Updated: Iraq Analysis Fox-Style
Reported by Ellen - October 3, 2004 -
UPDATE: What a coincidence that this unbalanced panel on Iraq (two pro-Bush guests, host Alan as only pro-Kerry) should have occurred one night before the presidential debate on this very topic. I should have caught on to this sooner. Sleep deprivation must be affecting my FOX mojo!
Wednesday's (September 29) Fox News Live with Alan Colmes included a lengthy discussion about Iraq. The two guests were Fox Military Analyst Colonel Dave Hunt and Jeff Babbin, author of "Inside the Asylum. Why the UN and Old Europe are Worse Than You Think." The two guests were Bush supporters which left Alan as the sole Kerry supporter and major Bush critic. Given how many problems there are with the war, and that some important Republican senators have spoken out against Bush's handling of it, it seems ludicrous not to include a more skeptical-of-Bush expert in a panel discussion.
Alan's a smart guy but he's not an expert (as far as I can determine) in Iraqi or military affairs. So for him to be the only Bush critic in this mix is patently unfair and unbalanced.
Still, Colmes did a good job of making the case for why the Commander-in-Chief should be fired for not handling the war better. The two guests seemed to feel that lower-level personnel should get the axe instead but, despite repeated prodding from Colmes, neither of the experts was willing to name names.
Comment: That strikes me as odd. Here we have two military experts agreeing that there are serious problems in Iraq, yet they can't name who's responsible. The only thing they seemed certain of is that Bush is the better commander than Kerry. I was particularly struck by FOX analyst Hunt's rationale:
"For three weeks Kerry got hit by Swift Boat Vets and didn't swing back. If you can't fight for this election, I'm not sure you can fight a war on terror."
What about the fact that Kerry enlisted in the service and got three purple hearts whereas all the hard evidence points to the fact that Bush used his Daddy's connections to avoid going into battle, then shirked the soft duty that was handed to him? What about the fact that Bush invaded a country that didn't attack us, and seems to have completely forgotten about the one that did?
Not as important as the Smear Boat Vets, I guess.
