Moonage Political Webdream

Fred Thompson was speaking in Sioux City, Iowa.  When asked about progress in Iraq, he gave an answer that sort of baffled not only some people in the audience, but apparently a good part of main stream media.  To wit:

“They said, ‘You gotta quit smoking,’” Thompson explained to a questioner asking about progress in Iraq during a town hall-style meeting.

Thompson said the smoking ban and terror tactics Al Qaeda used to oppress women and intimidate local leaders pushed tribes in western Anbar Province to support U.S. troops.

Warner Todd Huston takes the New York Times to task for putting their ignorance in print, I just fully expect it.  However, something very odd occurred when I read Fred’s comments.  I got it.  I got what he was saying immediately.  It didn’t sound like poli-speak.  It didn’t sound like Hillary, Rudy, Edwards, or any of the rest.  The reason it didnt’ sound like any of the rest is because they have been doing what candidates usually do.  Look at any of their positions, it can be summed up with “it’s failing”, “it was a lie”, “it will never work”, “it’s succeding”, etc..  Not one has really made any very specific INFORMED references to “progress in Iraq”.  You know what they are going to say before they say it.  The only question is how much they are going to dumb it down with rhetoric.  Fred simply cited a very specific incident that illustrates why it MIGHT be working.  He didn’t dumb anything down, he didn’t pour rhetoric all over it, he didn’t drag outside political philosophies into it.  He just simply cited an example of what he saw happening.  I like that.  That is refreshing to me.  And moreover, I got it.  When we invaded Iraq, we were liberators.  We had the majority of Iraqis hearts and minds on our side.  However, realizing the vacuum was a dangerous thing, we were forced to stay and fill that vacuum.  In doing that, I think we temporarily lost the hearts and minds of some Iraqis and that allowed the insurgents to get a foothold in some parts of Iraq.  When we have the hearts and minds of all Iraqis on our side, there will be no safe havens for the terrorists.  The insurgency will go where they think they can succede.  Winning the hearts and minds of those Iraqis is a lot simpler than it sounds.  If they want to smoke, give them a cigarette.  Let them know what freedom truly is.

I’ll be keeping a lot closer eye on Fred now that I am exposed to some of his philosophy. 

No thanks to any main stream media for getting it right tho.

Technorati Tags: 2008 Presidential Race, al-qaeda, cigarette, Fred-Thompson, iraq, The Media

Tags: 2008 Presidential Race, al-qaeda, cigarette, Fred-Thompson, iraq, The Media

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