The following letter from Stacey F. Combs of Langhorne is typical of the complaints I have received in recent weeks regarding my column of May 20, "25 things I learned watching Fox News."
I decided to answer Stacey’s letter point by counterpoint for two reasons: 1) She and the other letter writers intentionally distort some of the positions I have taken in the past, therefore I must set the record straight; and 2) the opportunity to get paid for essentially printing and responding to Stacey’s diatribe is too delicious a temptation to ignore.
(Note: We edited Stacey’s letter only in the interest of space.)
Stacey: Even though we have just liberated millions of people, who can now live free lives with the ability to turn on a light and cook a meal, and who now have hospitals, schools, choices and the elimination of rape rooms, torture chambers and terrorist camps, we are still "losing" the war.
Cardella: Lest you forget, I favored Bush 41’s invasion to liberate Kuwait and the oil fields from Saddam, favored our intervention in the Balkans to stop the genocide (which most Republicans opposed) and, yes, W’s invasion of Iraq a year ago to get rid of Saddam’s WMD.
Unfortunately it turns out there weren’t any WMD. It also turns out that, unlike his father, Bush 43 bungled the peacekeeping phase of the war by alienating the international community and trying to win the war on the cheap to save his mostly for the rich tax cut. Fox News would have you believe that we are on the threshold of a great victory in Iraq. Most observers, both conservative and liberal, don’t really believe that — and the Bush administration, which has scaled back its goals, doesn’t really believe it, either.
Stacey: Apparently you can’t tell the difference between the slight mistreatment of terrorists without a nation or the barbaric beheading of a Jewish American civilian; the burning, mutilation and hanging of other Americans; the constant random bombings against freedom fighters, or the constant plotting to kill Americans.
Cardella: I have never equated the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners with the barbarism of the terrorists, just as I have never drawn a moral equivalency between Israel defending itself and Palestinian suicide bombers. Is "slight mistreatment" what you call being raped by a bottle or the sexual humiliation heaped upon those prisoners at Abu Ghraib? Would you have wanted this "slight mistreatment" applied to our POWs such as Jessica Lynch?
And please note, Stacey, that the overwhelming number of prisoners at Abu Ghraib are not al-Qaeda terrorists. And if your goal is to win hearts and minds, just how many hearts and minds did Abu Ghraib win us?
Stacey: John Kerry’s war story of December 1968 that he had "taken on enemy fire" soon turned into the truth that he was simply injured by a flying fragment during his own shooting practice … and that only needed a Band-Aid to repair. [And this] somehow made him deserving of a Purple Heart and the presidency.
Cardella: Your distortion of Kerry’s war record is sickening and the kind of slur that is a Fox News trademark. We should honor the war records of all those who served regardless of their political opinions (I honor Bush 41 and Bob Dole, to name two men with whose politics I am sometimes at odds). On the other hand, when you’re allowed to take off a year from military service to work on your father’s campaign, as long as you’re a conservative, that apparently makes you a hero and worthy of reelection on Fox News.
Stacey: It is better to hug a tree, and a frozen wasteland, and be completely dependent on foreign nations for oil [than] to pass an energy bill, which would begin to free America from its dependencies.
Cardella: If Bush truly wanted to free us of oil dependency, he would have seized the moment after 9-11 to call for such a national goal in 10 years. Instead, he called for going to Mars. What we need is not only protected drilling in Alaska, but conservationist measures to reduce the gas guzzling of SUVs, while exploring alternative energy sources. Both parties have failed us here. But cheap gas makes us more, not less, dependent.
Stacey: Hollywood is loaded with actors and actresses who actually believe their roles somehow make them experts in foreign affairs. They are [getting wealthy] yet still misguide the public, and make anti-American, Bush-slandering statements.
Cardella: Stacey, repeat after me: Criticizing the presidency of George W. Bush is not the same as being anti-American, especially during an election year. But why does Fox News complain about Hollywood and then go gaga over Arnold?
Stacey: When Democrats are in office, extramarital oral sex, which is not sex, is OK, especially during business hours because guys like Osama bin Laden can be captured later.
Cardella: I called for Clinton’s resignation in one or two of my columns. (You must have missed those out in Langhorne.) But really, if you believe getting some oral sex from Monica allowed Osama to escape, why the hell can’t Bush catch him — because we know he ain’t getting any.
