Springing A Trap
Even the Washington Post is admitting that President Bush really caught critics in a carefully crafted trap. By stealing a page from the usual playbook his critics use and "reframing" the argument of terrorist detainees he has actually backed those critics into a corner. Even thought the press is still spinning the speech he gave yesterday as an "admission" about secret prisons, the fact that he has turned the issue around and made it a debate on how to deal with some very dangerous people.
By challenging Congress to immediately give the administration authority to try notorious al-Qaeda figures such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed by military commissions, he shifted the argument with Democratic critics of national security policies and competence. As Bush framed the choice, anyone against his proposal would be denying him necessary tools to protect American security.
His success in catching much of Washington by surprise showed that a president who polls show has his political back to the wall still has formidable tools: the ability to make well-timed course corrections on policy, dominate the news and shape the capital's agenda in the weeks before Election Day.
Bush's moves were partly a concession to those who have complained about secret CIA prisons abroad. Even as he acknowledged the existence of the prison program for the first time, Bush could argue that there are no terrorism suspects now in the CIA program.
At the same time, Bush sought to redefine the issue of CIA detentions from one of civil liberties to one of protecting Americans. He asserted that interrogators had reaped an intelligence bonanza from the questioning of top al-Qaeda leaders such as Mohammed — the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — and Osama bin Laden deputy Abu Zubaida, and insisted Congress pass a law that would allow such interrogations to continue without legal jeopardy to soldiers and intelligence officers.
"We need to ensure that those questioning terrorists can continue to do everything within the limits of the law to get information that can save American lives," he said in his speech in the East Room of the White House.
This is a minefield for his critics. They can appear to be in favor of civil rights for terrorists or they can be in favor of protecting Americans. They got caught out on this one regardless of what spin you read in the press and they have effectively lost control of the debate. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but this was a massive surprise and pretty darned effective.
Other Links to this Post
-
bRight & Early » First Cup 09.07.06 — Thursday, 7 September , 2006 @ 7:58 am
-
The Heretik » Blog Archive » Lost in the Rhetoric Zone — Thursday, 7 September , 2006 @ 8:56 am
By TC@LeatherPenguin, Thursday, 7 September , 2006 @ 8:35 am
Y’know, after watching Pres. Bush throw down the gauntlet during that press conference, daring the Dems to either continue their incessent “we can do national security better” with no proof they mean business, or get on board with the Administration (which will make the nutroots livid), to be immediately followed by the Clintonistas going bonkers over that TV miniseries, you gotta wonder…..
Is Karl Rove really that damned good? Because it seems, as of this morning, the Dems are royally screwed when it comes to the only talking point–security–anyone’s gonna be paying attention to come November. The Clinton crew are whining like babies that the voters will be reminded how badly they screwed the terrorist pooch, and Pelosi, Reid and Co. have been struck mute, scrambling to figure out what they’ll put out as a response to the President’s challenge.