Bush's Straw Man Arguments

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Author Message   Robert Livingston Citizen Username: Rob_livingston Post Number: 1820 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:16 pm:        Some critics will say this article isn't news, but they are wrong. Bush's straw man arguments By JENNIFER LOVEN AP Mar 19, 2006 "Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost and not worth another dime or another day," President Bush said recently. Another time he said, "Some say that if you're Muslim you can't be free." "There are some really decent people," the president said earlier this year, "who believe that the federal government ought to be the decider of health care ... for all people." Of course, hardly anyone in mainstream political debate has made such assertions. When the president starts a sentence with "some say" or offers up what "some in Washington" believe, as he is doing more often these days, a rhetorical retort almost assuredly follows. The device usually is code for Democrats or other White House opponents. In describing what they advocate, Bush often omits an important nuance or substitutes an extreme stance that bears little resemblance to their actual position. He typically then says he "strongly disagrees" _ conveniently knocking down a straw man of his own making. Bush routinely is criticized for dressing up events with a too-rosy glow. But experts in political speech say the straw man device, in which the president makes himself appear entirely reasonable by contrast to supposed "critics," is just as problematic. Because the "some" often go unnamed, Bush can argue that his statements are true in an era of blogs and talk radio. Even so, "'some' suggests a number much larger than is actually out there," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. A specialist in presidential rhetoric, Wayne Fields of Washington University in St. Louis, views it as "a bizarre kind of double talk" that abuses the rules of legitimate discussion. "It's such a phenomenal hole in the national debate that you can have arguments with nonexistent people," Fields said. "All politicians try to get away with this to a certain extent. What's striking here is how much this administration rests on a foundation of this kind of stuff." MORE   tjohn Supporter Username: Tjohn Post Number: 4155 Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:24 pm:        Quit whining an do something about it. Perhaps the Democratic Party can come up with a platform that can get a Democratic elected to the White House. This is whining at a whole new level. "Mommy, mommy, that mean man is arguing more effectively than I am, make him stop, mommy, mommy."   cjc Citizen Username: Cjc Post Number: 5412 Registered: 8-2003 Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:25 pm:        "Some critics"?? Name two, Straw Guy.   tom Citizen Username: Tom Post Number: 4592 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 10:09 pm:        Either you're saying it is news, or you're one of the two.   argon_smythe Citizen Username: Argon_smythe Post Number: 794 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 11:57 pm:        It's not news to me. You never before noticed the cadre of straw men Bush brings to every press conference? They've been there for years.