The things people will do for love. Take David Shuster. So eager is the Obama inamorato to cover for his man, he's willing to sacrifice all semblance of reason. Faced with the implacable fact that Obama was wrong in opposing the surge, Shuster has been reduced to claiming that Americans don't care about the surge's success. Shuster made his descent into abject sycophancy on today's Morning Joe. The jumping off point was a clip from an interview of Obama by ABC's Terry Moran [Brent Baker has the full report on the interview here].
TERRY MORAN: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?
OBAMA: No, because, keep in mind that-
MORAN: You wouldn't?
OBAMA: Well, no, keep in mind, these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. You know, hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I am absolutely convinced of is that at that time, we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with.
After a clip was aired of McCain hammering Obama on his opposition to the surge, Shuster slipped on the flippers and goggles.
View video here.
WILLIE GEIST: David, shouldn't Barack Obama just come out and concede that the surge has worked, but here's where we go from here?
DAVID SHUSTER: You know, I suppose he could, but the bottom line is that Americans don't care. I mean, when 60% of Americans say the war should not have been fought to begin with, it's sort of like saying, you know what, you know that last-place baseball game the other night? Maybe the Giants should have pitched the fellow -- you know, people don't care. If they don't believe the war should have been fought, then what's happening right now, whether the surge is successful or not, is really sort of secondary. Americans still don't want us --
Shuster's tank job was too much even for Morning Joe's resident Obama fan . . .
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I'm not sure about that! I mean, I see what you're saying in terms of approval ratings for the war, but I don't think they care [sic; I believe Mika meant to say "do"] about winning or losing. I think they want to win. I think they want to leave right. And I think they don't like the idea of, quote, losing, in any way. So depending on the language that's used by the McCain campaign, they could care.SHUSTER: Yeah, except that I'm not sure Americans really understand or can figure out what a clear victory really is. I mean, I don't think politicians can articulate it. And until, if there was the possibility of a very clear victory, then sure, you could say, yes, the success of the surge means that we are victorious or we're gonna be victorious in Iraq. But I'm not sure Americans really see victory at the end of a process where, OK, fine, we turn Iraq over to a stable government but, what, we've lost almost 4,000 soldiers in the process. I think Americans still feel that it wasn't worth the cost.
Summarizing Shuster: Iraq's like a last-place baseball game that Americans don't care about. Hence they don't care that the surge has worked. And yeah, maybe Americans would like to win the war, but they're incapable of figuring out what winning would be. For that matter, even if we did win, Americans wouldn't think it was worth it.
Cue the Luther Ingram.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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I guess the american public
July 22, 2008 - 06:25 ET by BDI guess the american public did not care about the landings at Guadalcanal, Normandy or Iwo Jima either.
I guess the American public
July 22, 2008 - 11:15 ET by merlin61Mr Schuster thinks we are too stupid to care
or know what winning means? No, Mr.Schuster
we care and we know what victory means.
You're the idiot. We can't leave Iraq by losing
and turn it over to AlQueda. We understand
perfectly clear. We need to win to stay free
from terrorism. We are winning.
"Americans don't care that
July 22, 2008 - 11:44 ET by TruthMonger"Americans don't care that we're winning:)"
I just love to see the MSM squirm like this
He's just doing what the MSM
July 22, 2008 - 19:27 ET by mattmHe's just doing what the MSM does: proclaim their own wishes as fact, and hope enough idiots accept it as a foregone conclusion. They do this all the time. It's classic.
If ratings are any
July 22, 2008 - 06:35 ET by taterIf ratings are any indications Americans don't care about Shuster or MSNBC.
www.theholyrosary.org
"There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we can not resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary." -Sister Lucia
Hope....Change... Poor
July 22, 2008 - 06:36 ET by bigtimerHope....Change...
Poor Shuster.
...reality has always been his minor.
Other than that FU Shuster.
