Ohio papers are full of stories about Cheney's remarks in Dayton yesterday, ridiculing Kerry for using the word "sensitive."
Too many of them further Cheney's message by including it in the headline. Among these are the Columbus Dispatch, "U.S. doesn't need Kerry's 'sensitivity,' Cheney says" (subscription required); Dayton Daily News, "Cheney rips Kerry's 'sensitivity;" Toledo Blade, "Cheney scorns Kerry's 'sensitive war'"
Others were better and deserve "attaboys." These include the Cleveland Plain-Dealer's "War on terror letdown invites attack: Cheney" and Canton Repository's "Cheney scorns Kerry plan for terrorists"
Talking points in response, including my own letter to the Dispatch are below...
Obviously, Kerry's remarks were taken out of context. Cheney was being an "attack dog," as the Kerry campaign noted in its
Rapid Response, and making "irresponsible personal attacks," according to the
statement from ten senior military officers. Cheney was also hypocritical, as the Center for American Progress
noted, listing Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gen. Franks, Gen. Myers, and others using the same word. [It's a great list; check it out!]
There are a lot of other sources of info and talking points you can use, including the American Prospect.
Some verbiage I didn't get to use in my letter follows. (If you use any of this verbatim, please note that in a comment so no one else does it.)
- It's too bad the Bush/Cheney campaign didn't listen to Kerry's convention speech when he said, "Republicans and Democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacks." Cheney's audience in Dayton, the people of Ohio, and the American public at large deserve better.
- Dick Cheney said that Kerry got it wrong in his address to the UNITY conference. Does that mean Cheney thinks we should fight a less intelligent, less thoughtful, less strategic, less proactive, less sensitive war on terrorism?
Here is the letter I just sent the Dispatch:
Cheney misquotes Kerry rather than confront issues
To the Editor:
Thanks for including John Kerry's full remarks in today's story about Dick Cheney's speech yesterday ("U.S. doesn't need 'sensitivity,' Cheney says"). Unlike the New York Times and Washington Post, the Dispatch put Kerry's quote in context. Readers could see for ourselves that when Kerry said he would "fight a more effective, more strategic, more proactive, more sensitive war on terror," he was using the word "sensitive" to mean aware, not touch-feely.
It says a lot about Cheney's campaign strategy that he chose to spend "half of his 25-minute speech" misquoting Kerry. Apparently, when talking to military veterans, political cheap shots are more important than substantive issues like:
* the 1000th U.S. serviceman or woman who will be killed in Iraq in just a few weeks at the current rate;
* the "backdoor draft" the Bush/Cheney administration needs to deal with a military stretched thin by overdeployments;
* the veteran's benefits that the Bush/Cheney administration has tried to cut;
* the Veterans Hospitals that the administration has proposed closing--including one in Ohio serving 48,000 residents.
But, if I were five-time Vietnam deferee, I guess I'd try ridiculing a decorated war hero who volunteered for combat duty rather than talk specifics.
Sincerely,
JB Lawton III