Fair Play

Quoted from Mike’s post at Miniluv:

ANOTHER DEMOCRAT BLOWN AWAY

As if being buds with the traitorous Fonda isn’t enough, a new story seems to be developing over at Drudge about Kerry.

It seems that you just can’t hold office as a democrat without being orally briefed by your intern.

Well, I dunno how this will turn out…but i’m getting ready to stick a fork in Kerry.

Of course this is alot less serious than Kerry’s relationship with the traitor Hanoi Jane. It will sure be made into a bigger deal though. The American people don’t like a leader without integrity, and integrity is hard to convey when your “taking a poll” with another woman.

The funniest part of this story is the implication that the other candidates knew it but didn’t publicly admit it. Leaking it through back channels and going on the offense in public so they come out smelling pretty.

Republicans must have tunnel vision. How else to explain the silliness of taking potshots at Democrats while ignoring indiscretions by prominent Republicans like Newt, Rush, Barr, Hyde and Livingston?

And what to make of the twice-mentioned “Kerry-Fonda” connection? That’s like calling George W. Bush anti-catholic because he spoke at Bob Jones University. It’s funny to see those who consider themselves informed sink to the silly tactics of guilt by association.

Yeah, there’s something to be said for intellectual honesty in the blogosphere, but those two obvious fallacies aren’t what really irked me here. The post oozes a kind of smug satisfaction with the Kerry insinuations, with the author, clearly accepting them as fact, concluding he can “stick a fork” in “ANOTHER DEMOCRAT BLOWN AWAY.”

I supported Clark for president and not Kerry, so I’m in no rush to absolve the senator of anything. In fact, if Kerry did have an affair, I’d prefer that the truth comes out as soon as possible. Democrats who have yet to vote can then make an informed assessment of the candidate and, if necessary, choose someone else.

But far from ferreting out the facts, what we’re seeing in Mike’s case is ethical googlism. Whether the accusation came from Matt Drudge, the Washington Post or the Tuscaloosa Shitkicker, it seems anything that can be dredged up from the Internet is wholly embraced by partisan hacks on the opposing side without even a cursory assessment of the facts.

I could just as easily conclude here that George W. Bush is a baby-killing hypocrite, what with the published rumors that he paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion. But I don’t, because while it’s perfectly fine to cite such stories and speculate on their truthfulness, fair-minded bloggers ought to be above seizing on the scandalous and unproven to attack others in such a rabidly partisan manner.