Swiftboating Cindy Sheehan:O'Reilly's BIG Lies

On his radio show and on his "Talking Points Memo," Bill O"Reilly, spinmeister and smug but angry rich Republican white man, presented his claim that HE did not "swiftboat" Cindy Sheehan, but only presented the truth. Well, he has presented some facts, but those facts have been fashioned around two unfounded and heretofore (in my opinion) uncontested assertions. Mr. O'Reilly repeated both assertions in description of Mrs. Sheehan at least four times on his radio program today.

The first is the claim the Cindy Sheehan (as well as Michael Moore, Al Franken, and several others who have the temerity to question Bush foreign policy) "hates America." Now, what could possibly be the basis or proof of such a claim? I could with much more validity, in my own opinion, make the claim that anyone who would avoid military service "hates America." It is not necessary to mention all those, called chickenhawks by some, who avoided going into harm's way who are now advocates of the war. There are probably Americans who hate their country, but I think Mrs. Sheehan loves her country and that is part of what drove her to Texas and her stand against the quagmire in Iraq.

The second unfounded assertion about those who dissent with administration action in Iraq is that they want the United States to "lose the war." Again, there are probably Americans who want their country to lose this war, but objecting to a misguided, poorly executed, and futile war does not equal wanting America to lose. When a yakker refers to someone's desire to "cut and run"--It's hilarious when I hear that out of the mouth of 4F Rush Limbaugh--, it should be incumbent on that yakker to define victory and to also identify what "cutting and running" look like. If we stay in Iraq until the Shiites establish a theocracy, is that "victory?" If we "stand down" when the Iraqi's "stand up" (in the words of a national leader who did NOT stand up), and then the Shiites later take over or the Kurds latere secede, is that a victory or a defeat? We have truly walked into a MESS-opotamia, apologies to the Daily Show.