AP Slams Bushs Speeches !!

Bush Using Straw-Man Arguments in Speeches

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 18, 12:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON - "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.

more ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060318/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_s_straw_men

discussion.

That's bush. Bizarre, illegitimate. And MFing stupid, to boot.

:argh:

WHY are they criticizing NOW?

Looks like a set up.

:scared:

Rumsfailed's rhetorical questions to himself.

"Is there an insurgency in Iraq?" "Gosh Golly, you bet there is".

"Are we losing in Iraq?" "Gee Whillickers, you bet we are"

"You bet your sweet bippy!"

:kick:

double speak is being pointed out; it must be necessary for the blind.

"He typically then says he "strongly disagrees" — conveniently knocking down a straw man of his own making." ...Good quote!

:kick: and R!

from KKKRove because they do the same exact thing. Judy Woodruff was THE WORST. It was her favorite way to start an interview..."Some people say...."

It's about time people started calling them on their bullshit.

you beat me to it! "Some people say" :eyes:

SOME people started calling them on their bullshit? :evilgrin:

:kick: