Christopher Hitchens in the WSJ Opinion Journal:
Worst of all was the heavy innuendo about the President’s supposed foreknowledge of the Sept. 11 conspiracy. I think it is absolutely essential that no accusation of disloyalty be leveled against those who criticize the authorities in time of war: criticism at such a time being more of a civic duty than a right. If Mr. Dean had the smallest evidence of collusion or coverup at any level of the administration, one could have admired him for airing it, and never mind that Al-Jazeera might have used it for ammunition. What was really abysmal was that he knowingly took the latter risk without any foundation of seriousness. Before disowning it, he described this notorious piece of Internet paranoia as “rather interesting,” which in a depraved way it is (not unlike the ingenuity of suggesting that Jews evacuated the twin towers just in time). So what are we to conclude – that he just thought it worth passing on?
I have now several times seen Mr. Dean saying that there is Islamic terrorism in Iraq now, but that there wasn’t any before last March. If this means anything, it means that the activities of the bin Ladenist mercenaries in that country are the fault of George Bush. You can, I suppose, believe that if you care to. But watching, I realized something even more depressing: It’s not just that Mr. Dean doesn’t know anything at all about Iraq, it’s that he doesn’t care. His bored shrug at, first, the overthrow and, second, the capture of Saddam Hussein was a shrug of indifference as well as ignorance. And how can a man who flirts with moral equivalence between Washington and bin Laden expect to be listened to when he talks about a “distraction” from the hunt for the latter? He clearly thinks that the main enemy is at home.
…..
Look at it from one point of view, and you can take heart from all this. There are, clear across the country, people who sincerely cannot stand the policies or the personality of the president. When they say “ABB” (Anybody but Bush) they say it as if they really mean it. But there are limits, and Mr. Dean managed to find them in only a few weeks of cocky, half-baked and spendthrift posturing. This is not a time when the United States can afford even to flirt with the idea of an insecure narcissist and vain windbag as president. It’s good to know that many liberals and leftists recognize that fact and act upon it, even when it costs them something.
Is the Dude pulling his punches here?
(Via Jackie at Au Currant.)