Sorry Mark...I have had it with him,
What a mouse he has always been...sure isn't even close to a man.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Katrina says... Morning
July 22, 2008 - 06:49 ET by bigtimerKatrina says...
Morning Mika...
Precious eh?
I am not even going to add what else she added after that...
God help us all...
Here's a hint..."America, the new Abu Griebe"....
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt: can you expand on
July 22, 2008 - 06:52 ET by Mark Finkelsteinbt: can you expand on this? Not catching the reference but sounds interesting.
Mark.... When Katrina
July 22, 2008 - 07:00 ET by bigtimerMark....
When Katrina first came on...Mika was talking about where Joe's whereabouts were...so Katrina said, you mean "Morning Mika" and then went on to her propaganda about how bad we were as a country...on and on...I did get up, listened while I could...on and on she went with her usual communist values...it runs in the family.
Hope I helped Mark....sorry if I didn't.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Thanks. Did Katrina
July 22, 2008 - 07:03 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks. Did Katrina actually call Americathe new Abu Ghraib?
Mark...well I am pretty
July 22, 2008 - 07:15 ET by bigtimerMark...well I am pretty danged sure of it...I sure could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time..but it was at the very start of her diatribe..
Btw..it infuriated me, that is why I got up to stoke the fire...I kid you not.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt: OK, watched it now.
July 22, 2008 - 07:23 ET by Mark Finkelsteinbt: OK, watched it now. She said "if you think of America as Abu Ghraib, if you think of America as Guantanamo, that is not the America we aspire to be." She wasn't quite saying that's what America is, but rather that's how some in the world see us.
Mark... Okay. "America
July 22, 2008 - 07:35 ET by bigtimerMark...
Okay.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
"She wasn't quite saying
July 22, 2008 - 13:41 ET by ckc1227"She wasn't quite saying that's what America is, but rather that's how some in the world see us."
Because of people like her.
What Americans really don't
July 22, 2008 - 06:41 ET by ThisnThatWhat Americans really don't care about anymore is the MSM. When people like Shuster tell us we're stupid and we don't care if we win or not, well -- that's not designed to attract large audiences, is it? Way to go Shuster. Your brand of reporting and commenting belong to the DailyKOs, not in the mainstream. What's this man's salary, anyway? Does he get bonuses for driving viewers away?
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
IT JUST DOES'NT MATTER...
July 22, 2008 - 16:44 ET by danybhoyShuster, just like MSNBC & the rest of the MSM, are losing the grip they once had on what gets reported. That is why there is talk about "The Fairness Doctrine", that is why the Dems have tried to shut out FoxNewsChannel, & that is why I think the internet will be in play for cencorship as well. The leftists are all for democracy until the people vote for somebody else, then they expose their facsistic tendencies. The left hates decent, & will crush those who do. They just hope you don't notice.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
Morning Mark
July 22, 2008 - 06:43 ET by BlondeWell, I vowed to no longer watch MJ if Joe was absent. But it was just too tempting with America's Mayor on this a.m.
You should do an update of THAT! I had to laugh. By the end he had Mika going "but, but, but, but"....and then she asked if we really needed to win. Uh, hello!
Rudy did an excellent job showing Obama was wrong, wrong, wrong about the Surge, and had both Shuster and Mika silent at the logic and truth of his arguments.
If Rudy doesn't run with McCain, perhaps he's available to sub for Joe.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
TERRY MORAN: If you had to
July 22, 2008 - 06:45 ET by MidAmericaTERRY MORAN: If you had to do it over again, knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?
OBAMA: No, because, keep in mind that-
MORAN: You wouldn't?
OBAMA: Well, no, keep in mind, these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. You know, hindsight is 20/20. But I think that, what I am absolutely convinced of is that at that time, we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with.
He just said politics is his determining factor when it comes to his conduct and policy for the war. This, as we know, is the problem of democrats. They don't live in the world of hard objects they live in a theoretical world of shifting political positions adopted for political gain. In other words, their winning politically is more important than the impact that their policies have on the country.
