To go way back up to a point made at the top, I think typical liberal punditry (with typical Mainstream Media picking up one or more of the memes in their reporting) concerning Iraq followed this formula (shamelessly pilfered from the Redstate blog) prior to the election success:
1. If there’s bad news, report it. Add little snippets on how awful things are. Liberally toss in words like “quagmire”, “ignorance”, “hubris”, “incompetence”, “lies” and the like.
2. If there’s neutral news, cherry-pick the worst parts and write things like “this can’t be good” or “things are going from bad to worse” or “this has been another bad week for Bush”. Ignore positive developments by downplaying or sidestepping them, or trying to discredit them.
3. If there’s good news and no bad news can be plucked, deny that it’s actually good news.
4. Write something like “this looks like good news but it’s really not”. Or, “this can’t be right, these reports can’t be trusted” or “it may sound good but this will surely backfire on us” or “oh, sure, this may be a positive development but look at all these other areas where things are falling apart”.
5. Add no constructive suggestions or solutions.
6. Take the obligatory dig at the Bush administration.
7. Make sure to add an ominous forecast or two. Ignore all past predictions that were proved wrong, don’t admit you were wrong, don’t re-visit past wrong posts to see where they went wrong, soldier on and make more Chicken Little predictions. When confronted with past wrong predictions, ignore them or change the subject, then default back to telling everyone how awful things are going.
After the election, because the success was just too big to ignore or fit into the formula, you’ve tended to get either silence, a la Michael Moore and George Soros, or complaints that the media is dropping the bad news to actually focus on an accomplishment for once.
However, even the acknowledgements seem to be laced with caveats. It’s as if there cannot even be a moment of celebration without someone saying something to the extent of “It’s not fixed yet” – as if that were the point.
The Diplomad Blog had an excellent post on these kinds of acknowledgements, which I’m hoping will provide some fodder for conversation:
http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/2005/02/iraq-part-ii-attack-of-comma-ists.html
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Iraq, Part II: The Attack of the Comma-ists
It seems that just about everybody recognizes that on January 30, the Iraqi people did an amazing thing. They defied the thugs and the murderers and decided to help shape the destiny of their country by voting in free and fair elections for the first time in their lives. Even the MSM including the (gasp!) New York Times ( Defying Threats, Millions of Iraqis Flock to Polls - The New York Times ) recognized that those elections were a singular achievement,
[i]At least for now, the large turnout appeared to vindicate the strategy to hold elections sooner rather than later, over the objections of many Sunni leaders and in the face of the ferocious insurgency. That strategy, advocated by Ayatollah Sistani and President Bush, drew criticism that it would further divide the country and that, in any case, the Iraqis were not ready. [/i]
The EU (the EU!) came out with a statement of praise ( http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L31253607.htm ),
[i]European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana said Monday the Iraqi authorities can count on the support of the 25-nation EU after this weekend's elections highlighted the willingness to move toward a democratic Iraq. TheIraqi people "are going to find the support of the European Union ? no doubt about that ? in order to see this process move on in the right direction," Solana said in an interview with The Associated Press. <?> Last week the EU executive Commission offered to pump a further 200 million euros into the Iraqi economy to boost employment and help rebuild vital infrastructure. It also expects to approve by Feb. 22 a plan to train some 700-800 senior Iraqi police officers and magistrates a year. "There are several things in the pipeline that we are ready to discuss with the new leadership and to put into place, the sooner the better," said Solana.[/i]
And the UN?s Kofi Annan joined in! ( http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13177&Cr=Iraq&Cr1= )
[i]United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the election's success, urged national reconciliation and pledged the world body's help in facilitating the country's ongoing political transition. Mr. Annan lauded the bravery of the large numbers of Iraqis who exercised their right to vote despite significant attempts at violent disruption, as well as those who supported the process. ?I wish to pay tribute to the courage of the Iraqi people, and to congratulate the Independent Election Commission of Iraq, as well as the thousands of Iraqi election workers and monitors, on having organized and carried out elections so effectively in such a limited timeframe and such daunting circumstances.? [/i]
Even on some late-night Euro TV talk shows, the usual panels of ?experts,? who ranged in their typical Euro elite political views from far left and anti-American to extremely far left and virulently anti-American, generally had to recognize ? albeit reluctantly ? that the elections were not bad and probably constituted a major political victory for George W. Bush on the eve of his visit to Europe. Who would have thought it? It turns out that EVEN Arabs prefer freedom and democracy to slavery and torture!
