Did Dr. Dean mean Saddam not Osama or is Transcript Wrong? On MTP Sunday

[FrenchieCat]

Did Dr. Dean mean Saddam not Osama or is Transcript Wrong? On MTP Sunday

In reference to Dean's MTP appearance....or please let me know if this has already been discussed?

I didn't see the interview...but my hairs were raised when I read the transcript.
--------------------

MR. RUSSERT: Well, you said there were weapons of mass destruction.

DR. DEAN: I said I wasn't sure, but I said I thought there probably were. But the thing that really bothered me the most, which the 9-11 Commission said also wasn't true, is the insinuation that the president continues to make to this day that Osama bin Laden had something to do with supporting terrorists that attacked the United States. That is false. The 9-11 Commission, chaired by a Republican, said it was false. Is it wrong to send people to war without telling them the truth. And the truth was Osama bin Laden was a very bad person who was doing terrible things, but that Iraq was never a threat to the United States. That was the truth. It was underlined by the 9-11 Commission, headed, again, by a Republican, a well-respected group of people. I don't think you send American men and women to war, first of all without properly equipping them, and secondly without telling the truth to their parents about why it is we're asking them to make that sacrifice. So those are the kinds of things that I think are very bad about the Republicans.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7924139/

[tk2kewl]

1. he definitely blew it on that one. I was watching.

:(

but otherwise he was fantastic. :)

[Disturbed]

6. A lot of people make that error.

The names seem to get confused. I am fairly certain that Dean meant Saddam. Russert didn't catch that or he decided to ignore it.

[tk2kewl]

7. A lot of people do it cuase the pukes push the idea.

As Democarts, we must NEVER make that mistake (IMO).

[FrenchieCat]

11. I agree that we must not re-inforce the notion

that Saddam and Osama are "interchangeable".

This is not a mistake that we need to make.

Plus he highlights some racial frailties....that Arabic sounding names are all the same....

Not good.

Dr. Dean needs to slow down then. That's my advice.

[last1standing]

15. I think that's a bit of a stretch.

The most likely reason it happened (and I'm guilty of doing the same thing) is that we've had over three years of the media and the government pushing the idea down our throats that the two are interchangable. It's very easy to say we must never make that mistake, but the very nature of mistakes is that they are accidental. I'm not going to bash our DNC chair for a slip of the tongue and I wish others would give him the credit he deserves for standing up for our party on MTP and not backing down to Russert's disgusting attempts to bully him into submission.

We have a lot to be proud of in Dean's perfomance yesterday. It would be good to see us not kill our messangers for once.

[FrenchieCat]

18. I'm certainly not "Bashing" The DNC Chair for this.....

"Killing" and "Bashing" the messenger are not options put out by my OP, or my later comments.

Although, I am offering a word of advise to Dean if he, indeed, made the mistake; slow down a bit.

I don't see anything wrong with that.

[Guaranteed]

19. I think you're just publicizing it more.

It was a brain fart. People do it all the time. I don't think you're going to help him by pointing it out.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Sorry, I didnt consult any DU Powers-that-be before asking

the question. I was reading the transcript and it just hit me.

I apologize for bringing it up at all.

I understand about "Dem Unity"...but isn't this getting a little ridiculous?

[last1standing]

22. I've reread both your OP and the comment I responded to....

and I still get the impression that they are "kill the messenger" posts. All I see in them are criticisms of Dean, which are your right, of course. However, it's my right to respond that I think this bashing of someone who is doing his damnedest to fight for us and who isn't backing down when bullied is not good or useful to our party.

[FrenchieCat]

23. Wow.....

Guess so.

Sorry that I even mentioned it.

I'll ask the mods to lock the thread.

Maybe it's those other threads that other people started about the "British Memo" and Howard Dean that is making my question such a sensitive one.

That's why I was reading the transcript to begin with....

Haven't read those "Down on Dean" threads yet...

Fuck it....I think I'll skip this whole MTP issue altogether.

[last1standing]

25. I don't see any reason this thread should be locked.

This site is about discussion and you provided something to discuss which I took advantage of. Your posts were rather negative regarding Dean so I mentioned it as I'd like to see us rally behind someone who is standing up for us rather than knock him down. We do too much of that in my opinion.

I did notice that you were more positive on Dean in another thread so I don't think you're a classic "Dean basher", it's just this thread did bash him. Sorry if I upset you with my comments.

[aden_nak]

2. D'oh.

[LSparkle]

3. I was absolutely INCENSED ... yes, he did say it

but Russert didn't do ONE THING to try and get him to clarify. I was screaming at my TV that Faux News was going to rerun that soundbite over and over and over again. I'm sorry but it was a HUGE error on Dean's part and someone in his entourage should have made him clarify it after the commercial break but it didn't happen. AAARGHHHHH....

[Cell Whitman]

10. Scoobie was thinking same

http://scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_scoobiedavis_archive.html#111677570778201958

Wanna Bet?
I'm watching Howard Dean talk to Little Russ on Meet the Press right now. When Dean was clearly referring about Saddam Hussein he misspoke and referred to Osama bin Laden instead. I'm willing to bet that members of the right-wing punditocracy will take the quotes in which Dean mistakenly referred to bin Laden when he meant Saddam and misrepresent them.

[Mr Rabble]

4. He mis-spoke. Nothing more.

" And the truth was Osama bin Laden was a very bad person who was doing terrible things, but that Iraq was never a threat to the United States. That was the truth. "

The reference to Iraq here should prove that.

[FrenchieCat]

8. So he did mis-speak.....

I just wasn't sure. Transcripts can be wrong sometimes.

[CottonBear]

5. I think that he was discussing both Osama and Saddam.

I heard that and I thought that he'd made a mistake. However, when I read the transcript, I don't think so.

[FrenchieCat]

9. So you don't think he meant Saddam....but just said

Osama?

I think he meant Saddam in both instance.

[CottonBear]

26. Maybe we should ask Dean what he meant or if he misspoke.

I can read the second highlighted sentence in the original post as either 1) He meant to mention Osama by name and Saddam by referring to Iraq OR that 2) he meant to say Saddam instead of Osama.

[shance]

12. Which is worse: a minor Dean misspeak or WAR on Iraq?

You decide.

[Guaranteed]

13. I don't even think it warrants a comparison.

Let's stop making excuses over this. We're starting to sound guilty.

He mixed up his words. Whoopedy doo.

[flpoljunkie]

17. Except GOP toady Russert was a turd for intentionally letting it stand.

Russert makes me sick.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Doh....the war in Iraq.

But part of how we got in Iraq was the fact that Bush literally confused Americans on the subject of Osama vs. Saddam.

I asked because I was curious as to what he actually said. Do you mind?

Should I not have asked? Cause if the transcript was wrong (and at times they are, I was going to urge writing letters), I wanted to know.

I still think that we have to minimize this kind of thing.....confusing names, just cause they are both Arabic names.

[Guaranteed]

16. At least he didn't say that we were going to help the terrorists

whereever we could find them, like Bush did.

[FrenchieCat]

20. Yeah.....Thank goodness!

But those are Bushism.....we already know that he only has 1/2 a brain (if that).

[FrenchieCat]

24. Since I don't "feel" like piling on

Dr. Dean's performance on MTP.....

and it's obvious that some are interpreting this thread as such....I have asked the mods to lock this thread.

In the future, I'll ask those kind of questions elsewhere.

[MadisonProgressive]

27. Yes I caught that - he meant Saddam

Freudian slip?

[Moderator]

28. Locking at OP's request, he received the answer n/t