Making Hay Out of Straw Men (Bush lies about Kerry)

[papau]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4757-2004May31.html

Making Hay Out of Straw Men

By Dana Milbank Tuesday, June 1, 2004; Page A21 For President Bush, this is the season of the straw man.

It is an ancient debating technique: Caricature your opponent's argument, then knock down the straw man you created. In the 2004 campaign, Bush has been knocking down such phantoms on subjects from Iraq to free trade.

<snip>On May 19, Bush was asked about a plan by his Democratic opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), to halt shipments that are replenishing emergency petroleum reserves. Bush replied by saying we should not empty the reserves -- something nobody in a responsible position has proposed. "The idea of emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror," Bush said. "We're at war."

The president has used a similar technique on the stump, when explaining his decision to go to war in Iraq in light of the subsequent failure to find stockpiles of forbidden weapons. In the typical speech, Bush explains the prewar intelligence indicating Saddam Hussein had such weapons, and then presents in inarguable conclusion: "So I had a choice to make: either trust the word of a madman, or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America every time." Missing from that equation is the actual choice Bush confronted: support continued U.N. weapons inspections, or go to war.

On May 4, Bush was discussing the war on terrorism, when he said: "Some say, 'Well, this is just a matter of law enforcement and intelligence.' No, that's not what it is." On May 10, he posited: "The natural tendency for people is to say, oh, let's lay down our arms. But you can't negotiate with these people. . . . Therapy won't work."

<snip> There seems to be no end to the crazy positions the straw men take. Indeed, some have argued in favor of deeper recessions. "Some say, 'Well, maybe the recession should have been deeper,' " Bush said last summer. "That bothers me when people say that. You see, a deeper recession would have meant more families would have been out of work." <snip>

[papau]

1. DUPE

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x54144

[rwork]

2. Another example of this technique

when he said, (on his Tim Russert interview) don't denigrate the national guard.Also his mixed up, I disagree with anyone who says brown skinned people can't have elections.I am sure DU'ers could come up with many more of these.