Joe Scott 3: The Body Politic

Kerry: Swift-Boaters Beware

20 November 2005 |permalink | email article

ìI wonít stand for the Swift-boating of Jack Murtha,î John Kerry said in a fiery Senate speech before a rancorous House debate Friday night on whether to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq within the next six months.

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), 73, a pro-defense Democrat, a decorated Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam combat and a respected House member on military matters, had just called for a withdrawal within six months. 

The move by the reliable conservative stunned the White House. A GOP smear linked him with the leftist anti-war crowd, being a Marine coward and siding with terrorists. (Sensing Murtha might have traction, President Bush today in China softened the attack saying there is nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy.)

Kerry, also a decorated Vietnam veteran and 2004 Democratic nominee, was attacked by the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth group that challenged his war record in the best-selling book, ìUnfit to Command.î

Appearing on ìNBC Newsí Meet the Pressî Jan. 30, Kerry attributed his defeat to 9/11. But Tim Russert asked him why he responded so slowly to the attack. Kerry replied: ìI could have, and should have, faster and more forcefully.î

His failure remains a great mystery. Thereís reason to suspect that his nomination bravo - ìIím John Kerry and Iím reporting for dutyî - belied deep divisions among his too large gaggle of advisers about what strategy to pursue.

Had he been in command, gone on ì60 Minutes,î successfully defused the Swift Boat attack, and allayed doubts about his conflicting war votes, he probably would have carried Ohio and won the election.

Was Kerryís spirited defense of Murtha a hint that the senator, in the dark night of his soul ñ and with 2008 in mind - now wants to exorcise his Swift-boater mistake and redeem himself? The jury is out. 

Woodward and CIA Leak Case

19 November 2005 |permalink | email article

On Thursday The New York Times asked Benjamin C. Bradlee, the executive editor during Watergate and now vice president at large for The Washington Post, a question about how far he though interest in the Bob Woodward affair might spread beyond the newsrooms of The Post and its competitors.

Bradlee replied: ìOutside the Beltway I feel this story has very minor interest.î

Bradley’s response, while protective of the famous Watergate reporter who has damaged the Postís credibility and his own by being too cute by half, is troubling.

The CIA leak investigation, in which the celebrity-driven Woodward is now entangled, does not yet rise to the level of the Watergate scandal. But to imply that outside Washington there is little national media interest in the outcome of a new grand jury - which could put Woodward and his secret source before it to explore the episode ñ is to belie the facts.

Bradlee has been an iconic figure in investigative journalism for decades. His comment mirrors the insular political hubris of the Capitolís ìGang of 500.î But it also insults the intelligence of an edgy nation and the ascendant blogosphere.

Quagmire: Goodbye Iraq?

18 November 2005 |permalink | email article

Like a swift moving Southern California wildfire, the debate over Iraq has shifted overnight from a bitter partisan fight over prewar intelligence to an even bigger one: bringing the troops home and questioning whether the war is worth fighting.

A stunning indicator of this sea change was yesterdayís call by a longtime pro-Iraq war hawk, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), for an immediate troop withdrawal ìbecause our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk.î 

The weighty presence of the conservative Murtha, 73, a decorated Marine Corps Vietnam combat veteran, who called the Iraq campaign ìa flawed policy wrapped in an illusion,î cannot be easily dismissed.î Responding to Dick Cheneyís acid counterattack that ìcertain politicians were ìlosing their memoryî in supporting the war, Murtha replied: ìPeople with five defermentsî had no right to make such remarks.î

President Bushís been preaching democracy to China and ñ consider this - thanking Mongolia for being part of the ìcoalition of the willing.î Now, his ìwar on terrorî crusade is fast approaching a Catch-22 situation not unlike that faced by Presidents Johnson and Nixon over Vietnam.

I have long believed, despite big differences, there are compelling comparisons between the war in Iraq and the one in Vietnam. 

A new USA/CNN/Gallup Poll confirms that U.S. public opinion toward Iraq and the choices ahead are very similar to public attitudes toward Vietnam in the summer of 1970, a pivotal year with public unrest and antiwar protests. 

More than half of those surveyed want troops withdrawn from Iraq within the next 12 months. In a Gallup Poll in July-August 1970, just less than half wanted to withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam within 12 months.

Opposition to the Iraq war crosses party lines. A record 60%, including one in four Republicans, said the war ìwasnít worth it.î One in three wanted the troops out within a year; 67% of Democrats and 56% % of independents had the same timeline. For the Bush crowd who imprudently rushed to war, this is a political disaster in the making.