Disgrace Personified

Nice op-ed piece today from Jeff Jacoby - the only reason to actually read the Boston Globe (OK, that AND Red Sox coverage):

TWO WEEKS ago Senator Ted Kennedy uttered what may turn out to be the single most disgusting remark made about the United States in the course of the Iraq War. The reaction to his slander - or rather, the lack of reaction - speaks volumes about the moral bankruptcy of the American left.

The opening paragraph really says it all, but read the whole piece, it's worth it. If Jack Kennedy were alive today, there's no way he'd be falling in line with the "Democratic" Party of today. Dylan had it right - the times they are a-changing...bigtime.

When Kennedy appeared on NBC's "Today" program on May 13, it didn't even occur to host Matt Lauer to challenge him on the appalling equivalence he had drawn three days earlier.

Not that anyone was holding their breath waiting for THAT to happen.

There is nothing wrong with political passion. Nor is there anything wrong with criticizing the administration's conduct of the war. But accusing the US Army of being no better than Ba'athist torturers is not constructive criticism. Shrugging when a formidable politician broadcasts such a terrible libel is not responsible citizenship. Those are forms of propaganda, and propaganda in wartime is a lethal weapon. To turn that weapon against the United States is to give aid and comfort to the enemy.

Kennedy is a disgrace. I'm sitting here trying to come up with a wittier insult, some clever derogatory remark to describe our senior Senator, but he's just not worth the extra effort. He's a disgrace to United States of America and her values, and it's (way past) time for him to fade away.

UPDATE (5/26/04): here's a lovely bit of mildly-delusional leftist commentary on this subject, all too typical of the Massachusetts liberal mindset, courtesy of the Jenn Martinelli Experience:

Sorry, but I think that Ted Kennedy has a valid point. I love how we don't think it's OK to equate rape and sadistic treatment of Iraqi prisoners by American military personnel with rape and sadistic treatment of people by Saddam Hussein. What is the difference exactly? That it was fewer people? Did the US military torment them in a nicer way? Is it better to be raped by an American?

Jenn, sweetheart, you have to stop cutting the Prozac's in half. Take the WHOLE pill.