I deleted The Weekly Standard link. I had put it up because it seemed one of the few right-wing outlets still capable of *some* intellectual honesty, whether or not I agree with their editorial stance. But since the election season started they're back on pure wingnuttery. Except on a few middle-right blogs like Volokh's Conspiracy (and my beloved Economist it's a chore trying to find any semblence of independent thought on the Right. Every week, it seems, truth dribbles out (from someone inside the administration) about the Bushies' (1) mendacity; (2) incompetence; (3) hypocrisy; (4) hostility for any attempt at good faith factfinding and data-collecting. This week, the Bushies' former terrorism czar reveals just how incompetent these schmucks were in the War Against Al Qaeda. Check out this comprehensive timeline here for more.
Wingnut response? Smears, obfuscations, smears, ad hominems. No direct challenge to the statements, just faith in Saint Shrub's infinite wisdom.
* When the facts counter your position -- no WMDs, no cheering Iraqis, no easy democracy, no plans for reconstruction --change the subject.
* The question why did Bush not finish the job and destroy Al Qaeda and kill Osama before launching an attack on an unrelated and largely unthreatening country is and will never be answered by these obfuscating fools.
* Resort to Wingnut Playbook #21 when cornered and squeal "Would you rather have Saddam Hussein still in power?" (Answer: No, you freaking idiots, but I'd also don't want Kim Il-jong in power either. But not at the cost of destroying American international credibility, formenting hatred for us in allied and non-allied countries, $150 billion, 600 American lives and thousands of Iraqi civilians, and a country that has a good change of descending into civil war. It's like I'd like the common cold to be eradicated but not at the cost of $500 billion and 1,000 test subjects dying. But possibly these moronic absolutists have forgotten the idea of cost/benefit analysis or any other balancing test.
Bush has no clothes, but you'll never know reading these self-deluded wingnuts. It'd all be just kinda sad if lives and our fucking safety weren't at stake.
