Another in the ongoing series, "The Lies of the Left"
Four years ago President Bush made a memorable speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. It was a splendid photo op at a time when things were going well in Iraq. Bush appeared heroic in his flight suit. Democrats felt they had to nullify the impact of the occasion, and with the help of a compliant MSM, succeeded in turning it into a joke. Don Surber revisits the moment and notes just how dishonestly it has been reported.
He writes:
Instead of just saying, "mission accomplished," I wish the commander-in-chief had been more realistic.
I wish Bush had said, "We have difficult work to do in Iraq."
I wish Bush had said, "We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous."
I wish Bush said, "Our mission continues. Al-Qaida is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people."
Of course, that is exactly what President Bush said on May 1, 2003. He did not just say "mission accomplished" and go home. He said one battle had been won.
In fact -- and journalists should try to deal with facts -- Bush did not even say, "mission accomplished," at all. That was on a banner behind him.
What he did say was, "The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq."
Quite different from what people think he said, and the disparity is deliberate. Bush has always had a realistic sense of what was needed and what could be accomplished with regard to the war on terror. He never tried to sell people on the idea that the journey would be quick and easy or that it would not require sacrifice. But his opponents, both cynics and wild-eyed ideologues, have insisted that he lied.
He didn't lie -- his critics did and are still doing so. Surber's right: journalists should stick to the facts, but in today's politicized media environment that is probably too much to ask.
Read Surber's piece here.
