obligation of the opposition party and its de facto leader. And the solemn obligation of the president and his supporters is not to shout appeasement but to provide some answers.
We're waiting.
Ignoring Mr. Cohen's novel constitutional interpretation and his continuing argument with himself (he wrote several months ago that he supported war with Saddam but now that it seems likely he's gotten the vapors), he masterfully makes the case that Democrats are playing politics with the war, concealing their opposition from the voters even though it may mean American soldiers will die in a cause the Democratic Party does not believe in. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 26, 2002 8:36 AM
OK, so less than six weeks to mid-term elections with both Houses in play, the economy is soft, the markets are just coming off historic lows, etc., etc., and the two big issues in the news are beiing spun as "is the Senate more interested in supporting labor unions than internal security" and "will the Democratic party stiff its base and stifle its office-holders to vote for war to win an election." Note that the substance of whether the war is a good idea is almost off the table. In the immortal word of Wallace Shawn, "inconceivable."
Posted by: David Cohen at September 26, 2002 9:15 AMIs there any left-wing columnist out there that can see past his own biases?
Posted by: marc frustaci at September 26, 2002 1:58 PMI'm a DC native. I grew up reading this moron Cohen in the Washington Post since the 70's. I grew up... and he's still a MORON.
Until the night he grabs an illegal .38 and shoots some kid for swimming in his DC backyard pool, then I'LL REALLY LOVE HIM!
(Fond R.I.P salute to Carl "Pool-Kleena" Rowan.)