Washington Post Ragtime

So much has been said about the often harsh and mindless tone of a blog-driven campaign. But for the most recent example of political hysteria, we need look no further than the mainstream media.

I am referring to the editorial cartoon in today's Washington Post, that " main-est" of mainstream.

Tom Toles, whose work I almost always admire, has drawn a building representing "Obama Hq". Inside someone is saying "So what are the chances of a terror attack before November?".

Outside, we see an aircraft about to fly into the building. That aircraft is a GOP elephant.

Without a doubt, the fight for the White House is bitter, intense... to put it mildly. But does it have to be so nuclear it wipes out any chance of governing?

Have we gotten to the point that one of the so-called "Newspapers of Record" has now sunk to likening the Republicans to the 9/11 terrorists? Did the various editorial managers who are supposed to vet this stuff before it appears in print decide it was appropriate and not over-the-top?

And have we now degenerated to the point that passions are so high there is only room in this campaign for nastiness that overwhelms everything else?

I can hear it now: Democrats will claim the Republicans started it, with their "Swiftboating" and Ann Coulterish ugliness, where they paint Obama as a tool of the terrorists. A legitimate question is whether voters want to support the GOP as a party that has relied on such demagoguery to exploit the nation's worst instincts.

But if both sides engage in the same hateful hyperbole, the voters would be within their rights to simply throw up their hands in disgust.

As for the Washington Post, it might want to consider its carefully-crafted image as home for the "publics' right to know". Even in these passionate times, we need to have SOME boundaries, so the public has SOMEWHERE to go as a refuge against the distortions and immature bombast that is taking over our debate.

Barack Obama and the Democrats are not terrorists no matter what the right-wing commentators say. But neither is John McCain, no matter what Tom Toles draws.

As I said, I have always admired the genius of political cartoonists like Toles. But I guess even geniuses can sometimes express themselves in stupid ways.

Comments

[mamacat]

Haven't seen the cartoon, but judging from what Mr. Franken has described, it sounds more like a really bad cartoon than a major gaffe.

Given the GOP's history of dirty tricks, one has to wonder what they will pull next.

[rmcneal103]

Bob, your point is?

Fianlly the Republicans are getting treated like the mainstream press has treated the Democrats and they are crying. Get over it. The Repubs have had a free pass since 2000 and they still are getting better press in the mainstrea media.

[headstrong]

Hey - they did it before ... they'll do it again.
Bet on it!

[Kenny2k]

Marketing fear like it was an Ipod. Sounds like terrorism to me. Bush started it and I'll bet McCain will finish it. Are you scared? Vote GOP. They will keep you that way.
Terrorists,Gihadists, Insurgents, Sympatizers, Inablers, all GOP slang for, everbody but us.

[noamjunior]

given the lack of coverage of GOP malfeasence on the issues of national security and terrorism, the issue here isn't the validity of the conclusion reached, but the disconnect between the correct opinion that GOP policy has the result of creating more terrorism, and the flacid reporting from "papers of record" that has failed to illuminate the facts for the American public

[WorkingClass]

Heres the deal Bob. The Republicans ARE the terrorists. You want to hide from the truth because its ugly.

[JailNeoconVicts]

9/11 happened seven months into Bush/Rove/Cheney's watch. It allowed the neocon agenda to take over the political landscape, and nearly destroy our Constitution and our country. It isn't beyond the pale to think that the "overlooked" Bin Laden memo was overlooked by these criminals exactly so this could take place.

It isn't McCain that Tole is portraying in this cartoon, but the architects of that disaster, who clearly will stop at nothing to maintain their Reich.

[1099]

In the world of conspiracy theorists like yourself, nothing is beyond the pale.

Please just watch JFK again and take a valium.

[normathumb]

Yes, it is only coincidence they were dreaming of just this sort 911 attack at their PNAC website prior to the 2000 election and couldn't understand what a PDB titled 'Bin Laden determined to attack within the U.S.". On one hand, I seriously doubt they knew the details of the attack but it did fulfill their desire for a "Pearl Harbor type catastrophe". In their little manifesto, they wrote about how the American public would not but into their plans without such a thing, that it would otherwise take years of manipulating public opinion to allow them to wage "pre-emptive war".
You're probably right. It probably wasn't a conspiracy. But it was the fulfilment of their stated need.

[mediamarv]

Perhaps a night course, Comedy 101: Politcal Cartoons, might be in order.

Thanks for giving equal blame to Fox Noise... oh, wait, you haven't done that yet...

[Menocu]

out of touch. begone!

[fugudaddy]

ROTFLMAO- "Even in these passionate times, we need to have SOME boundaries, so the public has SOMEWHERE to go as a refuge against the distortions and immature bombast that is taking over our debate."?

Some boundaries? Some refuge? From what? From the endless Republican diatribe against those who think their war is wrong, their fear mongering is devisive, their economic plans have enriched the richest and broken the poorest...Democrats have put up with accusations of disloyalty, un-patriotic behavior, even treason for god sake, and you're only finally >NOW< saying that we need to have some boundaries?

It must suck when the bullets that have been fired at Democrats for so long for being 'terrorist pandering, truthiness hating, treasonous liberals' start flying back the other way, doesn't it...

[yeswecancan]

Bob....have you been living under a rock this week??? The cartoon refers to Charlie Black saying a terrorist attack would be great for the McCain campaign this year, and maybe a little bit of Bill Kristol saying on Fox Sunday that if it looked like Obama was going to win that George Bush would be more likely to bomb Iran before he left office. Cartoons are political satire, for God's sake, and this one is hardly satirical -- more like an artist's rendition of the week's news! What would have been better? To have had Muslims flying the plane and GOP elephants standing around the building cheering? Get over it, dude!

[mirza]

Bob-get a grip---on Fox News things this far out are presented as fact

[GBartrem]

Dear Bob,
Must be a slow news day for you to be picking on a cartoonest. I thought that cartoon was a bit funny myself.

[surfcitysteven]

The actual attack of the terrorist is not the end of the terrorism. It is really just part one of the means to the end which is the terrorist getting their way. Part two needs to be done by someone other than the terrorists for the terrorist to achieve their means. And the republicans have done a great job of carrying out the mission that enables bin Laden to achieve what he wants. I think we are getting out of our funk and seeing through the constant fear-mongering that the right has inflicted, but for a solid 5 years there, this nation was a chickenshit disgrace and the last line of our national anthem should have been deleted. When an a-hole like Black suggests that a terror attack would be good for his party, he needs to shouted back down into the wormhole he poked his head out of.

[Wombat]

Methinks thou doest protest too much. It was Mccains campaign manager who bragged on how much a terrorist attack would help his man