Yes, yes, we know, in another 24-48 hours they will be back to their usual carping ? and the UN and the EU will take credit for anything good and blame the US military for anything bad. But for now, it?s not bad . . .
Well, we said at the outset just about everybody is on board. There is one group of singularly anti-American types who just have had the hardest time imaginable praising the events of January 30. Who are these foul anti-Americans? Has The Diplomad taught you nothing? Why the leaders of the Democratic Party of the USA, of course! The party that has become the party of the Comma-ists. You know what we mean: the types who must always insert a comma after a ritual throw-away phrase. For example: ?Of course the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were horrible [Here it comes! Listen for it!] [COMMA] but US policy in the Middle East . . ." ?Of course the Iraqi elections were a good thing [COMMA] but they will not resolve the serious issue of severe income inequality in East St. Louis, or the growing gender disparity in the granting of scholarships to welding schools . . .?
You know the type. And who is the leader of the Commaists? Why none other than your friend John ?Christmas in Cambodia? Kerry! Listen to the leader speak ( MSN ),
[i]I think it's gone as expected. <?> it is significant that there is a vote in Iraq. But no one in the United States or in the world-- and I'm confident of what the world response will be. No one in the United States should try to overhype this election. This election is a sort of demarcation point, and what really counts now is the effort to have a legitimate political reconciliation, and it's going to take a massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community than this administration has been willing to engage in. Absent that, we will not be successful in Iraq. [/i]
And a few days prior to this prouncement he had announced ( http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/18/kingday.kerry.ap/ ),
[i]Throughout Europe, as I met with European leaders, it's clear that they're prepared to do more, but the [Bush] administration has not put the structure together for people to be able to do it," he said. [/i]
Is this an insane man or does he just play one on TV? ?Gone as expected?? ?Overhype?? Uh, you mean like, uh, you did with your war record, Senator? ?A massive diplomatic effort and a much more significant outreach to the international community than this administration has been willing to engage in?? What is he talking about? What does that mean? Negotiate with Al Zarqawi? Who are the mysterious European leaders he met who want to do more but are prevented from doing it by Bush? They must not belong to the EU which is now busy falling all over itself to kiss Bush?s behind and dump money on Iraq. Or Kofi? Is he afraid of Bush or what?
But Kerry is not alone in his Commaism. Nope, not all ( Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines ),
[i]Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, whose name has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008, described the Iraqi elections as a “great day for democracy” but cautioned that “this is only one step in what is going to be a long and difficult process.”
"It's a good day, but we need to see it through to a successful conclusion," Bayh said. "And frankly, I'm concerned, given some of the past mistakes, whether this leadership team will be capable of that." <?>
Michigan Senator Carl Levin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said, challenges remain. "I'm afraid there were some areas where the turnout is extremely low, and that's the Sunni Triangle areas or parts thereof," he said. "And that's the challenge that we now face." [/i]
You mean all of Iraq?s problems won?t be solved by one free and fair election? Bush lied!
Couldn?t these Commaists just let us enjoy and marvel at the day that our troops have bought with their blood? Couldn?t they just wait a bit before they fill the airwaves and print pages with their ?wisdom?? They should just be quiet and listen to Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak Al-Rubaie, on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer,” ( CNN.com - World leaders praise voter courage - Jan 30, 2005 )
This is one of the most joyful days ever in the history of this nation. This is a historic day. This is a paradigm shift that is transforming this country from the most ruthless, brutal, despotic regime, known dictatorship, into a full-fledged democracy. Today Iraqi people have served a blow and slap on the face of Zarqawi and Saddam loyalists and bin Laden. The Iraqi people, despite the fact that these threats and blood on the streets, they bought their freedom and they paid heavily in treasure and in blood. Millions of Iraqis are taking the responsibility now of fighting terrorism and the undemocratic, the dark forces."
No comma needed.