February 2, 2007 -- 12:21 PM EST // // Post a Comment
CNN'S LOU DOBBS SHOW CALLS MCCAIN "MAVERICK," LETS MCCAIN SKATE ON DISSEMBLING ABOUT GENERAL CASEY.
Oh, man -- sometimes this stuff can really get under your skin if you let it. I'm talking about the dismal report last night on Lou Dobbs Tonight about Senator John McCain's questioning of General George Casey at yesterday's Senate hearing into whether Casey should be confirmed as Army Chief of Staff. First came Jaime McIntyre with the obligatory description of McCain as a "maverick":
MCINTYRE (voice over): The case against Casey was laid out in prosecutorial style by maverick Republican John McCain, who slammed the outgoing Iraq commander's past rosy predictions and his reluctance to call for reinforcements while Iraq descended into chaos.SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I question seriously the judgment was that was employed and your execution of your responsibilities in Iraq. And we have paid a very, very heavy price in American blood and treasure because of what is now agreed to by literally everyone as a failed policy.
McCain's alleged "maverick" status has nothing to do with the topic at hand -- it's almost as if it were added simply as a sop to McCain -- but there's more. The program also fails to tell its viewers that McCain himself has repeatedly offered up his own optimistic assessments of the Iraq situation during the time period in question, and has even previously suggested that the "failed policy" he's now criticizing was more or less working. While it's true that McCain has long said more troops would be needed, this is nonetheless context that's crucial to grasping McCain's game plan here.
Finally, here's how Dobbs deals with the question of whether Casey will be confirmed as Army Chief of Staff despite the Iraq debacle:
MCINTYRE: ...Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told CNN earlier today that he thinks Casey made mistakes but should not be held responsible of what he termed the major policy mistakes of the administration -- Lou.DOBBS: And this is the same Democratic leadership in Congress that wants accountability but are not going to hold this general accountable?
So, because Democrats want blame to fall on the person who's actually responsible for the Iraq debacle -- the President -- Dobbs smacks them for not holding Casey "accountable." But McCain's little show of grilling Casey -- who bears less responsibility than the President -- makes him "prosecutorial" and a "maverick."
The important point here is that casual observers can watch a report like this and have no idea what actually happened at the hearing or why McCain did what he did. Viewers aren't told that McCain has a political reason for slagging Casey. They aren't reminded that McCain has hitched his Presidential campaign to escalation -- which could lead viewers to conclude that he just might be scapegoating Casey as the public face of pre-escalation troop levels in order to distance the GOP, the President he's supported, and himself from the Iraq failure. No context, no analysis of the politics, no nothing. All viewers are made to see is a heroic, "prosecutorial" Senator demanding accountability.