Yep. Barry O painted
July 22, 2008 - 07:48 ET by KillgraveYep. Barry O painted himself in a corner by initially taking on the Code Pink hardline against the military (which, frankly, is his "real" stance).
Once he clinched the primary, he shifted towards the middle, in order to gain ground with centrist voters. Of course, the backlash from the left was tremendous.
And now he is lurching back left by baldface denying the legitamacy of the surge. Despite overwhelming evidence of its success, he would still vote against it.
It just might be worth four years with this guy in the spotlight, just to see him get hammered. He is such a lightweight, and his idealogy is so bankrupt, that it will all crumble so publicly. Even the most shrill leftist won't be able to explain it away.
Well said...
July 22, 2008 - 16:07 ET by Army BratExcellent point..
Happy Trails...
>>>You know, I suppose he
July 22, 2008 - 06:49 ET by seanrobins>>>You know, I suppose he could, but the bottom line is that Americans don't care. I mean, when 60% of Americans say the war should not have been fought to begin with, it's sort of like saying, you know what, you know that last-place baseball game the other night? Maybe the Giants should have pitched the fellow -- you know, people don't care. If they don't believe the war should have been fought, then what's happening right now, whether the surge is successful or not, is really sort of secondary.
This is really the apitomy of "in the tank"edness. This is the dumbest thing I've heard an MSMer say in a long time.
Since (according to Dopey here) Americans disfavor the war, they don't care about its outcome.
Huh?
Polls on the Iraq War when (and because) the strategy is not calculated to win. Americans don't want us to pursue losing strategies. Winning is what they want. When they ask for change in Iraq, it means "Let's do something to win"
Shuster is such a numbnut.
sean robins
blog.seanrobins.com
Who is David Shuster?
July 22, 2008 - 07:07 ET by AmericanEnergistWhile Mr. Shuster may be right that 'some' Americans don't care about the surge working, they would care a whole dang lot if didn't. The MSM would behaving a field day on the failure instead of a snooze-fest while the surge accomplished much of what it was intended to do.
However, seeing that around 100k people ever see David Shuster, his comments go largely unnoticed.
www.ArmchairEnergist...
Shuster
July 22, 2008 - 07:15 ET by TexndocThe guy sounds like he's talking about a group of animals or retarded kids. ("I'm not sure they UNDERSTAND you. I'm not sure they can FIGURE OUT.")
Second, if this is a sneak preview of the debates, bring it on. The Big O looked shaken by Terry the Moron.
Indeed, the debate(s) will be interesting
July 22, 2008 - 07:33 ET by IgnatzJFahrquarif they are allowed to go off as a debate should. Unfortunately, between the DNC, MSM and B Hussein camp I'm sure that "the rules" will be changed to favor B Hussein. If McCain complains about it he'll be painted as the one not wanting to debate.
Hah, forget about the Town Halls that B Hussein chickened out on.
"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain
Don't worry folks...when
July 22, 2008 - 07:29 ET by RickTaLifeDon't worry folks...when McCain wins the White House, we can all kick up our feet and laugh as the MSM and it's fools try to figure out what went wrong. :-P
Americans understand David they see you...
July 22, 2008 - 07:33 ET by CTas Obama’s obsequious MSM sycophant.
OBAMA: Well, no, keep in
July 22, 2008 - 07:50 ET by USA4freedomOBAMA: Well, no, keep in mind, these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. You know, hind sight is 20/20.
So what you are saying is: even if you know with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight you are wrong, you will still pander to the nutcases in your party and vote against the surge.
Even if you know with 20/20 hindsight that decisions you make could be bad for the country, you will still make them.
What kind of dam idiot are you?
There are people in your party that would call “us” stuck in our ways..
