Democracy Has Prevailed.

January 31, 2005

Twofer! I was on C-SPAN and Honsberger Live

I managed to get a call in this morning to both C-SPAN's Wahington Journal and PCNC's Honsberger Live show regarding the Iraq/Vietnam election parallel mentioned below.

The gist of my calls was:

"I'd like to read a headline from the NY Times:

'U.S. Encouraged by Vote: Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Terror'

Now I've left two words out of that headline, it actually reads:

'U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote: Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror'

...and it's from 1967, just four months before the Tet Offensive.

If I'm permitted, I'd like to read two short sentences from the article itself as it has some parallels to yesterday's vote:

'United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.'

...and further down in the article:

'A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam.'

I certainly hope that history does not repeat itself this time."

I recounted my morning's 'work' at Daily KOS HERE.

5 comments:

Ol' Froth said...

So, what did the lyin' gasbag have to say??

Maria said...

Fred said that "Vietnam is different because they never attacked us."

Which led me to remind him that that Iraq never attacked us and, oh, by the way, they also didn't have WMDs to threaten or attack us with.

He then went on a jag that the resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq wasn't just about WMD's.

He then read the list verbatim cited HERE by 'Anonymous' in the Comments section that there were seven other reasons other than WMDs mentioned in that resolution.

You joked on that blog that 'Anonymous' was Fred -- you just may have been right!

Ol' Froth said...

Haha!! ANd those seven reasons were the "whereas" clauses, which lay groundwork, but are not the operative or "triggering" language of the resolution.

Maria said...

You got it.

Anonymous said...

Since they're aren't any WMD's I think it is time to free Saddam.

http://blamebush.typepad.com/blamebush/2005/04/no_wmds.html