32 Comments

1. KeithNolan:

You know, Pajamas Media does love to kick ol’ Dan Rather around, even gratuitously as in this post…. and god knows, he ended his career on a horrible note: mucking up the story of Lieutenant Bush’s questionable service in the Air Guard so badly, and unprofessionally, as to give our Commander in Chief cover for his not-exactly-glorious behavior during the Vietnam War.

It’d be nice, though, if between the snarky asides, someone might remember that Dan Rather showed much physical courage, and produced some absolutely solid reporting, in both Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Dan Rather was gutsy enough, and his reporting so even-handed in regard to the American GI, that he was actually a favorite of Hank Emerson, one of the most aggressive, hawkish, piss-and-vinegar U.S. Army commanders who served in Vietnam.

And if Rather wasn’t afraid of AK-47 and RPG fire in his early days, he also wasn’t afraid of President Nixon in the ’70s.

Something to consider when sneering at the wreck an ego-inflated Dan Rather eventually made of his career.

Best,
Keith Nolan

Jul 16, 2008 - 11:34 pm 2. chuck:

The whole trip is starting to look ludicrous. I’d be more impressed at this point if Obama would read a book, or at least say something that shows he has some clue about what is going on in the world.

Jul 17, 2008 - 5:29 am 3. Sissy Willis:

If all goes according to plan, our European and Middle Eastern friends will elect — by acclamation! — the next Leader of the Free world.

Jul 17, 2008 - 6:08 am 4. Captain Hate:

Maybe the MSM will report on herds of unicorns welcoming Saint Oblammo to Iraq.

Is Nolan Danno’s ambulance-chaser in that delusional lawsuit against CBS? How’s that going Keith?

Jul 17, 2008 - 6:24 am 5. jedrury:

The pack mentality of the MSM is so absurd; Charlie will not be topped by Brian who will not be edged out by Katie. Each will give us 5 minutes of glowing Obama coverage and then on to heart disease and a simplistic “up down” coverage on the economy. Meanwhile, the mass migration of viewership away from network news turns into a gusher.

Jul 17, 2008 - 6:38 am 6. Mark Van Wagoner:

Does the Young Prince take questions?

Jul 17, 2008 - 7:50 am 7. Lightnin' Hopkins:

Yes Keith, Gunga Dan risked his life to report from a war zone, as have many others before and since. He was also very brave in the face of facts whizzing by his head once his “fake but accurate” story was thoroughly fisked, holding his ground against the CIC’s (Chickenhawk in Chief) “wingnut” defenders. Pray tell, what fighter plane did Bubba fly during the Vietnam War - either in country or stateside? What glorious feats of daring-do did that fat horndog undertake in the service of America? Hitting the bong at Oxford?

“Snark” and “sneering” aside, Dan Rather effed up, in a major key, and he paid the price for it. As an old uncle of mine used to say, “Ain’t that the berries?”

Jul 17, 2008 - 7:54 am 8. David:

I volunteer to be caught with Katie. She’s still cute and completely age appropriate for me.

Jul 17, 2008 - 8:16 am 9. plainslow:

Isn’t this putting our men and women, at greater risk, needlessly? A presidental canidate and 3 world renown journalist would be a terrorist dream bombing.

Jul 17, 2008 - 8:40 am 10. pistol packin pappy:

all i know is, it’s a darn good thing that the democraps can’t vote by cell phone. they would be appropriating funds (taxpayers money), to buy cells for the whole world. if one travels in the mideast this time of year, is a white turbon ok to wear, or would a colored one be more stylish? do you think that the groupies tagging along with b.o. will be fair and balanced? they should send those blathering a*%holes from msnbc to make sure the facts are never revealed. i would like to think that this expedition would show another side of the canidate’s ability to his open his yap, and insert his foot.

Jul 17, 2008 - 9:02 am 11. captcouv:

Lightnin’:

LT Bush flew the F102 Starfighter. Look up the qualifications to fly that plane on your own.

(I hope you play the blues bettter than you opine).

Jul 17, 2008 - 9:38 am 12. Rachel Peepers:

Hi,

The news coming out lately about Iran is scary. To top it off, John McCain keeps joking about what he calls “Senator Obama’s unbelievably naive idea to unilaterally destroy the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons while making terrorists pledge never to use rogue nuclear weapons. And we all remember McCain infamous habit of chiding his North Vietnameze captors by humming “The National Anthem during torture sesssions.

