Ads I'd Like to See

I watched--for a few seconds last night--a particularly shrill attack poodle of the right launch into a rote "they (i.e., Democrats) should watch what they say because it could affect the morale of the troops" bit of blather last night on The Charlie Rose Show (Rose's web page rarely has useful links, so I won't bother with it here. You can search for it if you want).

And it hit me: is there anything WORSE in terms of affecting the morale of the troops than the appalling spectacle of George W. Bush, who NEVER saw combat and for whom military service was something he did when he felt like it, saying "bring 'em on" when we first saw increased attacks on US soldiers in Iraq?

Only someone who has never seen combat could be so crass--and that alone should disqualify the candidate for high office. Inviting attacks on our soldiers--which the Iraqis have delivered--should rank as high on a list of stupid political statements as anything Neville Chamberlain ever said...

If I was someone with pull at the DNC, I'd have an ad produced more or less along the following lines:

Opening: Bush's high handed little smirk of a statement.

Cut to a shot of this news story, or others about "Stop Loss Orders," with additional cuts to still or motion pictures showing troops leaving families, in combat, dealing with the very harsh conditions in Iraq, and so on. Periodically, Bush's statement would be inserted as a voice over--i.e., "bring 'em on," "bring 'em on," "bring 'em on," etc.
Then cut to Dubya in the classroom on September 11th, when he showed all the courage of a banana slug, sitting quietly like he'd just wet his pants.

Fade to black, then close with text like: The last thing a responsible commander in chief should do is invite attack on his troops. Since George W. Bush uttered "bring 'em on," over eight hundred soldiers have died in Iraq--and thousands have been wounded. The war shows no sign of ending. What's the Bush plan? There is none. (perhaps have one final "bring 'em on" voiceover here).

Closing: (again, text on a black background, no voiceover): Support our Troops. Send Bush Home in 2004.

Another thing I've been wondering about is the Lt. Flight Suit footage, and why that hasn't been put into play by the Democrats. Again, this is footage that's almost BEGGING to be used against the Dauphin.

Opening: Cut between Bush doing his codpiece carrier strut--slapping hands, high fiving, giving his speech, and shots of soldiers engaged in fierce combat. Close with his "Mission Accomplished" smirk--then zoom towards the banner. Again, fade to black with white "Mission Accomplished" text--but add two or three question marks. Then maybe add "A President should KNOW when the mission is accomplished and when it is just beginning."

Another possibility is to use humor (and, like Timshel, I saw Kerry's Letterman appearance and thought "Dick Cheney can claim Dubya as a dependent" was the best line of the Top Ten List).

Opening: inside a diner, a customer is looking over a menu. Items like "Cheney's Waffles--full of hot air" and "The Neverending Iraq Breakfast ($200 Billion--to start) are listed. A Ken Lay lookalike is openly stealing from the cash register, The Halliburton coffee mug leaks badly, the Kellogg Brown & Root garbage cans are overflowing, and a Dubya lookalike is busy "taking" the customer's order--"You'll have the Neverending Iraqi Breakfast Special, with a side order of no-bid contracts, a ballooning budget deficit, and a net loss of jobs. Order up, Dick." (a Cheney lookalike is the short order cook).
Customer: "But that looks awfully expensive--and I lost my job a while back."
Dubya: "Ah, don't worry--we'll just charge your kids for it. They can either pay up--or go to Iraq. Sure beats washing dishes..."

Again, close with text along the lines of: "Imagine if George W. Bush and Dick Cheney owned the local diner."