Leonard Pitts and the Politics of Moral Equivalence

The Virginian ^ | 7/6/2008 | Moneyrunner

[moneyrunner]

It all started with Wesley Clark who essentially said that being a war hero did not qualify someone for the Presidency. This is absolutely true. And since Clark was acting as the unpaid, unofficial front man for Barack Obama, the appropriate response would have been that having no experience at all is less of a qualification for becoming President.

Of course in the age of the internet, it was inevitable that the Left-wing blogosphere would chime in with comments that were not true and were shameful (if the Left had any shame). And this was picked up by Leonard Pitts, authentic Black & Leftist, whose column appears (natch) in the Virginian Pilot, to take some below the belt shots at the Right.

Don't attack the patriotism of our patriots

He begins by taking the lefty blogger to task. ... So far, so good, but Pitts uses the rest of the column to lambaste the Right for doing what Aravosis did:

That Aravosis has done precisely that is bizarre, shameful and crude -- but not unprecedented.

He then uses three examples. First is John Kerry:

Indeed, if you were making a movie out of this, you'd call it Swift Boat II: The Revenge, after the equally bizarre, equally shameful and equally crude 2004 attacks on John Kerry, another senator who was regarded as a war hero

[moneyrunner]

So for the sake of truth, it seems that Pitts is relying on his memory of the myths spread by his fellow journalists like Eric Boehlert about Cleland. It’s not a surprise, we all prefer the myths that support our beliefs and this myth is supported by lots of newsprint, so Pitts decide to run with it. And by the way, Leonard, getting blown up in Viet Nam is not a lifetime ticket to Congress just like being made a prisoner and tortured is not a ticket to the Presidency.

The final reference was about John Murtha. True, a Marine for some 37 years. But also one who in his desire to see the US out of Iraq has managed to slime his fellow service members. His accusations against the Marines in Haditha have become notorious, and are now fully ripe as each of the Marines has had charges against him dismissed.

Murtha is revealed as someone similar to Kerry, a former soldier who is willing to slander his fellow soldiers to further his own political career.

Soldiers should be honored for their service, but reverence is reserved for those who act honorably on and off the battlefield.

And for people who write columns, a little fact checking wouldn’t hurt.

[Gumdrop]

I read this column this morning in our local newspaper. It began with much sense, and then deteriorated into an equivalence between John Kerry as an honored US Vet and John McCain as an honored US Vet. Pitt wrote that the Switfboat Veterans for the Truth were the same sort as Gen’l Wesley Clark who belittled McCain’s military service. After that, I quit reading.