Bush held an exceedingly rare press conference yesterday from Crawford (13 minutes total) in which he fielded several questions about the infamous Swiftboat lies. It was a simple and straightforward opportunity for Bush to take the high ground, denounce the malicious attacks, and move the campaign forward. He refused.
“I’m denouncing all the stuff being on TV of the 527s. That’s what I’ve said. I said this kind of unregulated soft money is wrong for the process. And I asked Senator Kerry to join me in getting rid of all that kind of soft money, not only on TV, but used for other purposes, as well. I, frankly, thought we’d gotten rid of that when I signed the McCain-Feingold bill. I thought we were going to, once and for all, get rid of a system where people could just pour tons of money in and not be held to account for the advertising. And so I’m disappointed with all those kinds of ads…. I don’t think we ought to have 527s. I can’t be more plain about it.”
Oh, Mr. President, sure you can.
It’s a fairly short answer, but it’s filled with bizarre inconsistencies, obtuse dodging, and obvious falsehoods.
First, denouncing “all the stuff being on TV,” in addition to an odd use of passive voice, is clearly inadequate. The issue at hand, and which Bush was asked about directly, was about a specific group making a series of specific attacks. Maybe Bush doesn’t understand what “denounce” really means. Here’s a good example:
Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, called an ad criticizing John Kerry’s military service “dishonest and dishonorable” and urged the White House on Thursday to condemn it as well.
“It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me,” McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.
That’s a denunciation. What Bush said? Not so much.
The issue, as even someone with limited intellectual prowess must realize, isn’t a group of independent citizens expressing an opinion; it’s a question about the dishonest message of one group’s attack ads. When asked repeatedly to denounce the “content” of the Swiftboat ads, Scott McClellan went to absurd lengths to avoid the question yesterday. In other words, the White House and the Bush campaign have still not denounced this attack.
Second, there’s no reason why Bush’s response should be treated as particularly newsworthy. McClellan used nearly identical language last week, as did Ken Mehlman over the weekend. Bush was just parroting talking points at yesterday’s press conference, nothing more. The only newsworthy angle to his remarks was the fact that he still refuses to denounce a disgusting attack on John Kerry’s heroic military service.
Third, it’s more than a little bizarre that Bush called for the complete elimination of 527s. As Atrios noted, Bush is the one who signed the law intentionally carving out a loophole for 527s to exist in the first place. I know Bush doesn’t always read the legislation he signs, but it’s been three years and I’d like to think he’d have some familiarity with the law by now.
Of course, maybe he does know the law but his opinion has changed. Isn’t there some phrase to describe when a politician takes one position when its politically convenient and then turns around to adopt the opposite position when that’s convenient? Something about flipping or flopping or something.
And for a guy who wants to do away with these allegedly nefarious “shadowy” groups, Bush sure does appear to endorse 527s with some regularity. Indeed, Bush even created a 527 of his own. He’s also been willing to attend fundraisers for 527s during the campaign. In fact, Bush has worked with and alongside 527s and has actively supported their efforts. If he’s decided to completely reverse course, would it be too much to ask him to explain why?
And finally, as my friend Poppy noted, way too many media outlets screwed this one up. MSNBC and the AP, under a headline that read, “Bush calls for halt to Swift Boat vets’ ads,” explained, “President Bush on Monday criticized a commercial that accused John Kerry of inflating his own Vietnam War record.” That’s not even close to accurate and it gives Bush credit for something he clearly did not do. As the New York Times accurately explained, “[T]he White House quickly moved to insist that Mr. Bush had not meant in any way to single out the advertisement run by veterans opposed to Mr. Kerry.”
In other words, nothing’s changed, except now some creative reporters have given the public the false impression that Bush has denounced the Swiftboat ads.