The Daily Mis-Lead: Bush Supporters Misled

To those of us who are both intelligent and informed, Bush supporters remain an enigma. "What the heck are they thinking?," we ponder, endlessly. Well, the folks at The Daily Mis-lead offer a very compelling answer: Misinformation.

From The Daily Mis-lead:

A new study by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) shows that supporters of President Bush hold wildly inaccurate views about the world. For example, "a large majority [72 percent] of Bush supporters believe that before the war Iraq had weapons of mass destruction."[1] Most Bush supporters [57 percent] also believe that the recently released report by Charles Duelfer, the administration's hand-picked weapons inspector, concluded Iraq either had WMD or a major program for developing them.[2] In fact, the report concluded "Saddam Hussein did not produce or possess any weapons of mass destruction for more than a decade before the U.S.-led invasion" and the U.N. inspection regime had "curbed his ability to build or develop weapons."[3]

According to the study, 75 percent Bush supporters also believe "Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda."[4] Most Bush supporters [55 percent] believe that was the conclusion of the 9/11 commission.[5] In fact, the 9/11 commission concluded there was no "collaborative relationship" between al-Qaeda and Iraq.[6]

Bush supporters also hold inaccurate views about world public opinion of the war in Iraq and a range of Bush's foreign policy positions.[7]

Sources:
1. "The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters," Program on International Policy Attitudes, 10/21/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64458.
2. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64458.
3. "Iraq's Illicit Weapons Gone Since Early '90s, CIA Says," Los Angeles Times, 10/07/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64459.
4. "The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters," Program on International Policy Attitudes, 10/21/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64458.
5. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64458.
6. "Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed," Washington Post, 6/17/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64460.
7. "The Separate Realities of Bush and Kerry Supporters," Program on International Policy Attitudes, 10/21/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3523148&l=64458.

FactCheck.org: Would Kerry Throw Us To The Wolves?

Yet another misleading Bush ad criticizes Kerry for proposing to cut intelligence spending. Luckily for America, FactCheck.org is already on the case:

From FactCheck.org:

A new Bush ad claims Kerry supported cuts in intelligence “so deep they would have weakened America ’s defenses” against terrorists, and shows a pack of hungry-looking wolves preparing to attack. Actually, the cut Kerry proposed in 1994 amounted to less than 4 percent, as part of a proposal to cut many programs to reduce the deficit.

And in 1995 Porter Goss, who is now Bush’s CIA Director, co-sponsored an even stronger deficit-elimination measure that would have cut CIA personnel by 20 percent over five years. When asked about that at his confirmation hearings he didn't disavow it.

Read the entire report here.

FactCheck.org: $8 Million Worth Of Distortions

This last week, two Bush ads full of misleading and false statements ran more than 9,000 times in 45 cities. As usual, FactCheck.org has the facts:

From FactCheck.org:

Two misleading Bush ads accusing Kerry of supporting tax increases on gasoline and middle-class parents were running heavily last week. According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group of TNS Media Intelligence, which tracks TV ads in the top 100 markets, the two Bush ads accounted for nearly half of the estimated $16 million spent by Bush and the Republican National Committee during that week alone.

Both ads repeat claims we've repeatedly disputed here. They both attempt to portray Kerry as eager to raise taxes on middle-income taxpayers, which Kerry has said consistently he won't do. One ad characterizes Kerry's votes against proposed tax cuts as votes to "raise taxes," an outright falsehood.

Read the entire report here.

I Voted!

I just now returned from dropping my absentee ballot off at the Post Office. It's not quite as satisfying as schlepping to my polling place on Election Day, but on the other hand I was able to do a little on-the-spot research on my choices for state-level judgeships. So I recommend it for that reason alone. I mean, people often skip voting for these candidates entirely, but their positions are still important and worthy of a few extra minutes of of web searching. I basically just looked up Detroit Free Press endorsements and looked up their campaign web sites, if they had one.

And as I rolled into my driveway, I discovered that my John Kerry sign had been vandalized while I was gone. Second time, BTW. It was repairable, luckily, so I bent it all back to shape and put it back out, this time defiantly closer to the road. It's seen better days, but it's hanging in there. But maybe I should go to the Dem headquarters and buy another one or two, just in case. It's probably going to see more abuse in the next twelve days.

Associated Press: Bush Receives Endorsement From Iran

In the past few months of this seemingly endless campaign, the Republicans have asserted, ridiculously, that certain of our enemies endorse John Kerry. But they were making it up. However, the endorsement of Bush by Iran, member of the 'Axis of Evil,' is real.

Yep. Iran backs Bush. Make of that what you will.

Read about it here.

Fresh Air: Director Michael Moore on Politics and Film

On my run yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of listening to Terry Gross interview Michael Moore on Fresh Air. You can listen to this interview here.

Tips: You will need to have Real Player installed and have your sound up, but not too loud. :)

FactCheck.org: How Liberal is John Kerry?

I've already blogged about this in a previous post, but here is FactCheck.org's full report on the question of John Kerry's rank as a liberal in the US Senate.

The gist?

From FactCheck.org: A Republican National Committee ad released Oct. 16 claims that Kerry is "the most liberal man in the Senate." It's true that vote rankings by the politically neutral magazine The National Journal rated Kerry "most liberal" in 2003 and in three earlier years during his first Senate term: 1986, 1988, and 1990. But over his entire career the Journal ranks Kerry the 11th most liberal Senator. And by other rankings he's only a bit left of his party's center.

This Modern World: Osama bin Laden: Good or bad?

Once again, here's another This Modern World comic that would be really funny if it weren't so painfully on-the-mark.

The Smoking Gun: O'Reilly Hit With Sex Harass Suit

Seeing as I really, really, REALLY don't like Bill O'Reilly, I am totally enjoying watching this story unfold. From the looks of the direct quotes, it would seem that O'Reilly was being taped, and we should have the pleasure of hearing this stuff in his own voice very soon. Maybe in the No-Spin Zone.

Seriously, ewwwww.

Secret Service Calls on Owner of "King George" Sign

After I received a visit from a local police detective regarding this post, I saw this McCarthyism Watch update from The Progressive.

I find it amusing that Bush supporters are engaging in such childish pranks. In my case, the detective seemed amused and simply asked me did I "mean this" (i.e. that maybe I would rob an Arby's). It was obviously a joke, and he knew it. I apologized to him that someone was wasting his time on my account and he was on his way. So it was no big deal. But at the same time, it was kind of creepy.

Here's the latest update to the McCarthyism Watch, this one involving teachers at a Bush rally. There have been quite a few stories like this over the last few months. Bush supporters truly are a scary lot.