So this morning on my way in to work, Air America made a big deal out of Bush's two-facedness, or split-tonguedness, or asshattery, or whatever.
No, I don't remember which of their radio personalities it was. All I know is that it wasn't Al Franken, because Al Franken always sounds like he's drunk. Have you ever noticed that? Seriously. Unlike the rest of this post, I'm not going for a cheap liberal-bashing shot here. He really does enunciate like a drunk man, all the frickin' time. Anyway, this guy didn't sound drunk. Just... stupid.
The object of ridicule in this particular segment was something Bush had said in Brussels, earlier in the week. I'm sure you've heard it:
"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said that, all options are on the table."
This, argued Air America, is a clear contradiction. Do we really need any more proof than this that Bush is an asshat?
If you already know where this is going, feel free to leave now. If you need me to spell it out for you, read on.
I live in San Diego. What with all the rain, a lot of hillsides are becoming quite mobile. Hillsides melting away from underneath homes. Hillsides engulfing large houses, with people still inside them. Now, my particular hillside doesn't seem to have this problem. So the notion that I'm getting ready to move out of my home is ridiculous. Having said that, on the off chance that my hillside decides to take a walk, all options are on the table.
And really, isn't that the way you'd want it to be?
Diplomacy is great. Diplomacy solves problems. Diplomacy works. You want the diplomatic solution? Knock yourself out! There are no plans to deliver beatings to asshats at this time. But what if diplomacy fails? After all, "some men you just can't reach". What then? Aren't you glad that someone is willing to keep a contingency plan on the table? (And let's be honest, here: isn't the implicit threat of violence often an excellent motivation for peaceful compromise?)
And we're not even touching the obvious fact that "we will never fight for our policies or principles" is exactly equal to "you are free to totally ignore our policies and principles". How is that a good negotiating technique?
Hate Bush's policies and principles all you like, Air America. But can't you find anything better to do than make fun of him for taking the obvious and sensible line on this issue?
Next you're going to tell me that Karl Rove set up CBS with obviously fake documents.... and CBS was so frickin' stupid, they fell for it.
Please.