If [tag]John Kerry[/tag] was forced to apologize for a flubbed joke, and subject to days of intense media criticism, what’s the appropriate response to House Majority Leader [tag]John Boehner[/tag] (R-Ohio)?
Yesterday, Boehner appeared on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, who asked the congressman about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Blitzer noted a number of Republican lawmakers who have called for Rumsfeld’s ouster because of his mishandling of the war in Iraq. It led to a short but important exchange: (transcript, video)
BOEHNER: Wolf, I understand that, but let’s not [tag]blame[/tag] what’s happening in Iraq on [tag]Rumsfeld[/tag].
BLITZER: But he’s in charge of the military.
BOEHNER: But the fact is, the [tag]generals[/tag] on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president.
The message was unmistakable. Boehner was talking about blame, Blitzer suggested Rumsfeld, but Boehner fingered “the generals on the ground.” In other words, as far as Boehner is concerned, Rumsfeld isn’t accountable, those in uniform are. If someone should be held responsible for this fiasco, it’s not Bush’s incompetent Defense Secretary, it’s the uniformed soldiers in the ground in [tag]Iraq[/tag].
This wasn’t a joke with a missing word, it was a direct attempt of a top congressional Republican to shift the blame to U.S. [tag]troops[/tag].
Given the political climate this week, Dems pounced.
Within an hour, Harry Reid released a statement saying:
“John Boehner ought to be ashamed. He’s blaming our troops for failures in Iraq. If he wants to cast blame, he can start by looking in the mirror because he and his Congressional Republican colleagues have rubberstamped the Bush Administration’s failed policy for nearly four years. Our troops in Iraq have performed bravely. It’s political leaders like Congressman Boehner and Donald Rumsfeld, who have failed. I expect President Bush and Congressional Republicans, who demanded John Kerry apologize, hold their own party’s majority leader to a much higher standard. There’s no spinning his disparaging comments. He made them. He needs to apologize.”
Shortly thereafter, Rahm Emanuel issued a statement of his own: “President Bush used to say that he would listen to the generals. Today, he says he’s happy to listen to Secretary Rumsfeld while his lieutenant in Congress, John Boehner blames the generals on the ground for the chaos in Iraq.”
Now, it’s pretty obvious that the John Kerry flap weighed on the Dems’ minds yesterday, and party leaders no doubt saw Boehner’s boneheaded comments as a chance to change the subject from Kerry’s accidental remarks to Boehner’s intentional ones. Motivation aside, however, there are several important angles to the story.
First, Boehner blaming those in uniform for the disaster in Iraq is offensive and absurd. His office has already said he won’t apologize, which gives Dems an opportunity to keep the pressure on today.
Second, Boehner’s facts are just wrong — Rumsfeld is to blame. As Josh Marshall noted, “Rumsfeld is probably a lot more responsible for this disaster than almost any other Sec Def has been for anything else, because he’s insisted on such a level of micromanagement and such a complete disregard for the professional advice of his generals.”
And third, the media doesn’t seem to care, at least not yet. John Kerry’s flubbed joke was, apparently, earth-shattering news, but the leading House Republican blaming troops for Iraq is political trivia. So much for balance.
There’s still an opportunity to highlight Boehner’s troop-blaming remarks today. They can start by asking Republican candidates whether they agree with the House Majority Leader’s assessment that blame rests with those in uniform, and not with Rumsfeld. For that matter, maybe some enterprising White House reporter can ask Tony Snow why the Bush gang demanded Kerry apologize, but Boehner shouldn’t.
I know, it won’t happen, but a guy can dream.