Kevin Drum points out some apparent inconsistencies in Andew Sullivan’s criticisms of John Kerry. As an irregular reader of Sullivan I still found Drum’s quotes rather convincing.
Andrew Sullivan on John Kerry two days ago: “Life isn’t simple. But it doesn’t have to be as subtly, preternaturally, systematically complex as John Kerry makes it out to be.”
Complex is bad!
Andrew Sullivan on George Bush four days ago: “Don’t blame Bush for the dismal job situation. It’s far more complicated than Kerry would have you believe.”
Complicated is OK!
That was fun, wasn’t it? Let’s try it again.
Andrew Sullivan on John Kerry two days ago: “Read this foreign policy discussion. Now imagine 9/11 had never happened. It isn’t hard. Al Qaeda is mentioned once. I repeat: al Qaeda is mentioned once.”
A single mention of al-Qaeda is bad!
President Bush in a talk on homeland security a week ago: “Some two-thirds of al Qaeda’s key leaders have been captured or killed.” This is the only reference to al-Qaeda in the speech.
A single mention of al-Qaeda is OK! And I guess not mentioning Osama bin Laden’s name for, what, 15 straight months is OK too?
Moral of the story: if Bush does it, it’s OK. If Kerry does it, it’s a sign of weakness and moral degeneracy.
But we knew that already, didn’t we?