WOW! Josh Marshall's clicking on all 8 cylinders!

[trumad]

A great great piece by Josh..I recommend that you read the whole thing...Here's a taste:

The same sort of moral cowardice that led him to support the Vietnam war but decide it wasn't for him, run companies into the ground and let others pay the bill, play gutter politics but run for the hills when someone asks him to say it to their face, those are the same qualities that led the president to lie the country into war, fail to prepare for the aftermath and then refuse to take responsibility for any of it when the bill started to come due.

That's the argument John Kerry needs to be making. And he needs to make it right now.
-- Josh Marshall
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_08_22.php#003321

[gasperc]

1. yes, got it, right on it

fuck, that got my gears whizzing, just the last bit made you feel like if you waited 5 minutes to take a leak, it would be the end of civilization as we know it.

Let's get to work!!!

[lebkuchen]

2. I sent the Bob Dole section to Elizabeth Dole today

with my own comments attached, requesting Mr. Dole's presence at Wuerzburg Army Hospital the next time Purple Hearts are being distributed to our Iraq/Afghanistan casualties. Perhaps Mr. Dole would care to supervise in case he finds some of the recipients undeserving.

[chiburb]

3. You're right, this is good. Another snip:

On the balance sheet of moral bravery, as opposed to physical bravery, the two men are about as far apart as you can be on Vietnam. On the one hand you have Kerry, who already had doubts about whether we should be fighting in Vietnam before he went, and put his life on the line anyway. On the other hand, you have George W. Bush who supported the war, which means he believed the goal was worth the cost in American lives. Only, not his life. He believed others should go; just not him. It's the story of his life.

That is almost the definition of moral cowardice.

[CatWoman]

4. Hi Tru

I've been under the weather.

Miss me??? :hi:

[trumad]

11. Sure did... You OK?

Drink a lot of OJ... It works everytime...;-)

[kentuck]

5. He hits the political strategy on the head also, imo...

<snip>
Look at the wrong direction/right direction poll numbers and you see pretty clearly that the country is looking to fire George W. Bush. The president's only hope is to get the debate on to issues like these, shift the dynamic of the race, and convince voters that, whatever their dissatisfactions with his administration, John Kerry isn't an acceptable alternative.

When this stuff comes down the pike, Kerry has to fight back mercilessly. And he can win those fights. But, fundamentally, every day of this campaign that isn't spent talking about the sluggish economy and the president's debacle in Iraq is a day wasted, a strategic failure for the Kerry campaign.

[DemoTex]

6. Between Josh Marshall and Paul Krugman, I'm having a great morning!

It's been a long time since my morning coffee tasted this good. Link to Krugman piece:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/24/opinion/24krugman.html?hp

[jonnyblitz]

7. He and Sidney Blumenthal are my favorite centrists.

Both are "must reads" for me even though I don't share their moderate vew of things...

[Hamlette]

8. great find...thanks and a kick n/t

[pmbryant]

9. The "Bush == Coward" theme is so spot-on

We all need to be repeating it as often as we can.

--Peter

[BurtWorm]

10. Bush = Privileged slacker whose messes are cleaned up by others

No more cutting the Bush boy slack. It's time for the Bush boy to grow up, as the rest of us have to, and take responsibility for his pathetic self.

From TPM:

"He's not used to having to stand behind what he's done. And when McCain comes at him one on one he's jelly. His life has always been a matter of others doing his dirty work for him, others bailing him out. And in that moment it shows.

"The current debate about these two men's military service has put the spotlight on physical courage. But that really is a side issue in this campaign, if we're talking substance. The real issue isn't physical bravery but moral cowardice.

"President Bush is an examplar of that quality in spades. And it cuts directly to his failures as president. Forget about thirty years ago, just think about the last three years."