So the speech. Didn't watch it. But, you'll be happy to know, the girlfriend and I had an excellent Italian dinner while it was going on. I win. Nevertheless, conscientious blogger that I am, I did give it a read through. Impressive it wasn't, but redundant it was. The nice thing about this group is that they're simple, when they try and manipulate you, they do it by repetition. So here you go, Bush's address by the numbers:
• "Terror" -- Used 5 times
• "Terrorist" -- 22 times;
• "Insurgents" -- 6 times;
• "Osama bin Laden" -- 2 times;
• "Zarqawi" -- 1 time;
• "September 11" -- 6 times;
• "Saddam Hussein" -- 1 time;
• "Free" -- 10 times;
• "Freedom" -- 18 times.
• "Weapons of mass destruction", "nuclear weapons", or other WMD references in context of Iraq -- 0 times;
• Weapon references in context of Libya -- 2 times.
Pretty much says it all, doesn't it? The WMD hysteria wasn't about Iraq but Lybia (mission accomplished!). Lots of freedom, a healthy sprinkling of 9/11, a weak insurgency, tons of terrorists, twice as much bin Laden as Zarqawi...that's the war the President's fighting. Which one were you talking about?
Update: Looks like Think Progress took a similar approach. This was my gig, dammit!
Update 2: Democracy Arsenal takes the trophy for best coverage. Plus, they're like, smart and stuff.
