Ignorance or Deliberate Abuse?
I can’t decide whether the White House is deliberately insulting our intelligence with Bush’s recent appeasement accusations or if they really don’t know anything about Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement. Chamberlain isn’t criticized in history for talking to Hitler, but rather for giving away the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia and with it that country’s means to defend itself against Germany. The difference is not trivial. And what does McCain’s echoing of Bush’s remarks tell us about him? Did he also not learn this bit of history? Or is this just politics? Be that as it may, Kevin Levin is right about this being a teachable moment. The “Hardball” video he posted on his blog is hilarious and sad at the same time.
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I also noticed this rhetorical slippage between “engaging in diplomacy” and “appeasement.” It seems to be an on-going (and largely unsuccessful judging by a couple of decades worth of polling data) stratagem by Republicans to try to scare Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party. Bush policy in the Middle-East has has a negative impact on Israel’s security situation, yet the Republicans attempt to portray themselves as being friendlier to Israel than the Democrats though only with the brokering of Democratic presidents have any Arab states ever recognized Israel’s right to exist.
Ignorance or deliberate abuse? A false dichotomy. Bush foreign policy has a complete disregard for evidence and rules of collecting and analysis of evidence, historical or otherwise. Why one or the other? Why not deliberate ignorance? He only knows what he wants to know because he’s the decider.
I saw that episode of Hardball live, lol…it was a classic and Chris Matthews has become my new hero.
It’s nice to see some of the american media getting it’s senses back. For the longest time I couldn’t watch american news because the hosts were shockingly misinformed. So I was so pleased when I saw this.
My 16 yo loves reading about history – he’s not huge into what is taught in school, but the obscure and stuff that is not talked about. He is amazed at the history of Hitler, I am going to pass your site on to him!
Good to see how Bush’s silly appeasement rhetoric hasn’t stopped him from doing an about-face in his Iran policy. That fact hasn’t stopped the Wall Street Journal from picking up the banner and carrying the appeasement cry against Bush himself. Why let historical facts get in the way of a little rhetoric?