thoughts on and old-fashioned long-distance debate...

dueling speeches. somewhat like a good old-fashioned debate. obama once again showed just how important and powerful it can be to have incredible oratory skills in the white house. cheney once again showed that bigotry and tyranny rely upon fear more than anything to sustain themselves...

nevermind the blatant historical innacuracies that cheney continues to rely upon (sadam's secret love affair with the very groups that wanted him dead and so on and so on)...there is one that pervaded his speech that drove me batty. I think cheney is a smart guy, and would be willing to bet he'd make a great neighbor...and I don't doubt the odd sincerety with which he clings to his idiocy. but at a time like this, when the only ones willing to call bullshit bullshit are "journalists" that couldn't investigate a story or do a legitimate commentary to save their lives (and this holds true for many on both sides of the spectrum), we, as informed citizens need to put everything in context.

cheney played up the fearmonger thing again (as much a tactic of the far left as of the far right) and went into the "our most important job was to protect americans from further attacks and prevent the terrorists from acting again." well, never mind that actually is not, at all, the most important job of an acting executive, his claim that they had done that is just downright false. he said we were all wondering what would come next, when the next big attack would be and they had to do whatever it took to stop it. ironically, he then cited saddam's "ties" to terrorists...apparently missing that because of this horseshit the next "attack" went out better than bin ladin ever could have hoped. eight years later the american economy is devestated, trillions have been pissed away in a far-away land that has killed many an empire, and thousands of americans have been killed with tens of thousands more maimed, physically and emotionally, all while extremists begin to move towards taking over all important pakistan. anyone that was listening when the leaders of al queda were speaking could tell you that this was precisely the next attack. and it worked to a T.

this doesn't mean that I was entirely pleased with obama's address. afterall, he began by citing the same bullshit "my most important role is to protect the american people" line that has been used as an excuse for so many horrific actions done in our name. and I cringed when he said it. because when we disregard the oath that presidents take, which places their most sacred duty not on protecting the american people from attack, but on protecting the constitution and executing the laws of the land, we lead ourselves right into traps that have us debating which un-american actions are appropriate. when we accept that the most important role of a president is to keep us safe, we allow for torture and needless war and death and destruction to become more acceptable...and they begin to be referred to as "misguided tactics" rather than what they truly are - un-american, inhumane, and insane actions that violate the oath of office the president takes.

if there is one thing we should have learned it is that by allowing the debate to become over what is a more effective way to effectuate bullshit, we open the door for fear and emotion to overrule our most basic principles. I had hoped obama would have slammed that door shut...but he just seemed to nudge it closed. a hint of light still peeks through...and that worries me.