War is not a joke. The truth is that the Bush-McCain policy to maintain a strong military while facing down 9/11 type terrorism just doesn’t work–it just makes things worse. We need what Senator Obama is famous for: tough talk, not the fool’s view that the U.S. can actually win a war, much less the war in Iraq.
I just signed this petition urging Congress to end the surge and begin bringing all our troops home, regardless of what the Generals on the ground say. We all know that most of them see war as a way to get promoted. I, Barack Obama, demand that President Bush get Congressional authorization to protect our country and its freedom as he has pledged to do: Start destroying the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons. And to halt development of the defense shield that would protect the U.S. against nuclear weapons launched by terrorists or hostile countries, making our children safe. http://pol.moveon.org/diplomacyiran/?r_by=-4342585-6k7a5fx&rc=confemail

Thanks!

Rachel Peepers

Jul 17, 2008 - 9:41 am 13. g:

Peepers, that’s a joke right? Barry’s famous for tough talk? That’s a new one to me.

Jul 17, 2008 - 10:16 am 14. Peter G:

I know the New Yorker cover was satire, however poorly done. But I must say, I can’t tell if the above post by Rachel Peepers is satire or not. I mean, it should be satire.

Jul 17, 2008 - 10:38 am 15. Larry J:

The F-102 the President Bush flew was the “Delta Dagger”. The Starfighter was the F-104, a completely different plane. Both had a high accident rate by modern fighter standards.

Jul 17, 2008 - 10:39 am 16. Captain Hate:

captcouv, I’m pretty sure Lightnin’ was defending Bush’s prowess in the F-102 (which, yes, was difficult to handle by all reports) and contrasting him to a certain grifter from Arkansas. And I know first-hand that his namesake was outstanding at playing the blues.

Is Rachel Mr Peepers’ daughter? Wally Cox must be so disappointed. I’m sure Michael Yon is bemused by the posts on the ironically-named Moveon.

Jul 17, 2008 - 11:17 am 17. Keith_Indy:

Rachel - you really need to watch and read the news more often.

The surge has ended, and we are winning the war in Iraq.

Jul 17, 2008 - 11:59 am 18. albert:

To Rachel Peepers,
Wake up, you are dreaming, who ask you to write this: “I, Barack Obama, demand that President Bush get Congressional authorization to protect our country and its freedom as he has pledged to do: Start destroying the United States arsenal of nuclear weapons. And to halt development of the defense shield that would protect the U.S. against nuclear weapons launched by terrorists or hostile countries, making our children safe”. Was it BOH himself?
Where in the world you live? You suffer an accute case of delirium tremens. You should look for professional help ASAP.

Jul 17, 2008 - 12:09 pm 19. John Samford:

“he ended his career on a horrible note: mucking up the story of Lieutenant Bush’s questionable service in the Air Guard so badly”

You still don’t get it.
THERE WAS NOTHING QUESTIONABLE ABOUT PRESIDENT BUSH’S SERVICE IN THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD. Period.
I doubt that shouting will help, since the problem is a mental disorder (BDS) and not a physical one, but I figured I’d try anyway.
What you BDS types fail to understand is that PRESIDENT Bush’s ANG service was completely typical of ANG service. He showed up for the time he was required at the place he was required and did what he was required to do.
Manufacturing ‘evidence’ otherwise is what got Rather a slap on the wrisr.
The facts are that Rather is what we call a traitor in this neck o’ the woods. He deserved a LOT worse then he got. Attacking the Commander-in-Chief during war time is offering aid and comfort to the enemy. Rather should have stood trial for treason and had a jury of 12 decide if he needed a rope and a drop. When he got to hell, he could interview Saddam. They could talk about how much they both hate PRESIDENT Bush.
In peace going after a President is just politics. Once CONGRESS declares war, it becomes treason.

Jul 17, 2008 - 12:44 pm 20. kcom:

- “Snark” and “sneering” aside, Dan Rather effed up, in a major key, and he paid the price for it. As an old uncle of mine used to say, “Ain’t that the berries?”

