Kaus Flop

I don't have the patience of people like Bob Somerby when it comes to debunking the lies of the GOP and their presstitutes. I lack the desire to lay out the factual case against an argument that isn't made in good faith in the first place.

To illustrate: Midget Mickey Kaus trumpets the latest Kerry inconsistency "reported" in this MSGOP article:

In an April 30 Fulton, Mo., speech Kerry said that if U.S. commanders in Iraq need more troops then "they should get them."

Yet last September in a debate with other Democratic contenders in Albuquerque, N.M, Kerry emphatically opposed sending more American troops to Iraq. "We should not send more American troops," he said on Sept 4. "That would be the worst thing. We do not want to have more Americanization, we do not want a greater sense of American occupation."

Shocking!

And the inconsistency is all the more inexplicable because absolutely nothing at all happened in Iraq in the intervening eight months.

And let's compare:

As part of the briefing [on November 20, 2003], Bush startled many by indicating that he could send more troops to Iraq, raising questions about Pentagon statements that the number would be reduced rather than increased in the coming year. He said he would do "whatever is necessary to secure Iraq," whether that means fewer troops or more troops.

His comment appeared to take even top aides by surprise. As the president spoke, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice glanced pointedly toward the press corps assembled inside Britain's Foreign Office, as if to suggest that there might be some clarification coming.

Later a top aide to Bush, who briefed reporters on condition that the aide not be identified, said that Bush was not announcing a change in policy and that expectations remained that troop levels would be reduced. "There is simply nothing to suggest that the number of American forces would need to increase," the aide said. "In fact, the conversations with the commanders have gone the other way."

...

Asked if he would keep a fixed number of troops in Iraq for a longer time, Bush replied: "We could have less troops in Iraq, we could have the same number of troops, we could have more troops in Iraq -- whatever is necessary to secure Iraq."

Flip to flop in 15 seconds!