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August 21, 2005
Frank Rich on the 'Swift Boating' of Cindy Sheehan
New York Times Op-Ed columnist Frank Rich paints a vivid picture of President Bush that his media handlers and supporters won't like. It's called:"The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan." Here's part of the portrait: Cindy Sheehan couldn't have picked a more apt date to begin the vigil that ambushed a president: Aug. 6 was the fourth anniversary of that fateful 2001 Crawford vacation day when George W. Bush responded to an intelligence briefing titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States" by going fishing. On this Aug. 6 the president was no less determined to shrug off bad news. Though 14 marine reservists had been killed days earlier by a roadside bomb in Haditha, his national radio address that morning made no mention of Iraq. Once again Mr. Bush was in his bubble, ensuring that he wouldn't see Ms. Sheehan coming. So it goes with a president who hasn't foreseen any of the setbacks in the war he fabricated against an enemy who did not attack inside the United States in 2001.
Mr. Rich said, "When these setbacks happen in Iraq itself, the administration punts. But when they happen at home, there's a game plan. Once Ms. Sheehan could no longer be ignored, the Swift Boating began."
Mr. Rich's article is worth reading whether you are pro or anti-war.
By the way, the verb "Swift Boating" comes from an effort during the 2004 presidential campaign of some Swift Boat veterans of the Vietnam war to discredit Democratic presidential contender John Kerry's role in the war. Mr. Kerry commanded a Swift Boat
Posted by Munir Umrani at August 21, 2005 08:21 AM
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