On Meet the Press yesterday, Congressman John Murtha deftly avoided the rhetorical traps Russert set for him and succeeded in blowing the Bush/Cheney counterattack strategy out of the water. He also effectively spiked the guns of Karl Rove's slander machine.
And, in the process, Murtha emerged as a tough-minded, straight-talking, non-partisan elder statesman.
Crooks & Liars has the video clip. It's the best appearance by a Democrat on a Sunday talk show in years. Murtha is everything other Democratic spokespersons haven't been: frank, candid, and not the least bit defensive about the positions he's taken on the Iraq war.
No wonder Murtha's call for a US pullback in Iraq has the White House freaked. Murtha is where the majority of Americans already are and is promoting his resolution as a bipartisan solution to the military and foreign policy mess the country finds itself in.
That Russert was speaking from Washington, DC, and Murtha from Johnstown, PA, is appropriate. A long-time member of Congress Murtha may be, but he is standing well outside the Beltway on this one.
Murtha has reached beyond the world of Washington spin to talk truth to the American people. The man has transcended politics.
National Debunker