And the thing is, Dan Rather still doesn’t get it. He defends the story to this day and he still insists no one has ever proven the documents were fakes. I think he deserves, notwithstanding his prior record, all the snark he gets - until the day he finally gets a clue and realizes what a damn fool he was and has continued to be. When he apologizes for being a maroon and shows some sign of recognition about how crazy he’s been, then he might deserve respect again for some of his past accomplishments.

(Although I also have my doubts about his previous stories and what we didn’t and don’t know about them. Whenever someone is caught committing a crime it’s not an uncommon belief to think it’s not the first time they’ve done it, just the first time they were caught. Who knows what Dan Rather might have gotten away with over the years that was never caught because it was pre-Internet.)

Jul 17, 2008 - 12:54 pm 21. KeithNolan:

Hey, Lightnin’. Sure, Rather screwed up, and, man, oh, man, did he pay the price…. to include the snark of Pajama Medias guys who haven’t got even a sliver of the man’s credentials as a field reporter.

You want to dismiss the combat patrols Rather went on with the 1st Marine Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 1st Air Cavalry Division, etc., in Vietnam, fine, that’s your perogative. Rather was known as one of the more gutsy and fair-minded reporters over there, embraced, as I said, by even super gung-ho commanders like Colonel Hank Emerson.

You want to dismiss Rather’s fairly amazing reporting with the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan, fine, that’s also your perogative.

But, please, having dismissed Rather’s hairy, under-fire reporting from his days as a real reporter (before he turned into just another ego-bloated talking head on the tube), please, PLEASE, don’t turn around and puff up President Bush’s absolutely mediocre (and highly questionable) days as an on-again-off-again member of the Texas Air Guard.

And, comparing Bush’s service in the 1960s to Clinton’s is a bit unfair.

Bill Clinton was indeed hittin’ the bong back in those days (just as Bush was hittin’ the bottle, and probably doin’ a little coke, too–not that I really care), but young Bill was pretty forthright about his opposition to the Vietnam War.

Young George W. vocally supported the war, like a good member of a Republican family, then made sure he stayed Stateside while the blacks, the browns, the country kids, the working-class kids, and a small handful of middle- and upper-class kids did the actual fighting ten-thousand miles from home.

I know a fair number of Vietnam veterans, and they usually spit out the phrase “draft dodger” when speaking about President Bush. They also don’t seem too fond of all his macho posturing as the War President.

If you duck out of a war, you kinda forfeit your right to play a tough guy on TV.

Opting to lark around in jets on the weekend does not a hero make–not when a horrible, meatgrinder of a shooting war beckoned in Vietnam–a war Bush said he supported!

And I know, I know, flying jets can be dangerous. So is driving around in race cars and climbing mountains and a hundred other things young men do for an adrenaline rush and to score with the secretaries around the office. If you think Bush a hero for going airborne over Texas, then I guess Paul Newman’s a hero for zooming around the race track back in the ’60s, too.

Anyway, if I hear you clearly: Clinton’s a monster for smoking pot and avoiding a war he thought a misguided mess…. Rather’s nothing special for putting his life on the line in Vietnam and Afghanistan…. but Bush is a hero for spending a few hours up in a jet over Texas….

Okay!

Best,
Keith Nolan

Jul 17, 2008 - 12:59 pm 22. Captain Hate:

“I know a fair number of Vietnam veterans, and they usually spit out the phrase “draft dodger” when speaking about President Bush.”

And they don’t say that about Clinton?!? WTF? You’re really hung up on the 70s, back when Rather was the bravest person in the world, so there’s no disabusing you of that fetish. But I think you’re in a really cranky mood because things are going so well in Iraq. And just think: It was done without blowing up the Chinese embassy. Far out!!!

Jul 17, 2008 - 2:10 pm 23. KeithNolan:

Cranky mood because things are going well in Iraq?!?!? Cap’n Hate, you are utterly insane! Nothing would please me more than victory over the jihadist lunatics in the Middle East. What are you even talking about?!?!

P.S. Oh, yeah, Clinton was a draft-dodger, too. He just wasn’t a hypocrite on top of it. Dig?

Jul 17, 2008 - 2:15 pm 24. Captain Hate:

Well something has got you upset to the point where you’re insulting Roger, Lightnin’ and now me. I was taking what seemed like at least a semi-reasonable guess and am glad to admit being wrong. Glad to have you on the team!!

Bill “most ethical administration ever” Clinton not a hypocrite? Got it!

