Friday, March 5, 2004

THOSE BUSH COMMERCIALS

George Bush has been president of the United States for three and one-half years.  During that time, what is the single most important event that happened, not just here, but anywhere in the world?  Let's state it more strongly.  What one event defines the first Bush term.

Now, we may have some egocentric whiners out there who believe that the IT jobs they lost to some call center in India is that defining moment.  Right ... it's all about them.  The correct answer, though, is the Islamic terrorist attack on New York and Washington DC.   

George Bush is the 43rd President of the Untied States.  Think back.  Harder if you're a Democrat, I know ... but try to think back through your life experience and the history that you managed to learn in our government schools and tell me just how many presidents out of those 43 have had a defining moment like that which occurred on 9/11.  I'm not the biggest dummy out there in terms of our history, and I can only think of one other similar defining moment in the last 100 years, and that would be December 7, 1941; the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Both Pearl Harbor and 9/11 demanded an immediate and decisive response from the president, and both Franklin Roosevelt and George Bush showed that they were up to the task.

Now Bush runs an advertisement that features fleeting images of 9/11.  A shot of an American Flag flying outside at the scene of the destruction in New York, and of some firefighters.  As soon as these ads hit the television screens various Democrats and Kerry supporters across the country reacted with immediate outrage.

For today's study in political absurdity we will take a look at a letter that Frank Lautenberg, The Democrat Senator from New Jersey, sent to Bush:

Dear Mr. President:
As you may know, over 700 of my constituents died in the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001. .... Using images [from] the horrific and tragic event for political ends demeans and dishonors those who died and the families who lost loved ones on that day. ... I urge you to direct your campaign to immediately withdraw these advertisements."

The president of the International Association of Fire Fighters also chimed in.  Harold Schaitberger said that "I'm disappointed but not surprised that the President would try to trade on the heroism of those fire fighters in the September 11 attacks."  Most of the newspapers and broadcast newscasts who carried Schaitberger's remarks failed to also state that Shaitberger endorsed John Kerry several months ago and is a constant fixture on the Kerry campaign trail, usually standing behind Kerry with a huge smile on his face.

If you live in a primary state undoubtedly you've seen those television ads featuring John Kerry carrying his M-16 through the Vietnamese jungles.  As you know over 50,000 people died in Vietnam.  So, where is the outrage over John Kerry exploiting a tragedy that cost 50,000 American lives for his political campaign?  Oh!  You say that Kerry actually served in Vietnam, and that's different.  Well Bush serve in the war on terror ... as Commander in Chief in fact ... and highlighting that service as part of a reelection campaign is entirely appropriate.

When do you think Frank Lautenberg is going to send a letter to John Kerry saying "As you know, over 3,500 of my constituents died in Vietnam.  Using images from that horrific war for political ends demeans and dishonors those who died and the families who lost loved ones that day."  Yeah ... hold your breath waiting for that one. 

Isn't this just about as stupid as things get in a political campaign?  The Democrats are trying to write a rather remarkable set of rules for this election season.  They are doing so with the complete and almost unanimous support of the media.  Thus far we have:

1.  Inasmuch as John Kerry served in Vietnam, any negative reference to John Kerry's voting record during his 19 years in the Senate of the United States shall be deemed to be an attack on Kerry's patriotism.

2.  Any images of Vietnam used in Kerry campaign commercials are not only appropriate, but serve as proof positive of John Kerry's fitness to serve the country as its president.

3.  Any images of 9/11 used in Bush campaign commercials are not only inappropriate and exploitive, but shall also serve as proof positive that George Bush is unfit to serve the country as its president.

4.  Any group of people who support the reelection of George Bush shall be deemed a "special interest."  Any group of people who support the campaign of John Kerry shall be deemed a "constituency."

We will anxiously await the next entry into the media campaign stylebook .. and will certainly report same to you.

HERSHEY'S GETS IT

Hershey's is running a contest right now; find a bar embossed with the word happiness and you could win a MINI Cooper. The losing wrappers have clever little sayings on them. Psycho was shocked to find this one yesterday. Hopefully this copywriter's boss isn't a democrat...

CAN YOU ACE THIS TEST?

