Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Brent Bozell, Champion Hoofer

Remember last week when we presented that amazing Tap Dancing Rush Limbaugh? Well Brent Bozell isn't quite in Limbaugh's league, but he still has some pretty fleet feet.

Bozell wisely limits himself to one distinct argument, rather than the scattershot pyrotechnics of Limbaugh's set. Basically it's this. The media, in the personage of Edward Lee Pitts, tricked the innocent Secretary of Defense by having a soldier ask a tough question. By putting a totally fair, legitimate question in the mouth of a soldier, they made it news. If a reporter had asked the same question, it wouldn't have been news, because the Defense Department has answered that question dozens of times.

Of course there's a few questions Mr. Bozell doesn't answer. Why was the soldier willing to go along with it? Why did the other soldiers applaud the question? Was the question based on a lie, or did the soldier's question reflect a reality in the war in Iraq?

Mr. Bozell, in the process of explaining that up is down, comments that these questions are irrelevant. "No one should buy that the Pitts gambit was not a setup, a sleight of microphone, because the soldier embraced the question, or because the grunts applauded. Let's grant it as obvious that the troops are interested in questions and answers about their safety."

What a jerk. The soldiers thinking it was a good question are irrelevant because they naturally care about their own safety? Well, surprise surprise, I care about the soldiers safety too. And I suspect many of my readers also care about the safety of our troops. If Mr. Rumsfeld isn't taking those actions necessary to protect our troops, than why is he the Secretary of Defense? If he can't handle this kind of question, is he really up to the job?

Oh, and in case you are curious, the company that manufactures the Humvees for the Army says that they can put armor on many more Humvees, but that they have not been requested to do so.

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