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
What kind of idiots are
July 22, 2008 - 07:56 ET by athoughtor2What kind of idiots are interviewing him? Why do they continually let him speak in circles and not call him on it. He speaks and this people fawn all over him.
This guy asks a great question, will give credit where credit is do, get's a retarded non answer. Is given a lay up follow up question by the non answer and he drops the ball. I guess they don't want to make him look too bad
Actually, it is somewhat
July 22, 2008 - 11:38 ET by lotrActually, it is somewhat understandable that Obama would be loathe to admit success in the revised Iraq strategy -- he is a master politician playing politics, after all. Admitting success in the so-called surge would be conceding to his opponent. Of course, Obama has campaigned under the guise that he would not play politics as usual, but that's another whole can of worms. No, the problem as I see it lies in the reporter going beyond reporting and entering into the realm of active campaigning. This dingbat literally presents a defense, albeit a non sequitur, of Obama's political waffle. I mean, is he auditioning for the job of Obama press secretary?
As for the question of whether or not Americans care, I'll just say that if it were true, just who's fault might that be??
IMHO
July 22, 2008 - 16:12 ET by Army BratObambi is the PUPPET of master politicians...well...perhaps master is going a bit far, considering how often the kid has to flip-flop, clarify and backtrack. If this is the best his handlers can do they, nor he could hardly be called masters of anything.
Happy Trails...
ooooooohhhhhhhhhh. you are
July 23, 2008 - 08:08 ET by athoughtor2ooooooohhhhhhhhhh. you are in so much trouble. you said Obama is a puppet of MASTER politicinas. that is so rasicist! don't you know that slaves had masters? i'm telling the pc police. you are in so much trouble. expect a call from Rev Al.
Once again he proves to be
July 22, 2008 - 07:46 ET by athoughtor2Once again he proves to be a total buffoon.
He is right though, people don't care about the surge working. However, he fails to tell us those people are the ones he talks to at MSNBC, CBS, NBC, CNN et. al. or the people he sees at the DailyKos convention or the other ultra left wing groups.
He has shown time and time again that his agenda is to bash Pres. Bush, his administration and get Obama elected.
How can we bottle his hot air and put it to use?
I wouldn't say I don't
July 22, 2008 - 07:46 ET by Cureboy675I wouldn't say I don't care about the surge.
I'm glad the surge worked. However, I wish we never put ourselves in a situation where the only alternative was the surge.
While in the meantime, I hope somebody lets John McCain know that pretty much everybody (except him) wants us to start getting out of Iraq....Including Iraq.
I mean it could be done pretty simply. Just exit across that Iraq/Pakistan border.
One other quick note, did
July 22, 2008 - 07:58 ET by USA4freedomOne other quick note, did you notice that he has had that line memorized. He started off the sentence the same way twice, after being interrupted.I guess he is putting those 300 advisors to use...
Can you see it now.. Now when they ask you if you would support the surge if you could do it all over again, you say: no, keep in mind, these kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult. You know, hindsight is 20/20..........(keep in mind that crazy people that got you here).
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
Yeah. But you're asking
July 22, 2008 - 11:09 ET by Cureboy675Yeah. But you're asking him to comment on the resolution to a problem that he believes never needed to be a problem in the first place.
Its like you're in the passenger seat of a car and the driver is ignoring your advice to stop and get gas. And then you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. You suggest walking west to find a gas station. Your companion makes the decision to walk east. It turns out walking east was the shortest route to the gas station. But even so...You might not be in such a hurry to compliment his decision to go east...Because if you had been driving the car, you never would have run out of gas in the first place.
applause:)
July 22, 2008 - 11:34 ET by TruthMongerthe lengths that libs will go to rationalize
truly spectacular contortionists!
Contortion seems to be a bipartisan problem
July 22, 2008 - 11:40 ET by sarcasmoSee for yourself...
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
And the crowd goes wild!
