The Big Distraction Called MoveOn

Let me shout this from the rooftops: THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT MOVEON.ORG AD.

Isn’t it obvious? The whole flap over the ad is a brilliantly orchestrated campaign by the Bush White House — with the help of Fox News — to change the subject. Of course! They’d much rather attack MoveOn.org, which is easy, than defend the war in Iraq, which is impossible.

Despite all the hysteria from Republican hucksters, there are three things to keep in mind about this ad:

1. We still have free speech in this country. True or not, it’s still OK to call Hillary Clinton a hypocrite; George Bush an idiot; or Gen. Petraeus “General Betray-Us.”

2. Whether Gen. Petraeus can be counted on to tell the truth is a legitimate question. He’s no sacred cow. He’s clearly part of the Bush team. His independence and accuracy are fair game. Just like Colin Powell’s truth-telling was fair game.

3. MoveOn.org is an independent organization, in no way connected to the Democratic Party. There’s no need for Democrats to apologize for the ad, because they had nothing to do with it.

After all, George Bush never apologized for the Swift Boat ads against John Kerry. Dick Cheney never apologized for the ads comparing Tom Daschle to Saddam Hussein. Republicans never apologized for the ads trying Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden.

And Democrats should never apologize for MoveOn.org.