Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: The Rude Pundit on the Swift Boating of President Obama

The Rude Pundit points out that the esteemed Republican President Eisenhower used ads that touted Eisenhower’s ending of the Korean War to win reelection in 1956:

“ [.....] this is of a piece with the swift boating of the President being undertaken by outside groups, who are attacking Obama for using the death of Osama bin Laden as a demonstration of his foreign policy successes and abilities. Gregory, quoting the ever-reliable New York Post, asked Biden, "Was all of this together in effect his 'Mission Accomplished' moment?" Again, Biden could have grabbed Gregory by his tie and gritted his teeth in that Biden way and said, "Listen, motherfucker. Here's the difference: we actually accomplished the mission." But, alas, he did not.

You can be assured that if bin Laden was still free, Republicans would have been running nonstop ads about how Obama hadn't captured him and how bin Laden was plotting right now to shoot down your airplanes and make your women wear burqas. But that strategy is out the window, so all they can do is go with this bullshit "spiking the ball" thing.

Hey, you know who else spiked the ball? Ike. Yep, in his reelection campaign in 1956, President Eisenhower used his ending the Korean War as a reason to vote for him. That ad asked, among other things, "Can we dismiss the man who has kept us at peace, and take a chance on a man untried and inexperienced in international negotiations and world problems? What do you say? Are you willing to bet everything you love and hold dear that [Adlai] Stevenson can also keep us out of war? Are you that sure of it?" How is that Republican strategy any different than Obama asking what Romney would have done?”

Watch Eisenhower's 1956 ad:

 

Right Wing Jealous That George W. Bush Didn't Get bin Laden

I originally published this post in May 2011. Considering the current attempts by the Koch brothers and Veterans for a Strong America to swift boat President Obama using the death of bin Laden, I thought it was a good time to bring it to the forefront again.

We can rest assured that if George W. Bush had been responsible for the killing of Osama bin Laden, the right wing would have begun carving his face on to Mt. Rushmore by now, and we'd never hear the end of it. Instead, President Obama did the job, and the right wing wants to crucify him for it out of pure and simple jealousy, as well as a desire to defeat him in November.

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Quotes by former President George W. Bush from Sept. 13, 2001 through March 13, 2002 regarding his intent toward Osama bin Laden:

Two days after the 9/11 attacks, on Sept. 13, 2001, George W. Bush said:

 “The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.” source

Five days after the 9/11 attacks, on Sept. 16, 2001, George W. Bush said:

“My administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.” source

Three months after the 9/11 attacks, on Dec. 14, 2001, George W. Bush said: