Friday, June 29, 2007

Both Sides

I know John Edwards thinks the war on terror is just a bumper sticker slogan but apparently he forgot to mention it to those behind today's attempted attacks on London. Do you think at this point of his failing campaign, again, any stunt will do? Anything at all to make some waves, catch a headline or two or 100?

Edwards can't seem to get things together anymore. It really started to unravel when the reports hit about his $400 haircuts. Then the hedge fund he did work with to 'fact find' about the causes of poverty in America and the netting of $500,000 for said fact finding. Then the think tank or foundation or whatever it is that he founded has associated itself with the Univ of N. Carolina with the intention of being a forum for studying poverty yet Edwards himself is the one who is reported to be the recipient of the money going there. Then at the debate before last night's he stated he wasn't sure what a rich person was. Note to John: look in the mirror. And finally the campaign, in connection with the Hardball show, arranges for Elizabeth to call in while Ann Coulter is the guest and harass her for alleged slights Coulter has made about her husband. What is she, his mommy? Since when did Hardball become a call-in show? When has Matthews ever been so non interrupting of a guest as he was with Edwards?

Now, say what you will about Ann Coulter. I don't care. She puts herself out there and is perfectly capable of taking care of herself from critics. But, from what I have read and heard her say, because you know I'm not Matthews audience and according to his ratings his audience is measly, her statements were taken out of context and also completely misinterpreted. Nothing new but Elizabeth Edwards is hardly the person to be chastising Coulter for not being nice. Please. Edwards slams Republicans as if we are knuckle dragging, drooling, neanderthals. She has a vicious mouth herself.

I know she is ill and I am sorry for that. I defended his and her decision to continue on the campaign trail after she was told her cancer has returned and spread when others said she should just go home and be with her kids. But, by remaining on the trail, she is subject to the same treatment as anyone else. She calls into a politically themed talking heads show, they allow her to hog all the time, Coulter is browbeat and not allowed to respond and how dare anyone say anything negative about Elizabeth Edwards? Get real.

Anyone calling for Bill Maher's head on a platter after saying if Dick Cheney had been assassinated in the attempt on his life in Afghanistan then we'd have less dead American soldiers? Yes, he was fired by ABC after his horrendously unthoughtful comment on the terrorists after 9/11 but since then he's been on HBO and has ratcheted up his hateful diatribes to new levels. His contract's been renewed.

Or Rosie O'Donnell and her display of mental illness concerning this administration, war and conspiracy theories? She left her tv contract early and now may be rewarded with her own show on another network.

Free speech works both ways. Anyone in this country is allowed to say any stupid, hurtful, obnoxious thing they want. We have soldiers in foreign lands risking their lives so that we may keep that right.

No, John Edwards, the war on terror is not just a bumper sticker slogan. No, Elizabeth Edwards, you do not get to act as if you are the moral authority on civil behavior while practicing otherwise yourself. Let's not forget the original two official campaign bloggers that were hired. Ugly, nasty talking women.

Both sides of the political aisle have their bomb throwers. The offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder.

Put that on a bumper sticker.

6 comments:

Incognito said...

There are always double standards when it comes to liberals. We can say what we want, but you can't. Aggravating. Not that I agree with the manner in which our side sometimes denigrates others.

AC said...

Right. On. I can't believe how the video clips all over the news & net conveniently edit out the most important part of "What Ann Said" which would deflate all the outrage if played.

Frasier said...

Wooo!
Great post!
I always wondered about Elizabeth Edwards.I too feel sorry that she has cancer but thats not an excuse to act evil.She was featured in a fashion magazine and you would think she was a martyr !!

Anonymous said...

Very good post, as usual. Elizabeth Edwards certainly opened herself up to ridicule for her call. I had to examine my own instinct to cringe at the "discussion", as it were. No, she's not his mother, but she is his wife. Had it been Mr. Edwards calling to stand up for his wife, in his role as her husband, I imagine he would have garnered white knight status rather than ridicule. Who knows. Double standards make the world go 'round, it seems.

My problem with Ann Coulter is not that she says things, it's that she is a large majority of the time factually incorrect and gets away with it, over and over again. There are whole web pages devoted to lists of her quotes, straight from articles, books and appearances, that she can't deny. And she doesn't have the brains anymore to realize she should wish she could. She used to be cutting, witty and smart. Now she's just cutting, brittle and aiding the dumbing down of America. She jumped the shark. Voluntarily. She sure didn't need to. She had the world by a string, once upon a time. Why'd she have to let go and sink to ugliness?

Paul is a Hermit said...

I should wear a sign around my neck for the way I talk saying, The End Is Near! or something.

The hatred will get only worse toward an end I cannot see. As a conservative I like to think that liberals started it, as far back as the Nixon days.
Conservatives were rocked back on their heels, being smeared with no effective way to answer. I remember it well and it changed me.

Then talk radio was born and they found their voice. Liberals seemed genuinely shocked at not having it all their way. People started to think and Reagan was elected, then Gingrich with his plan, then, Republicans knew not what to do with victory and well, now we have arrived here with no leader on the horizon.

As an aside, if your on your death bed and cast political aspersions, you're fair game in this country of ours. Too bad.
It was a calculation by Edward's people that attacking Coulter would generate sympathy for Elizabeth, thereby him. He has been playing that card a long time.

srp said...

What a wimp to have to hide behind "mother" Elizabeth's coattails. He is a sleeze bag lawyer... there are no words too base or vile for someone like that.