Jul 17, 2008 - 2:36 pm 25. Terrye:

Keith:

Rather did it to himself. I don’t feel sorry for him.

Jul 17, 2008 - 3:00 pm 26. Terrye:

Rachel:

You are right, war is not a joke, that is why you do not want a clown like Obama in the Oval office. Fill out all the petitions you want, public opinion on this is shifting away from you. Try as you might, you might not get to lose this war.

Jul 17, 2008 - 3:02 pm 27. Terrye:

There is something positively royal about Obama’s trip to Iraq. Ass kissing reporters and all that.

Jul 17, 2008 - 3:04 pm 28. Lightnin' Hopkins:

Wow. Step away for a few hours and all hell breaks loose.

captcouv: You misunderstood me. I was pointing out that Pres. Bush did indeed fly a hard-to-handle aircraft, and that Bill Clinton did not. As for the blues, I can more than hold my own — thanks for asking.

Keith: Where to begin? I never called Bush a hero. My only hero died of cancer back in 1995. But he *is* my President, and even if he “larked around in jets on the weekend”, as you put it, while the “blacks, the browns” etc, “did the actual fighting ten-thousand miles from home”, he was active in the service of his state and his country, just as many people today in important non-combat roles both here and abroad. Which is, after all, what Memogate was about - his service. I believe any so-called “questionable” aspect of said service was smacked down quite handily during the unraveling of the 60 Minutes II story, wasn’t it? Rather was dead wrong.

And *as for* Mr. Rather, I didn’t “dismiss” anything he did or went through in or out of war zones, or his courage (no “snark” intended - it’s just a word). Reporting in those conditions is both admirable and necessary. In fact, you’ve inspired me to go hit Michael Yon’s tipjar right now. You seem to have an affinity for war reporting so you might wish to do the same, he could use our help (I apologize in advance if you have already done so, sir). That said, like many other attempts to smear an unpopular President, Rather’s (and Mape’s) story lacked — what’s that word? — oh yeah, *evidence.*

Lastly, Keith, you do *not* hear me clearly, because I didn’t call Clinton a “monster”, I called him a “fat horndog.” I guess that was a little mean. If only people would tell us how they really feel about W. (I don’t know about anyone else, but I kinda like his “macho posturing” as the “War President” - beats the sh*t out of having ineffectual pedants like Neville Chamberlain or O!bama run the show, IMO).

Finally, I think Paul Newman IS pretty cool, even if he isn’t my hero. Ya’ dig?

Jul 17, 2008 - 3:38 pm 29. Believer:

I just hope ol’ Barack’s been shining his pretty blue Presidential Seal that disappeared a few weeks back.

He won’t need it in Europe - he’s plenty popular there - but it might help with the troops.

Jul 17, 2008 - 3:57 pm 30. Terrye:

Well one thing is for sure, Barack will get a rock star welcome in Europe and that is what it is all about. The press will make sure he looks as good as he can Iraq. After all those news anchors are going there to cover for him as well as cover him. It will make for great theater.

I still wonder if the soldiers Barack intends to send into Afghanistan are supposed to arrest the terrorists or fight them. Thus far he has not answered that question.

Jul 17, 2008 - 4:04 pm 31. The Wizard:

I think it takes audacity to visit the troops! Obama does not support our servicemen, so why go there? He is a sycophant and an idiot. I find the MSMs coverage of this man disgusting, blantantly biased and over the top. When will America wake up???? You do not want this man, Obama in the White House. HE IS A RACIST and totally unqualified for the office. He will destory this country, if elected.

Jul 18, 2008 - 7:16 am 32. Jose A. Garcia:

It’s really not that big of a deal to visit BIAP (Bagdad Int’l Airport). The place is fairly locked down, like anytown USA just dusty and hot.

Want to impress us? Come out to some FOB Kalsu, or FOB Brassfield, or FOB Normandy. Breathe in some “moon dust.” That’s where the “Troops” are; not the support types that sip latte’s every day on BIAP or Balad Air base. Visit the Brits down in the south, ask them about Iranians and others they fight down there.

Put on a MICH, and get in an MRAP, go for a ride down the MSR.

Taking photos with staffers living in air conditioned buildings, sleeping in beds with sheets and having steak and lobster on the weekend is not “meeting the troops.”

Jul 21, 2008 - 12:35 am

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