September 24, 2007--LetsMoveOn.org

I was hoping to get through life without commenting on the now-infamous MoveOn “General Betrayous” ad. But no such luck. I have nothing to add about whether or not it’s an insult, or worse, to our brave fighting men and women (it isn’t). And though I have something to say about the claim that many Republicans and conservative journalists have seized on it to distract us from what is really at issue—our Iraq war strategy and what is in fact going on on the ground—since so many have made this case effectively I'll restrain myself from adding my two-cents worth. So what happened to lure me into the debate? The news about the 19-year-old M.I.T. student who, as an “art project,” went to Logan Airport, the place of departure for some of the 9/11 terrorists, with a lighted circuit board attached to a hooded sweatshirt. In addition to this simulated bomb, she carried a wad of modeling clay that police appropriately suspected might be plastic explosives. After her arrest, the aptly-named Star Simpson said she created the “device” for M.I.T.’s career day, though she didn’t explain what career she was promoting. A fellow electrical engineering student told the NY Times that Star wasn’t really meaning to scare anyone. “She’s just kind of kooky like that. [Why] last year she shaved her head and donated her hair to charity. She’s a great girl.” (See article linked below.) Great girl or not, great organization or not, I see her art project to have many things in common with MoveOn’s. Whatever the validity of the below-the-headline content in the Petraeus ad, MoveOn knew the headline would be the grabber. And I suspect they knew it would draw as much attention to them as would to the claim that the general in the past had not been accurate, or perhaps even truthful, in his reports to Congress. If they had placed an ad about just that with a different catchy headline they might have actually done some good. They might have contributed to what is one of their organization’s priorities—doing all possible to help end this infernal war. But they wound up doing the opposite—providing raw meat to the Republicans who wanted to change the subject. Some have speculated that the intemperateness of the ad’s headline intimidated anti-war Democrats from really pressing Petraeus out of fear that if they did so they would appear to be aligned with MoveOn. So now they’re left to wallow in ineffectiveness, even voting to condemn ads of this kind and most likely will be rolling over when President Bush asks them, as he will this week, for another $200 billion to fund the war through the end of his term. Back in Boston, Ms. Simpson is awaiting trial on disorderly conduct charges. I guarantee you that her equally self-indulgent act, if it comes to trial, will be covered live on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. That should get us through next spring when the OJ trial will take over.