Bush’s latest parroting of a Rove catchphrase for anything Kerry is really grating on my nerves. If anybody would know about running and hiding, it would be George Bush. My fondest hope is that Kerry throws it back in his face in the upcoming debate. “Mr. President, I’ve never run from anything in my life; can you say the same?”
What is Bush claiming Kerry is hiding from?
I just did. Here is what I wrote:
Sir,
The phrase in the subject seems to be coming up more and more all the time. As a supporter, I respectfully urge you to counter this ridiculous phrase, using the past records of the current administration. It is now common knowledge that virtually all of them did exactly this, when they were called upon to serve. We have one person who bailed out on the now famous “champagne unit”. We have another who collected deferments due to “other priorities”. More needs to be made of this.
I also urge you to strongly counter the “flip flop” accusation, by pointing out more often that the current adminstration repeatedly flip flopped on the very reason for the current Iraq situation. I realize you do not want to polarize or offend your base or the undecideds, but you must say something to counter the accusations, both obvious and veiled. As a more vicious barb, you could ask the incumbent why he won’t let you “run or hide” while letting bin Laden do exactly that.
Respectfully
Stephen M. Gangi
His voting record. He’s saying Kerry is trying to run from his voting record by spinning it, but that it’s there for all to see. It’s just populist bullshit.
I thought it was ironic because Osama Bin Laden seems to be quite successful at running and hiding from Bush.
The part where my head exploded was when Bush criticized Kerry’s voting record on abortion issues, and Kerry responded with the following:
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He is against partial birth abortion in general, but voted against the ban because there was no exception in the bill for the life and health of the mother.
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He is in favor of parental notification, but voted agains the bill because there was no provision for judicial appeal. The example he gave was that if an underage girl was raped by her father, she would have to go to him for permission to get an abortion, rather than being able to explain her situation to a judge.
Bush’s response?
ARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! I was reduced to jibbering incoherently and making stabby motions at Bush’s image on the screen.
That’s right, Mr. President. Yes or no. Black or white. Kerry voted against the partial birth abortion ban; therefore Kerry is in favor of partial birth abortions. Kerry voted against the parental notification bill, therefore Kerry is against parental notification.
No room for shades of gray in the mind of the President! The leader of the free world had no time for nuanced argument or thoughtful consideration. Yes or No. Black or white.
Regarding the suggestion the Kerry turn the “run and hide” back on the war record of members of the Administration, I don’t think he’ll ever do it. He has always been very careful not to criticize anyone’s wartime service (or lack thereof) probably because there are too many men of his generation in politics who could be alienated.
Maybe he’s a borderline personality… 
That whole exchange drove me fucking nuts last week.
Sam
Yeah…That was a low point even by Bush standards. Really pathetic actually and it explains a lot about the sort of predicaments we are in at the moment.
He needs to find some sort of counter because too many people still believe the negative rhetoric about him. But, depending on what polls you believe, he seems to be gaining and may be in the lead. That would say he (and you) are right. I think he could definitely apply it to the “escape” of bin Laden and make it stick.