Not Fully Moved On. Yet.

OK, the scrubbing by MoveOn of their General Betray Us managed to be both comical and Orwellian.

However, in the course of poking around their websites, I discovered that this page survived the purge -

Don't let Gen. Petraeus convince Congress to keep the war going.

General Petraeus is using cherry-picked intelligence and misleading statistics to make the case for keeping our troops in Iraq for years more. Please write a letter reminding America and Congress not to fall, ever again, for White House lies—we need a timeline to bring our troops home.

The process is simple -- just follow the three steps below. See the tips on the bottom right of the page for ideas (click on the "Writing Tips" tab). Please report any problems you have here.

Whatever - maybe that will be gone in a day or two, maybe not.  But what held my attention was this WaPo piece from Sept 9, 2007 to which they linked as support:

Among Top Officials, 'Surge' Has Sparked Dissent, Infighting

Geez, infighting and dissent at Team Bush, but not in front of the kids:

For Bush, the eight months since announcing his "new way forward" in Iraq have been about not just organizing a major force deployment but also managing a remarkable conflict within his administration, mounting a rear-guard action against Congress and navigating a dysfunctional relationship with an Iraqi leadership that has proved incapable of delivering what he needs.

Although the administration has presented a united front, senior officials remain split over whether Bush's strategy will work in the long term. Bush gambled that a "surge" of 30,000 troops in the streets of Baghdad and the western province of Anbar would establish enough security to give "breathing space" to Iraq's sectarian leaders to find common ground.

But as Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker deliver progress reports to Congress tomorrow, the questions they are likely to face are the same ones asked internally: How long should the troop buildup last? When should U.S. forces start to come home? Should the United States stand by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or seek another leader? What are the hidden risks of the emerging alliance with Sunni tribal leaders? What is the best outcome Washington can hope for at this point?

Other than the presentation of a united front, does that sound familiar?

Bush apparently dug in:

Early Turning Points

While Bush played defense in Washington, he also needed to turn up the pressure in Baghdad. The strategy would never work, Bush aides knew, unless Maliki stepped up. National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley had outlined in a memo last fall the deep White House skepticism about the prime minister's intentions and abilities to take on Shiite militias.

Bush instituted videoconference calls with Maliki every two weeks, prodding him to seek accord among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions. At first, the Americans noticed some change. Maliki, who previously had blocked U.S. forces from taking on the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, gave Petraeus the green light to go after anyone responsible for attacks. He also deployed three Iraqi brigades in Baghdad, as promised.

The White House also led a huge PR push:

Another new arrival in the West Wing set up a rapid-response PR unit hard-wired into Petraeus's shop. Ed Gillespie, the new presidential counselor, organized daily conference calls at 7:45 a.m. and again late in the afternoon between the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy and military in Baghdad to map out ways of selling the surge.

From the start of the Bush plan, the White House communications office had been blitzing an e-mail list of as many as 5,000 journalists, lawmakers, lobbyists, conservative bloggers, military groups and others with talking points or rebuttals of criticism. Between Jan. 10 and last week, the office put out 94 such documents in various categories -- "Myths/Facts" or "Setting the Record Straight" to take issue with negative news articles, and "In Case You Missed It" to distribute positive articles or speeches.

Gillespie arranged several presidential speeches to make strategic arguments, such as comparing Iraq to Vietnam or warning of Iranian interference. When critics assailed Bush for overstating ties between al-Qaeda and the group called al-Qaeda in Iraq, Gillespie organized a Bush speech to make his case.

"The whole idea is to take these things on before they become conventional wisdom," said White House communications director Kevin Sullivan. "We have a very short window."

Does anyone think Obama will interrupt his golf outings for this sort of effort?  C'mon, half his aides are drafting surrender speeches and the other half are posting anonymous anti-war comments at DKos.  OK, maybe less than half.  A bit less.

Comments

[Lola gets it.]

If you sit by the riverside long enough.
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[hit and run]

Here's hoping this post means you were spared http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_re_us/us_severe_weather>from the tornado,TM.

[PD]

Statement from one of my senators, Russ Feingold:

“The comments of General McChrystal and his aides were very troubling, and the president’s decision to accept his resignation is appropriate. But I continue to have strong concerns about our misguided policy in Afghanistan. The massive, open-ended military operation in Afghanistan will cost a hundred billion dollars this year with no end in sight. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continues to operate and recruit around the world. After nine years, it is time to give the American people, as well as the people of Afghanistan, a timetable to end this war so our nation is better able to focus on the global threat posed by al Qaeda and its affiliates.”

Not "timetable to withdraw troops," mind you, but "timetable to end this war." Just like that.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Best post on this is some idiot at Althouse, to whit:
The same guy who the right wing dubbed "General Betrayus"...that same guy.

I do wish I was born with the short life memories possessed by the neuvo-recht.

Emphasis, of course, mine.

[Threadkiller]

Up next on the scrubbing list:

”">http://www.fightthesmears.com/articles/5/birthcertificate">” “When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children.”

Make sure you read it. His own website says he was governed by the British Nationality Act. If you were worried about an insult disappearing from the web, I would think this news would throw you into a panic.

The British aren't coming, they are already here! (And in charge)

[Captain Hate]

Wow Chaco, I had to go witness that myself. He didn't catch nearly as much ridicule as he deserved but, after a brief hiatus, came back with other examples of sheer nincompoopery.

[Tom Maguire]

No tornado here, a mere twenty miles or so away - we just got five minutes of heavy rain, then the sunshine resumed.

