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Mediamatters.Org - On the June 23 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, Washington Times columnist Diana West said
that "Senator [Barack] Obama's made it very clear that he believes
terrorism is simply a matter of cops and robbers." West's assertion echoed what Obama has called the McCain
campaign's "demonstrably false" characterization of his
approach to fighting terrorism. Neither
West nor host Lou Dobbs noted that Obama flatly
disputes this characterization.
Obama said on June 18:
"Senator McCain's campaign has said I want to pursue a law
enforcement approach to terrorism. This is demonstrably false, since I have
laid out a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy that includes military
force, intelligence operations, financial sanctions and diplomatic
action." Obama previously detailed his plan for fighting terrorism,
including military, diplomatic and international intelligence and law enforcement
measures, in an August 2007 speech at the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars.
From the June 23 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:
DOBBS:
Joining me now are three of the best political analysts in the country:
Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, New York Daily News
columnist Errol Louis, and in our Washington,
D.C., bureau, syndicated
columnist Diana West.
Let me
start -- Hank, your reaction first to Charlie
Black and his comment?
SHEINKOPF:
Charlie Black probably wishes he had not said this at all. It doesn't do him
well. It does not do the campaign well, and it really doesn't hurt Barack
Obama. That's the problem here.
DOBBS:
You know, Errol, as a journalist, let me ask you: Are you at all offended by
the fact that not too much note has been taken today of the fact that the Fortune magazine reporter asked Charlie
Black the question, "What would happen with another terrorist
attack?" It isn't as if Charlie Black came at this out of whole cloth and
created this sentence.
LOUIS:
No, that's right. I mean, he was thinking about it, clearly. I think the
problem is that, in some ways, it's not just offensive, it's also somewhat
incoherent. I mean, clearly the --
DOBBS:
The question or the answer?
LOUIS: The
answer. I mean, the McCain campaign, it sounds like, it's trying to have it
both ways. If the surge is somewhat successful, the president's policy to which
McCain is joined at the hip, he'll say this is evidence that my wisdom and
experience are proven right. On the other hand, his advisers say, "Well,
you know what, if there's an attack and it looks like security is going down
the tubes, that'll help you too."
It
doesn't make a lot of sense, and it'll be up to the candidate to explain
who meant what and what the real policy is.
DOBBS:
OK, Diana?
WEST:
Well, I think, unfortunately, it does make sense in politics, yes, as Hank
said, but the fact is that any reminder of the fact that we are in a war on
global jihad is of benefit to the candidate who believes we are in a wartime
situation.
Senator
Obama's made it very clear that he believes terrorism is simply a matter of
cops and robbers. So, I think that what we're looking at is the divide between
the so-called September 10th mindset of Senator Obama and the so-called
September 11th mindset of John McCain.Media Matters - Columnist West falsely asserts Obama's terror policy is "simply a matter of cops and robbers" {...} On CNN, Washington Times columnist Diana West said that "Senator Obama's made it very clear that he believes terrorism is simply a matter of cops and robbers." Host Lou Dobbs did not challenge West's assertion echoing claims by the McCain campaign that Obama has said are "demonstrably false." {...} Published: June 25, 2008, 12:47 am - Indexed: June 25, 2008, 11:19 am - Page Size: 20KB |