Wednesday, August 08, 2007

WSJ. Lame-o.

The Wall Street Journal news operation is the best in the business (well, for now , anyway, what with Rupert about to give it his inimitable beating), but their op-ed, certainly editorial, is a joke. Case in point is this piece from Ion Pacepa, former KGB operative and now U.S. citizen (beware the zealotry of former smokers).

With this subhed, you get an idea:

"Propaganda Redux - Take it from this old KGB hand: The left is abetting America's enemies with its intemperate attacks on President Bush."

At this point in our political dialog, those who no longer support Bush are, prima facie, leftists. Doesn't matter if you are a Republican, a conservative (whatever that means today), libertarian, evangelical, whatever...you are now a leftist. Criticism of Bush is a scurrilous leftist campaign to undermine America. So let's ask you leftists once more: Why do you hate America?

Back to the article. Aside from so many other things I could say, I'm not sure that Pacepa realizes the profound difference between the propaganda spouted by European lefties in the thrall of their commie overseers and the loud, boisterous, and freely expressed opinions held by the American people. I ask, if millions of us, and I count myself one of them, have on our own come to the conclusion based on abundant facts that our president is indeed a "liar," a "deceiver," and a "fraud," are we just supposed to shut up? I don't think so. If we are, then this isn't the America I remember. If our publicly expressed distaste for our president causes the rest of the world to think that we're weak, or headless, or smelly, then so be it.

The WSJ didn't run any such op-eds during the Clinton administration when we had troops in Bosnia. In fact, I recall quite the contrary: their intemperate attacks on Clinton. But I must be wrong. That would be abetting America's enemies, and if the WSJ isn't always consistent in their principles, they are always patriotic.