Honolulu Advertiser Editorial On Bush Is the "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"

The Editorial in today's Honolulu Advertiser (Saturday, December 17) scores a 10 on the "Ridicul-O-Meter." After putting it into the context of President Bush's speech this morning it could even go off the chart and ring the bell ("give the editor a cigar!")! Here are some highlights:

President Bush hid behind the free elections in Iraq this week when a news report revealed that in 2002, he authorized a "Big Brother"-type spy operation that infringed on the freedoms of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans here in the United States.

How diabolical of Bush to anticipate yesterday's story in the NY Times and arrange a national election in Iraq to distract us!

As great as the Iraq elections were, it (sic) didn't leave Bush much of a fig leaf. Signing a secret order to allow the government to spy on Americans doesn't cut it in the land of the free.

I can only wonder if the editorial was written by Hans Christian Anderson (ie. fantasy instead of facts.) Not to mention the unmitigated gall in using the Iraqi elections as a metaphor for the covering of someone's genitals. I'm sure the Iraqi people and the US soldiers in the field will appreciate this attempt at journalistic sophistication.

But it was a shortcut that short-circuited (sic) the Constitution.

As in "electrical short-circuit?" or as in a "short-cut" across the center of a race track? I'm sure this means something but I'm not sure what... In any case the sparks are flying at the Honolulu Advertiser Editor's office. It would be helpful if the Editor had cited what part of the US Constitution has been short-circuited and how. But that would mean actually doing some research into facts...and facts only get in the way of opinion, I suppose.

But Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., called the program "Big Brother run amok."

It's always good to quote from an unbiased, authoritative and respected analyst to prove your point. Too bad the Editor couldn't find one.

Now the president must come forward. Misdirecting attention to the free elections in Iraq isn't good enough, nor is hiding behind some vague sense of national security.

That about sums up the Democratic, anti-Bush, anti-war position on national security, doesn't it. "Vague." The rest of America has a clear sense of what "national security" means. It means exactly what President Bush is trying to do... protect us from terrorist attacks by Islamist groups like Al Qaeda.

Bush needs to come clean.

Dear Editor: The President "came clean" this morning (see here).

Now it is the Honolulu Advertiser's turn to wash their hands of the mud they've been throwing and, while they are at it, take the beam out of their eye.