DISAVOW THIS
When I was writing yesterday’s blog, I wasn’t really sure where to start with the Lies and Smears of the Bush Surrogates. Should I start with the ridiculous Botox "issue", conveniently delegated to start on the all-too-willing Drudge site and guaranteed to be picked up and massaged for several weeks by the all-too-willing cable news-and-entertainment cycle?
How about the fact that Rush Limbaugh includes the phrase "French-looking" whenever John Kerry’s name comes up – something actually repeated by the all-too-gullible Chris Matthews while discussing Kerry’s electability?
Both of these oft-repeated smears have found a way into casual political discussions, designed to create an aura of frivolousness around Kerry, the same way the wingnuts trivialized Al Gore with lies about Internet-invention claims and wearing earth-tones on the advice of Naomi Wolf. Question for Junior: Do you disavow the name-calling and unsupported claims of cosmetic enhancement by your surrogates Limbaugh and Drudge?
But I made a bet with myself yesterday. I bet I could listen to Limbaugh’s radio "show" for ten minutes and find something even better that Bush should be asked to disavow. I won the bet. I found it. Boy, did I find it.
Limbaugh actually said that Kerry was the favored candidate of Al-Qaeda. "Which candidate do you think Al-Qaeda might root for?" he asks, and then answers, of course, John Kerry. "Do you think Al-Qaeda is focused on Kerry's war record, or his 19 years in the Senate or his current anti-war propaganda and all of his anti-war votes?...Do you think Al-Qaeda is focused on George Bush's National Guard service, or his unrelenting war on them as commander-in-chief?" (Lies within the smear – emphasis added).
As in all things Bush, all you need to do to see the outrageousness of these Rovian tactics is imagine if the same thing was said by any Democrat about Bush. Imagine the unrelenting squealing that would take place if , say Michael Moore, said that, given his protection of bin Ladin family members after 9/11 and his pulling troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight a Stupid War in Iraq, Al-Qaeda would just as soon support Bush. Jesus. Two months of cable squawking, indignant Op-Eds and even editorials in the New York Times, investigations by the FCC of anyone who would broadcast such a claim, etc.
Instead, Limbaugh and his numerous ilk continue to poison the public debate on behalf of the Bushies with impunity. It’s way past time that Bush be called to account for the shadow campaign of his surrogates. Rove’s message-of-the-day e-mails should be exposed. And, yes, the Pretend President should be required to disavow the smearing of the patriot Kerry, who, like all Dems, has always supported action against Al-Qaeda and who – because he does not have the Bush penchant for digressing on this important mission to settle family scores or follow the agenda of the neo-cons to insert an Israel-friendly puppet regime in the Middle East – would probably be more effective in bringing them to justice.
So, rather than insist on Kerry disavowing the distribution of the truth about Bush’s AWOL year in (or not in) the National Guard (about which, see this excellent article today in Salon), let’s insist instead that Bush disavow this outrageous smear by Rush Limbaugh against John Kerry. And hurry up. After today’s "show", there will no doubt be about ten more outrages that required disavowal and repudiation.
8:02:12 AM 
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