George Will's Fudge Doctrine

By Cernig

If you ever had a doubt that George Will was an unprincipled hack, watch the beginning of this roundtable on ABC's This Week, where he pretends to confusion about what the Bush Doctrine is, in an attempt to excuse Sarah Palin's ignorance

Then read this op-ed from 2003 in which he's quite clear that its exactly what Chris Matthews Charlie Gibson (thanks, editors) told Palin it was after it became obvious she didn't have a clue. Which is also exactly what everyone else thought it meant before the Right pretended to confusion to save Sarah's ass:

The Bush Doctrine At Risk

...the failure -- so far -- to find, or explain the absence of, weapons of mass destruction that were the necessary and sufficient justification for preemptive war. The doctrine of preemption -- the core of the president's foreign policy -- is in jeopardy.

To govern is to choose, almost always on the basis of very imperfect information. But preemption presupposes the ability to know things -- to know about threats with a degree of certainty not requisite for decisions less momentous than those for waging war.

Some say the war was justified even if WMD are not found nor their destruction explained, because the world is "better off" without Saddam Hussein. Of course it is better off. But unless one is prepared to postulate a U.S. right, perhaps even a duty, to militarily dismantle any tyranny -- on to Burma? -- it is unacceptable to argue that Hussein's mass graves and torture chambers suffice as retrospective justifications for preemptive war. Americans seem sanguine about the failure -- so far -- to validate the war's premise about the threat posed by Hussein's WMD, but a long-term failure would unravel much of this president's policy and rhetoric.

Hacktastic.

Comments

[anderson]

That would be "Charlie," not Chris Matthews.

[HelenWheels]

I think actually he means Charlie Gibson?

[HelenWheels]

A lot of rightwing hack pundits have been doing the same thing. I guess they all got their marching orders.

Likewise, the very icky John Fund got totally pummelled on Bill Maher this past friday for trying to pull the same thing. Don't go there with Janeane Garofalo sitting next to you! Fund tried to say he didn't know what The Bush Doctrine was. Yeah, right: A journalist from the Washington Post is ignorant of The Bush Doctrine? Garofalo called him a liar, and so did Maher.

I'm willing to bet that you'll be able to do a quick google and disprove every one of these "hacktastic" people who make this same claim... not that they care.

It's sort of fun to see the hacks throw themselves under the bus protecting the lame choice McCain made in selecting Palin. It was a gamble and it's going to backfire pretty loudly.

[Buskertype]

Brilliant!

[Cecil]

Why do all the links keep dropping? This is the third story tonight that the link dropped.

[bakerkm45]

Fund is from Wall Street Journal, not Washington Post.

[William Hurley]

It seems that the WaPo has deleted or moved the Will piece linked in this all to brilliant expose.

[Bruce Garrett]

The link to the Washington Post 2003 Op-Ed now goes to a page that reads: "We are unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have moved or may no longer be available." Swell. I wonder if they're scrubbing any other references to the Bush Doctrine in their archives now...

[Steve Hynd]

The link still works for me.

However, here's the Yahoo! cache of the page too.

Regards, C

[HelenWheels]

Thanks for the correction! My mistake. Thanks.

[Jen Bennett]

George Will wrote at least two columns - over 5 pages - for Newsweek entirely about the Bush Doctrine, one in April 2002 and one in September 2002. That his pomposity knows no bounds I knew; that he would pretend to be an idiot - instead of the know it all persona that he has used to nuture himself for years -to cover Sarah Palin's a** astounded me. I can only think that, like John McCain, he has found in her, his "soulmate". What other reason can there be for throwing your most valued and cherished idea of yourself - in his case, his brain - under the bus but that your true love is being attacked?

[alex]

I think George Will said at the beginning of the This Week roundtable that there are several Bush Doctrines, but that Sarah Palin chose none of them. I thought it was more of a criticism than an excuse. I also thought it was the funniest thing in the discussion. But yeah, the argument as made by other conservatives is completely ridiculous. But I thought when she pretended to know what hubris meant was even scarier. Talk about hubris.

However, Will's defense of the Obama Sex Ed ad was completely disgusting. To actually say that 5 yr olds shouldn't be taught about sexual abuse or sexual predators is incredibly naive. He said parents should be the ones to teach this. Unfortunately, in some families, it is the parents that are committing the abuse. The libs on that panel need to get some teeth and George Will needs to get a clue.

[ronald]

thanks you sir

[Brandon Davis, Ph.D.]

Having clinically reviewed patients for over 20 years, it is obvious to me that John McCain's gaffs and inconsistent thought patterns are signs of pre-senile dementia.

[Old Logan]

Janeane Garofalogot it right . When You Get It , You're A Nut Job . The Great Tea Bagger Debacle ; "You're Either With Us , Or You're Against Us ." all over again .TEA PARTY SPONCERS http://taxdayteaparty.com/
(*SGP TCOT
DontGo Movement
Michelle Malkin
American Solutions
PJTV
Institute for Liberty
Freedom Works
BCAST ALG
Tammy Bruce
American Majority
ParcBench
Dana Radio
GOP USA
RFC Radio
Howard Jarvis Citizens Against Government Waste
Saving Freedom)