July 22, 2008 - 12:03 ET by fonzie2178Because we all know, Cureboy, that driving a car is EXACTLY like fighting a war! (by the way, car and war don't even rhyme or anything like that...) Did you draw that conclusion based on information from the commanders and troops in the field, or from your own bleeding heart?
"Green, the new Red."
I'll never understand why
July 22, 2008 - 17:37 ET by Cureboy675I'll never understand why because somebody doesn't want war that makes him a bleeding heart. Death and destruction just don't do anything for me. I'm sorry. I'm weird like that.
That makes him qualified in
July 22, 2008 - 12:09 ET by athoughtor2That makes him qualified in my book to be Pres.
So if a problem does occur, under his Presidency, but it should never have been a problem, 2 planes flown into buildings by terrorists, then we should not act or comment. If Bill Clinton took Osama Bin Laden when we had the chance,'96. i believe, we might not have had 9/11. So according to your theory BHO would not need to comment or do anything b/c the problem should not have occured in the 1st place.
That's would be a great world to live in. No need to acknowledge things that happen if they should not have happened in the 1st place.
Nope. You're right.
July 22, 2008 - 17:36 ET by Cureboy675Nope. You're right. Unfortunately Obama will be left cleaning up the messes of George W Bush for years to come.
As Pres Bush had to clean up
July 23, 2008 - 08:10 ET by athoughtor2As Pres Bush had to clean up the mess left by Clinton. As Pres Reagan cleaned up Jimmy's mess.
CureBoy, The media will
July 23, 2008 - 08:26 ET by Hunter12CureBoy, The media will clean up any "messes" left over from President Bush's administration, if we get a Democrat for president, the same way they solve the homeless problem for Clinton. Just don't report anything for eight years. Everyone on the street found a home in late January of 1993. Sadly, they were all evicted in January of 2001.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
People do have eyes, you
July 23, 2008 - 08:55 ET by Cureboy675People do have eyes, you know. Just because the media doesn't report on something doesn't mean people don't realize there is an issue.
I'd be willing to bet that despite the lack of press coverage, there were still more than a few benefits and charities working to help the homeless. And most people are capable of balancing a check book. They know that when there is a negative sign in front of their available balance, its probably not a good thing.
I mean using that logic, its a pure miracle of Rocky Balboa defeating Apollo Creed proportions that George W Bush was able to be elected. Considering how many people had been brainwashed by the media.
"I'm glad the surge worked.
July 22, 2008 - 13:29 ET by ckc1227"I'm glad the surge worked. However, I wish we never put ourselves in a situation where the only alternative was the surge."
Well, if we're wishing for things, I wish we lived in a perfect world with no evil, with no war necessary ever. Meanwhile, back in the real world, sometimes the options we have aren't options we like.
"While in the meantime, I hope somebody lets John McCain know that pretty much everybody (except him) wants us to start getting out of Iraq....Including Iraq.
I mean it could be done pretty simply. Just exit across that Iraq/Pakistan border."
I guess you still haven't figured out that military decisions aren't dictated by polls. It's not about what people want, it's about what's best. And leaving Iraq before they can take care of themselves is the wrong thing to do, whether Maliki and Iraq want it or not.
It's interesting that you advocate "exiting" via Pakistan though. I'm sure "everyone" would just love that, including the Pakistanis.
Well Obama said we
July 22, 2008 - 13:39 ET by athoughtor2Well Obama said we shouold/could invade Pakistan...So we have the green light to go that route, if it was geographically possible.
That sounds like something Obambi would say...out of ignorance.
July 22, 2008 - 16:20 ET by Army Brat"I mean it could be done pretty simply. Just exit across that Iraq/Pakistan border."
Yeah...just get on that big highway and drive right? There are highways everywhere right?
And I'm sure that Pakistan would have no problem with tens of thousands of heavily armed US troops entering their country for a little drive.
Happy Trails...
