A couple pro-war hacks have been parading around as critics of the war even as they give all sorts of love to Bush and Petraeus (I link to Glenn Greenwald because he is the most thorough; I could have gone anywhere, though). The lefty blogs have shrieked with one voice as the Washington Post printed an op-ed the other day claiming the surge is working, we need to continue doing what we're doing, and that Michael O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack are war critics whose minds have changed due to a whole week spent in the Green Zone in Baghdad. OK, the last part of that sentence isn't made up. The rest of it is pretty much craptacular nonsense. As Greenwald says in one of his numerous updates to one of the posts linked to above:
Pretending to be a war opponent notwithstanding one's support for the war seems to be a trend today (though not only today). And it is amazing, though it should not be, how easily manipulated the media is by this tactic.
Attention: journalists and news producers: they have these new things now called "computers" that record what people say and write and keep all of that stored. So if someone claims to be a "war critic" or "war opponent," you can actually look and find out whether that is true.
SOP, some may say. Indeed, I believe this to be true. With all the horror stories coming out of Iraq, and most of America wanting to end our occupation as soon as possible, if not sooner, it would seem necessary for the Administration to get people to shill for their line. Advertising them as long-time critics would appear to give them legitimacy. Before the advent of the Internet, it would be much more difficult to research and discover that those posing as critics were in fact supporters of the war. Now, it takes the ability to type the word "O'Hanlon" in to Google, and presto, we have a Glenn Greenwald column.
Of course, there are many in the mainstream who are rending their garments, waling and gnashing their teeth over the "vicious attacks" upon the poor, beleaguered war critics-turned-war-boosters. How dare a bunch of bloggers sit around and do the leg work for journalists, discovering that serious, thoughtful war critics have a long history of supporting the very occupation they now claim to have been critical of. According to Joe Klein, they aren't journalists because . . . I'm not really sure how the bloggers' work of unmasking these hacks as hacks doesn't count as journalism, except to say that it really looks like the kind of elementary research most news organizations should have done before pimping these guys as critics. Oh, that's right, Greenwald didn't talk to anyone. He just used Google to find out if these guys were who they advertised themselves as being. Research, journalism, tomato, tomahto. . .
I'm not at all surprised by any of this. The reaction among the lefty blogs shows the power we wield to shape our public discourse. The fact that these men have to push back against attacks on their alleged credibility is a demonstration of something that should have been obvious to the Bush Administration for over a year now - they can no longer shape the public dialogue through the mindless repetition of nonsense, because there are hundreds of people out here who know how to put the kibosh on nonsense very quickly. And I know it irritates the bejesus out of people like David Broder, Joe Klein, Tom Friedman, and other nonsensical pundits, but the left-wing blogs really do represent the opinions of a majority of Americans. Washington may be the last place to get it, but it will eventually sink in that we are witnessing real democracy in action. The people have found their voice, and the elites are scared out of their collective pin head. Hurray for us.
I have been silent on these topics due mostly to my own pre-occupation. I have also felt a bit tired day after day pointing out how ridiculous our political discourse is, at least at an official level. I must also admit that I am frustrated by the preening of public officials on the various Sunday shows - why does no one call out Arlen Specter on his obeisance to Bush, talking tough but doing nothing? - because the "journalists" who run the Sunday propaganda shows refuse to ask questions, but provide opportunities for these men and women to look good for their constituents. The whole dog-and-pony show of our mainstream media is as phony as the anti-war credentials of O'Hanlon and Pollack. Having discovered something to occupy my mind, I have preferred to pay attention to that.
I just wanted folks to know I haven't divorced myself from what is going on around us. Whether it's another Senate hearing where Alberto Gonzalez lies or another military commander telling us we have to stay in Iraq forever, I do know about it. I prefer to leave the debunking to others, that's all.
