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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Monday, August 13, 2007

The Clintons are good at "Strawman"

Pouncing on "War Czar" Lute's comments over the weekend regarding a draft being "on the table," Hillary Clinton sends a "concerned" letter to Bush.
In a letter to Bush dated Monday, Clinton writes, "While our forces, in particular the Army and Marine Corps, are under strain, re-establishing a draft is not the answer. The seeds of many of the problems that continue to plague our mission in Iraq were planted in the failure to adequately plan for the conflict and properly equip our men and women in uniform."

"In previous years, when asked about a draft, your Administration has stated that it is the Administration’s policy to oppose a military draft and support the all-volunteer force," the presidential frontrunner added. "Given Lieutenant General Lute’s comments last week, I ask that you clarify whether there has been a change in your Administration’s opposition to reinstituting a draft."

Of all the Dems we've seen over the last decade, the Clinton camp is by far the best at ginning up these non-existant arguments where they hold the strong position. This tactic has been used very effectively over the years by former (too soon?) White House political advisor Karl Rove.

The idea is simple. Take some statement that can be miscolored out of context and amplify it. Then, ask the target to defend it or cave in.

They've done it to Obama a couple of times, most recently over the "nukes in Pakistan" comment. Obama gave a great sweeping speech, but it was totally lost in the ginned up argument. And then there was the Edelman fracas.

This one was effective enough to force a loud and massive Pentagon denial that appears in big red letters on Drudge.

It's ugly, but it's good politics. It makes the attacker look strong and mainstream and makes the defender look weak and diminished.

9 Comments:

  • Anyone who thinks Hillary is weak is making a big mistake. Mind you I can't see her pulling many troops out of Iraq either. Just a token force then it will be business as usual.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:16 PM  

  • Boy. It looks like Lute stepped in it bigtime. Did all this draft talk spin out of that single NPR interview? If so, wow!

    I kinda feel sorry for Lute, who, I think, was just trying to give reasoned, intelligent answers to an interviewers questions. I don't think Lute is school in the dark arts of misdirection and word-parsing.

    By Blogger -epm, at 3:36 PM  

  • Anon, She's definitely a part of the official "foreign policy establishment." She's going to talk as far left as she has to to get the nomination, but the actions as president won't be too different.

    The farthest I think she would go is the borders/training/Al Qaeda force. Maybe something like the ISG.

    ...

    EPM, yes. It came from that minor mention.

    As for Lute, how many Dems have been similarly nailed when trying to express a very rational, nuanced position?

    That's how this godawful attack strategy works.

    It's a function of the "cover the controversy" media atmosphere.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 4:03 PM  

  • I think Iraq after Hillary will be endless airstrikes. Kinda like the UN sanctions thing.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:56 PM  

  • I'd buy it, but similar to the sanctions, targeted more at the US audience and hurting the Iraqi civilians.

    I mean, what do you strike, especially without on the ground intel?

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 5:44 PM  

  • It depends on the extent to which muslims (all muslims) are perceived as an enemy. I don't think most Americans lose much sleep over a bit of collateral damage.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:12 PM  

  • I was splitting two thoughts there.

    The Iraqi civilians would bother me.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 9:02 PM  

  • "As for Lute, how many Dems have been similarly nailed when trying to express a very rational, nuanced position? ... etc."

    Exactly. But if we are ever to become a nation of Reason, we have to stop doing this. And by "we" I mean the press and politicians. This game of twisted context and overblown exaggeration of interpretation is insidious and destructive to the democratic process.

    Now there is no news. Nothing is trusted. Everything is spin. In such an oxygen starved environment, how can a nation founded on the assumption of an informed and reasoned public ever survive?

    ----
    Regarding a President Hillary Clinton... who knows. She's an institutional politician (I suppose most are) and I wouldn't expect anything bold or visionary to come out of her administration. Machine politics is machine politics. It's goal is to feed itself and stay in power.

    By Blogger -epm, at 10:31 AM  

  • EPM, I think that's one of the reasons Clinton is doing well. Once the establishment accepted that the next president will likely be a Democrat, she is certainly the mainline choice.

    And, regarding the other. The media has now morphed into covering the controversy. What the argument is actually about doesn't matter anymore, it's more about developing a juicy and heated he said/she said.

    Wonky explanations of healthcare plans doesn't sell adspace.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:37 PM  

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