Rodent Regatta

Jeff Jarvis had an ah-ha moment and links to several people who share the view. Here’s the nub of the argument:

”I’ve just realized, in a duh moment, that the Democrats are not running their campaign for John Kerry. They are running only against George Bush.”

Jeff Jarvis
BuzzMachine
July 1, 2004

An additional key point, which is a quote by Jarvis of a Dick Morris opinion:

”The man who had won his party’s nomination by stepping aside and letting Dean destroy himself, now sought to repeat the act as President Bush wrestled with al Qaeda and the Baathists in Iraq and with Richard Clarke closer to home….”

As I write this, I’m watching and listening to CNN try to cover the court proceeding involving Hussein this morning. CNN is spinning furiously – in favor of Hussein and against the USA. Every point of law is getting questioned. Cameras with microphones weren’t allowed. Yes, they were. It’s as if the network truly wants the USA or the DOD to look bad.

Clearly, this is going to be yet another (new) issue for President Bush to deal with. With the media on Saddam’s side, we’re faced with the following consequences:

• The Iraqi people are likely to be worried yet again that the tyrant might return to power.
• The legal wrangling opens the possibility that some court, somewhere might exonerate Hussein.
• Contrary to beliefs that the Iraqi people would treat him harshly, Hussein is making an appearance and is posturing as the incumbent leader of Iraq.
• This might be the most difficult issue for President Bush to deal with as a candidate. Kerry can stand by and watch this unfold without spending a single dollar.

While I’m not forecasting it, this looks frighteningly like the political meltdown of George Herbert Walker Bush. Few predicted he could be defeated immediately after the Gulf War. Now we’ve got a former dictator – appearing without blood on his hands – getting the ”benefit of the doubt” from CNN. All of their questions are now on the table:

1. Which court has jurisdiction?
2. Was the ”invasion” of Iraq by the coalition legal or illegal?
3. What is the real public opinion of all this in Iraq?
4. Can defiance by the accused coupled with the media’s support unhinge the legal process?
5. Should this have been done in an international court?
6. Will an Iraqi judge really hold his own against Hussein?
7. Will the American populace see through all of the media spin? We already know the answer to this one. With a collective attention span equal to the length of a sound bite, we’re witnessing the media’s attempt to tie today’s court proceedings to the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. We are not likely to be able to say and do enough to show that this truly is an Iraqi prosecution.