Oh goodness. You guys don't
July 22, 2008 - 17:34 ET by Cureboy675Oh goodness. You guys don't even realize that I'm slamming the McCain-osaurus and his Iraq/Pakistan border comment.
"SHUSTER: Yeah, except that
July 22, 2008 - 08:09 ET by Hunter12"SHUSTER: Yeah, except that I'm not sure Americans really understand or can figure out what a clear victory really is. I mean, I don't think politicians can articulate it. And until, if there was the possibility of a very clear victory, then sure, you could say, yes, the success of the surge means that we are victorious or we're gonna be victorious in Iraq. But I'm not sure Americans really see victory at the end of a process where, OK, fine, we turn Iraq over to a stable government but, what, we've lost almost 4,000 soldiers in the process. I think Americans still feel that it wasn't worth the cost."
First, Dave, we understand and honor the cost paid by the 4,000 soldiers and the lives lost to US allies, as well. They've fought and died to keep tragedies like 9/11 from occurring again and to save the lives of their countrymen. We will understand that the war has been won when some dictator in some hostile country decides that maybe he won't give shelter and aid to some wacko group, because if they decide to act against the United States. it won't just be their group that gets singled out, but he also stands in very real danger of being held accountable for that shelter and aid.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
We must also rely on this pompous jerk...
July 22, 2008 - 11:52 ET by ThalpyWe must also rely on this pompous jerk to explain it all to us. Where would we all be without him?
Projection
July 22, 2008 - 11:40 ET by KC MulvillePure projection. He doesn’t care, but he can’t admit that publicly, so he projects his opinion onto the American public as a way to justify his own prejudice. Hacks like Shuster (whom I have no respect for) have an obvious attitude. They succeeded in scuttling the war effort, and now they don’t want to go back and re-fight it all over again. They won. Why can’t critics just get used to that?
They’re not kidding anyone. When Iraq was going bad and it looked bad for Bush, they reported everything. Abu Ghraib was relentlessly pounded for months. Now that Iraq is going well, they don’t report it because it doesn’t fit their agenda. That’s all there is to it.
I'm so sick of MSNBC and the
July 22, 2008 - 12:38 ET by marpelI'm so sick of MSNBC and the likes of Shuster, Mika, Harold Ford Jr and Joe not showing up for work, I've just about had it. I'd rather watch the local traffic on Transguide in the morning.
This whole business about the Magical Mystery Tour of Obama is sickening too. I'm sick of looking at Andrea Mitchell having an orgasm on air while she's touring w/ Obama and the rest of the entourage....
It's alll so absolutely ridiculous.
Interesting article...
July 22, 2008 - 13:42 ET by mvfreemanFrom Jonah Goldberg.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg22-2008jul22,0,3592005.column
Money quote: "Voters don't care about the surge; they care about the war. Americans want it to be over -- and in a way they can be proud of."
Good Read
July 22, 2008 - 15:38 ET by contraryVery good article. Thank you for the link.
"I don't have time for this. You all can continue your co-dependency posts and make yourselves feel all chummy... Frankly, you all don't represent where America is going and you might as well get used to it."
--The Dooper
Wow...
July 22, 2008 - 16:04 ET by Army BratHow far out of touch IS this guy?
"they're incapable of figuring out what winning would be."
Ya think he'd say that to your face? I don't think so.
He only critiques the masses from afar. There's prolly a reason for that...
Happy Trails...
Liberals, especially
July 22, 2008 - 18:45 ET by cocodrieLiberals, especially hollywood liberals, do not know what victory is. General Douglas McArthur tried to get Harry Truman to understand and was fired. Our present politicians tried to crucify Colonel Oliver North and many others who tried to give us victoty over our enemies.
Has it ever occurred to you
July 22, 2008 - 18:49 ET by NL207Has it ever occurred to you that these 'leaders' do not WANT victory? They know what it is. They'd be total morons if they did not. They seek to avoid victory. I their minds, it cannot serve their purposes or cannot conform to their values.