Yesterday on the Boortz show I told you about a class that was taught at the University of Georgia during the 2001 academic year.  The class was taught in the Education department by assistant basketball coach Jim Harrick Jr.  The title of the course was "Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball"

This class, and the final exam that went with it, has now become a national joke.  Students and faculty at the University of Georgia are profoundly embarrassed by the jokes being made by others at their expense.  This, my friends, is what you get when the jock culture dominates a college or university campus.

Due to overwhelming demand we are including the now infamous final exam here on Nealz Nuze.  First, to get an idea of what this whole story is about, read the story in this morning's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Then, if you feel you're up to it, you can click here and take the final exam yourself!

MEXICAN PRESIDENT LOBBYING FOR ILLEGAL ALIEN AMNESTY

Mexican President Vicente Fox is visiting the U.S. this weekend, and once again he'll come begging for amnesty for the millions of criminals that are in this country illegally. El Presidente says his top priority in meetings with Bush at his Crawford, Texas ranch today and tomorrow will be to press for the relaxation of immigration rules. I suppose you can give him points for trying, but the answer should be the same: no, no and no.

Here we are in the midst of a war on terrorism, and we can't even secure our own borders. This is ridiculous. Why is it so difficult for people to get it through their thick, empty heads that people who break our laws and enter the country illegally should be sent back to the country from where they came? Why is that so hard? And you have to wonder about the president of a country who is lobbying for amnesty for these law-breakers. After all, he is admitting that his own country is so terrible that people are trying to leave it any way they can. How pathetic.

Even worse, there are a growing number of illegal immigrants' rights groups that are pushing not only for amnesty, but for expanded services and health care for illegal aliens. Have we lost our minds?

Maybe we should take a page from the Israeli playbook and build a wall. A 2,000 mile long wall.  I suppose some people think that's being mean. Too bad.  

AP POLL SHOWS BUSH AND KERRY TIED, NADER AT SIX PERCENT

Polls at this point are probably worthless, but this latest poll shows an interesting trend. First of all, people need to be reminded that the president of the United States is elected by the electoral college, not 771 randomly sampled registered voters. With an election that probably once again will be tight, it doesn't so much matter who the voters are, as where they live. And this is where the nightmare begins for the Democrats.  

Say just for a minute that of those 6 percent that are voting for Nader, 1 percent of them live in Florida, New Hampshire or some other state where the vote could be very close. All it will take to ultimately decide the election will be a few thousand Nader voters not pulling the lever for John Kerry.  This all came up when Nader entered the race, but this is the first big poll since then that shows Ralphie boy with any significant support.

There are states that Kerry has no chance of winning and states that Bush has no chance of winning. That leaves a very few select battleground states and Ralph Nader, no matter what he says, provides ballot insurance for the Bush campaign.

Can you believe the election is still 8 months away? It's like when you were a kid trying to sleep on Christmas eve....you can hardly wait.

BOORTZ BLAST FOLLOW-UP

Yesterday, we asked Boortz Blast readers if President Bush should keep Cheney as a running mate. Find out the poll results.

Boortz Blast readers were also treated to a sampling of Neal's hate mail. Then they blasted back at the Boortz bashers.

Another exclusive look at a chapter excerpt from Neal's upcoming book was in Boortz Blast recipients' email box yesterday. What did they think?

READING ASSIGNMENTS

An effort to do away with the income tax and replace it with a consumption tax is gaining traction in Congress. A very good idea that is long overdue.

Mona Charen writes that it might be time for George Bush to re-evaluate his Mr. Nice Guy strategy, since the favor's not being returned from the other side.

Bruce Bartlett says that not only was the new Medicare prescription drug benefit a bad idea, but the Republicans have received no political benefit in return.

The media and the Democrats seem to be going on and on about the deficit. Jonah Goldberg explains why deficits don't matter, both politically and economically.

What is it about Democrats and dictators? Oliver North chronicles the history of the liberals' love affair with despots.

Mort Kondracke says now that the Democrats have spent months and millions defining Bush, it's his turn to strike back.

Fred Barnes, writing in the Weekly Standard, asks if John Kerry would have been better off not winning the nomination so quickly. Has he been full vetted by the press?

If you don't like the Democratic nominee's views, just wait a week. Michael Grunwald covers John Kerry's waffles.

James Pinkerton asks: haven't we seen this election before? A Republican named Bush is running against a liberal from Massachusetts...there are similarities and differences.

Even though it is well-documented that John Kerry is a liberal Democrat, the networks are portraying his liberalism as a Republican charge and not a fact.

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