Anatomy of the "appeasement" smear - easy as 1, 2, 3...

By now we know the methods and motives behind the White House P.R. machine. Leak something to some of your favorite hacks, have a public pronouncement ready to magnify the intended message, then point out the coincidence to a slow-minded press and watch them pounce.

Make no mistake: the White House has perfected it and are still using it to this day. There should also be no doubt in anyone's mind about George Bush: the only thing he gives a shit about is politics and whether he's beaten his opponent. Successful programs, new efficiencies in governing, and enhancing America's economy, technology or environment is for the birds.

And that explains the reason Bush went after Obama in Israel and called him an "appeaser". The steps are as simple as 1, 2, 3:

1. The White House leaks word on Bush's speech to the press:

   [S]ince Monday, senior administration officials other than Mr. Gillespie had been previewing the language of Mr. Bush‘s speech by telling NBC News that eyebrows would be raised by specifically mentioning Senator Obama by name, even by predicting that our White House correspondent, John Yang would get on NIGHTLY NEWS with a story about Bush‘s remarks on Thursday night.

2. Kristol and Brooks hammer Barack on the desired message:

   Last Monday, Kristol's column compared Americans who don't want to fight for Israel to Neville Chamberlain appeasers. ..... Then, on Friday, David Brooks declared Obama suspect when it comes to hating Hezbollah enough, writing that Obama's statements bear "the whiff of what President Bush described yesterday as appeasement." (And btw, the Kristol column was most assuredly written several days in advance to the Monday publication date.)

3. Bush, bookended by the hacks at the Times (and many more), makes the play and gets the exact coverage and planned response from all involved:

   OBAMA'S RESPONSE to Bush's speech was an effective acknowledgement that appeasing Iran and other terror sponsors is a defining feature of his campaign and of his political persona. As far as he is concerned, an attack against appeasement is an attack against Obama.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3 to smear Barack with this lowly creature as President and the complicity of an easily manipulated press.