I Guessed Wrong But...
Reported by Ellen - August 18, 2004 -
Yesterday, I posted Will we have (on Fox) an hour devoted to an anti-Bush ad? I doubt it but we'll see.
Tonight (8/17-8/18) my guess was proved wrong as Alan Colmes spent an hour of his radio show devoted to two of the latest anti-Bush ads from MoveOn.org. But...
Those who hoped Colmes would praise the MoveOn ads with the same vigor that he criticized last night's Swift Boat Vet ad would have been disappointed. Instead, he said he found one MoveOn ad deplorable for questioning Bush's military service. To my chagrin, and many other progressives I'm sure, he said, "Both men served their country" and that neither candidates' service records are relevant to their candidacy. I'd say that's VERY debatable but everyone has a right to their opinion.
What strikes me as more important is this: Last night, Colmes addressed the substance of the issues raised by the Swift Boat Vets in great detail (and did it very well, I must say) but he did not address the issues of the MoveOn ads to the same extent. There was a conversation of about 10 or 15 minutes with Fox reporter Major Garrett, but only a fraction of that time was spent discussing whether or not the MoveOn allegations (regarding Bush's military service and his reasons for going to war against Iraq) were true. In essence, the discussion centered around whether or not the topic of military service should be a campaign issue at all and the candidates' response to these ads made by outside groups.
To be fair, I have heard Colmes spend plenty of time criticizing Bush on the topic of Iraq at other times. And if he feels Bush's military record is irrelevant, I can understand why he would not want to discuss it. But I have to ask: Why were the Swift Boat Vets' allegations about Kerry's service worth analyzing but the MoveOn allegations dismissed as irrelevant without investigation?
Not only that but Colmes mentioned that the Swift Boat Vets were guests on the show last week (while I was on vacation). I'm willing to bet that the same allegations about Kerry were re-aired. Will Colmes offer someone on a par with Texas author and Emmy Award-winning James Moore, expert on Bush's past, the same airtime? I doubt it but I'd be delighted to be proved wrong again.
