[Speed Gibson,
Saturday December 4, 2004 at 3:09pm]
Good Old Norm
CQ and Powerline have already rebuffed the 12/4 Star Tribune Editorial "Going after Annan" today. On the NARN radio show, they went further, noticing as I did the extraordinary vocabulary used.
"Good old Norm;" it begins. This is disrespectful, regardless of the context. "Good old Paul;" would have been equally disrespectful of the late Senator Wellstone even if what followed was highly complimentary. Adults acknowledge the titles of others, usually at their first mention. Adults also do not assume such familiarity in a formal setting. Former Senator Walter Mondale did this, continually addressing Mr. Coleman as "Norman" in the 2002 debate, drawing considerable outrage. But no adults were used in the writing of this editorial.
If you remember the Star Tribune's endorsement of Senator John Kerry for President, you will remember the remarkable choice of words, like "perverted" and "devious" to describe President George W. Bush.
Today, we have "sordid move" and "venomous fury" and "incendiary rhetoric" and "juicy rhetoric" and a grunting "What an embarrassment." at the end. In their paroxysm, they couldn't even remember if this was about oil-for-food or food-for-oil. Now that's embarrassing.
I'm all for a little righteous outrage, but shouldn't you be sure of your facts first? "Note that no one has the slightest whiff of proof that [U.N. Secretary General Kofi] Annan knew about, condoned, or profited from this scandal." False as stated; there are plenty of whiffs. As Captain Ed notes:
And how about some documentation of Mr. Annan being a "splendid" public servant?
The Star Tribune did get one thing right: "This is really all about Annan's refusal to toe the Bush line on Iraq..." John Kerry was obviously going to win and steer the ship of state back to the safe waters near the U.N. Plaza - only he failed, for reasons the Democrats are still having trouble accepting. The United Nations represents nearly all that is liberal, second only to our own Metropolitan Council.
But now, not only is the U.N.'s advice not sought, their precious U.N. is under attack, facing the biggest scandal in its history, one with its roots in the Clinton Administration. There is nothing the liberals can do but shoot the messenger.
"Good old Norm;" it begins. This is disrespectful, regardless of the context. "Good old Paul;" would have been equally disrespectful of the late Senator Wellstone even if what followed was highly complimentary. Adults acknowledge the titles of others, usually at their first mention. Adults also do not assume such familiarity in a formal setting. Former Senator Walter Mondale did this, continually addressing Mr. Coleman as "Norman" in the 2002 debate, drawing considerable outrage. But no adults were used in the writing of this editorial.
If you remember the Star Tribune's endorsement of Senator John Kerry for President, you will remember the remarkable choice of words, like "perverted" and "devious" to describe President George W. Bush.
Today, we have "sordid move" and "venomous fury" and "incendiary rhetoric" and "juicy rhetoric" and a grunting "What an embarrassment." at the end. In their paroxysm, they couldn't even remember if this was about oil-for-food or food-for-oil. Now that's embarrassing.
I'm all for a little righteous outrage, but shouldn't you be sure of your facts first? "Note that no one has the slightest whiff of proof that [U.N. Secretary General Kofi] Annan knew about, condoned, or profited from this scandal." False as stated; there are plenty of whiffs. As Captain Ed notes:
The man who Kofi Annan appointed to run the program, and who only reported to Annan, became one of the corruption's beneficiaries, scoring millions on under-the-table oil futures for his astigmatism on OFF corruption. And let's not forget that Annan's own son, Kojo, continued to receive kickbacks from a Swiss firm implicated in the corruption well after he supposedly terminated his relationship there.
And how about some documentation of Mr. Annan being a "splendid" public servant?
The Star Tribune did get one thing right: "This is really all about Annan's refusal to toe the Bush line on Iraq..." John Kerry was obviously going to win and steer the ship of state back to the safe waters near the U.N. Plaza - only he failed, for reasons the Democrats are still having trouble accepting. The United Nations represents nearly all that is liberal, second only to our own Metropolitan Council.
But now, not only is the U.N.'s advice not sought, their precious U.N. is under attack, facing the biggest scandal in its history, one with its roots in the Clinton Administration. There is nothing the liberals can do but shoot the messenger.