MSM get even warmer on dignitary visits to Iraq
September 2, 2007 | Dignitary visits,Iraq,Military,MSM
They’re getting warmer, but I’m having a hard time not pulling a Chandler when he’s waiting for Joey to get the punch line and he blurts, “Get there faster!”
The New York Times published an editorial today, “What They Did on Summer Vacation.” (Sound familiar?) They called these visits “congressional junkets” that are really “self-aggrandizing sound bites and video clips.”
Check.
They said that “more than two dozen lawmakers went there during their vacations” and what they got was “meetings with people the administration wanted them to meet.”
Check.
They called these visits “pointless” and “political.”
Check.
Then they asked, “Do these trips have the slightest value?”
(Pause. Sputter. Pause.)
Get there faster!
…
Here is the Washington Post article the editorial mentioned, “Lawmakers Describe ‘Being Slimed in the Green Zone.'” It said three members of Congress (Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif.) who recently visited Iraq were annoyed about “biography sheets” everyone had about each of them. These sheets included everything from how to pronounce their names to how they voted on the war to quotes they made publicly about the war. Nobody is sure who distributed the sheets.
They were stunned when Iraq’s national security adviser watched children’s cartoons while he met with them.
I bet the cartoon (unlike the meeting) wasn’t a rerun.
…
The Washington Post also published an article on Aug. 28, 2007, “After Tour of Duty in Iraq, Graham Backs ‘Surge.'”
(Sputter. Sputter. Sputter.)
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wore fatigues and carried a pistol for his tour of duty in Iraq. He was there for two weeks.
I wonder if he saw anything like this while he was there. For two weeks.
Hat tip on video: valleyforge (who has posted the link all over the Internet)