[Melinda Romanoff]

TK-

Just so long as he didn't bring none of them stinkin' euros...

[narciso]

How does someone get by with 'that one particle of brain' double face palm doesn't cover it

[Melinda Romanoff]

Happy to know you and yours are safe, TM, the weather has left us with the microbursts and resultant damages. None hurt, thanks be...

[Melinda Romanoff]

Hah-ha-ha-ha-hah-ha-hahahahah-hah-hah-hah!

Too funny by miles!!!

[Ignatz]

--it is time to give the American people, as well as the people of Afghanistan, a timetable to end this war--

Geez, how come nobody thought of that before?
Just think, the thirty years war could have been like 30 days instead and there's no reason the hundred years war couldn't have been scheduled into a weekend everyone had free.
Stupid old dead European guys.

[matt]

What a bunch of maroons, as Bugs would say. Nothing ever completely disappears on the interwebs. You are what you blog, and the NYT ad is famous all over de place, including Advertising Age and a gazillion references. David Fenton and all of his little rat bastard spawn can't cover this one up.

And if he was even remotely sober, Petraeus would have told Obama, "Lift the timetable or I'm outta here". I will state for the record that Petraeus is remotely sober. And he is the Real Thing. Not hero worshiping, but the man is damned good at what he does. 30 years later, NCO's who served under him as a 2Lt still tell stories.

Dear Leader is a citizen of the world, and everybody knows it. As Rick points out, he is a Kendonesian with few ties to the America of the rest of us.

And lastly, as it was said 40 years ago by the philosopher P. Ter Townsend in his treatise on the travails of the working man versus the mods, Tom Mee;

"we're not gonna take it
never did and never will
we're not gonna take it
gonna break it, gonna shake it
Let's forget it, better still"

[Bill in AZ sez it's time for Zero to resign]

Ann,
Hate to depress you even more from the previous thread, but there is some truly bizarre crap going on here in AZ with some strange national (read Zero) dots to connect.

This is sort of a local dustup here with libs versus Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the county attorney Andrew Thomas who is running for state attorney general. But this dustup has huge implications for SB1070 - and the rest of the country.

The dustup has to do with the corrupt county board of supervisors pestering the attorney general candidate with nuisance investigations. Thomas has counter-sued, and now the supervisors have secured the services of an "independent" mediator.

The "independent" mediator is non other than Kenneth Feingold. Remember him? Zero's former Pay Czar, and now in charge of the $20B BP Extortion Fund For Unions.

As "Jane 001" puts it in the comments:

Kenneth Feinberg is the Obama pay czar turned Oil-spill escrow czar. His involvement clarifies the fact that Arizona Democrats are backed-up by the Obama administration at every turn. There are 18 states with pending SB1070 legislation and this administration can’t afford to let any local stone go unturned. Also, the federal government is instigating boycotts against Arizona with a few of their own from the Department of Education and the U.S. Border Patrol. http://bit.ly/9MNkYA.

Cut off the head of the snake... Shows how much attention Zero and Soros et al are really paying to AZ these days.

[matt]

btw, my take on the media coverups on Edwards, Gore, Clinton, Antonio Villaraigosa and other Dems. We are facing a threat to democracy. The Fourth Estate is a sham. LUN.

[Bill in AZ sez it's time for Zero to resign]

...and now the state of CA legislature is looking to boycott AZ. I had a business trip to CA this week, and the rental car company gave me (prolly on purpose) a car with AZ license plates. I wore them proudly.

[daddy]

Apparently there is some use in crying over spilled milk.

">http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/06/24/epa-has-gone-mad/"> EPA classifies milk as oil, forcing costly rules on farmers

H/T Kim.

[hit and run]

TM:
No tornado here, a mere twenty miles or so away - we just got five minutes of heavy rain

Very good to hear. All those selfish Mathachutheres? Mathachuthethians? Mathachuthites? Bay Thathers? on the last thread didn't spare one moment's thought for you.

Oh,and just for the record,I feel bad for sylvia. You're breaking her heart by not responding to her (and dealing with whatever issues she sees on your "page").

Not that I blame you for not wanting to deal with sylvia's issues (who could!),but still. I'd like to think that,as her friend,you will understand if I stick up for her.

[Janet]

Another good post Matt.
" Character does in fact matter. It always has, from Plato to Cincinnatus to Augustine to Washington. But to our media this is an inconvenient truth."
We call lying "playing politics" or spin.
We have elected liars and are shocked, SHOCKED to find out they are lying to us.

[Janet]

...and I'm sure we all remember the screaming outrage and headlines when Barney Frank was present for a drug bust at his boyfriend's house in Aug. 2007. LUN

[Rick Ballard]

Matt,

Another nice piece. I believe that you would run out of pixels before running out of examples of mendacity on the part of the Dem propaganda organs. The attempt to turn the First Lardy into a fashion icon is damned near worth a book by itself (with photos tastefully selected by Ann) while the effort to turn the weather cycle into a political tool could generate a decent library.

IOP - (In Other Propaganda), take a look at how AP handles the Republican's success in controlling profligate spending. Perhaps the Dem Job Killers might consider actually expediting the spending of a bit more of the Stim I money which was earmarked for BOzo's re-election campaign?

[Pelosi in 5-4-3-2....]

I just ran across the phrase 'Deficit Reduction Tax' as a new proposal from an alarmist at Jeff Id's site. Will the progressives never run out of new ideas?
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