Arianna: Bush's Toxic Campaign Mix: God, Country And Perpetual Fear

Leave no sucker punch unthrown. That seems to be the scorched earth mantra of the GOP campaign as it heads into the final rounds. But if you're thinking these guys can't go any lower, guess again. George Bush doesn't just have his head buried in the sand — he's let his integrity sink below sea level, as well.

The latest dirty blows are a contemptible one-two combination with which Team Bush has portrayed John Kerry as both the enemy of God and, if not exactly the ally of al-Qaida, then at least the terrorists' candidate of choice. To hear them tell it, a vote for Kerry is a vote against God and Country. Talk about hitting way, way below the belt.

-snip

The president's preemptive invasion of Iraq has been such a boon to al-Qaida that the British ambassador to Italy called him the terrorist organization's "best recruiting sergeant." Even Bush's good buddy, Pakistani President Musharraf (a guy who can't afford to share W's delusions when it comes to matters of security), said last week that the war in Iraq has made the world "more dangerous" and "further complicated" the war on terror.

Of course, the spinmeisters in the Bush camp would rather you never hear any of this, which is why they've been so quick to smear as unpatriotic anyone painting a less than rosy picture of Iraq — going so far as to imply that Kerry, by merely questioning the president's policies, has given aid and comfort to our enemies.

What a load of gutless garbage.....more

http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=736

another DU thread at
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x909236
That's the only thing i found missing from Arianna's EXCELLENT column. Thanks for posting it.

SoCalDemocrat cites impeccable sources on *'s decision to spare Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist camp in Northern Iraq from US air raids THREE TIMES. The WH let this dangerous terrorist escape so Dubya could send Powell to the UN to lie about Zarqawi and make him a pretext for an invasion. Powell lied and told the Security Council Zarqawi was a Saddam ally, when Zarqawi was fanatically ANTI-Saddam!. Now Zarqawi is the chief assassin of hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqis. Zarqawi PERSONALLY beheaded American civilian hostage Nicholas Berg for an Internet video a few months ago.

These are my favorite paragraphs from your link:

'Somewhere -- and I don't think it's heaven -- Lee Atwater is smiling. ... WHAT'S NEXT, A PHOTO OF ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI SPORTING A KERRY-EDWARDS CAMPAIGN BUTTON?

Perhaps the holy rollers in the Bush camp should crack open a Bible and see what it has to say about caring for the poor (Matthew 25:40), caring for the Earth (Genesis 2:15), and caring for human rights (Genesis 1:27). I've got a hunch Jesus wouldn't be too thrilled with Bush's first term.

And while they're acquainting themselves with the Book they purport to defend, the Bushies might also want to have a look at John 8:32 to see what it has to say about the moral imperative of telling the truth. Instead, they are doing everything in their power to convince nervous voters that a vote for John Kerry is a vote for another 9/11. It's the latest vile twist in the Bush-Cheney "all fear, all the time" campaign strategy, and the last desperate gasp of an administration utterly clueless about how to actually win the war on terror.

The fear-mongering has been relentless and revolting -- bottoming out with a sewer-level attack ad put together by a 527 largely financed by a pair of longtime Bush-backers. The TV spot shows pictures of Osama bin Laden, 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta, the Chechen school murderers, and the Madrid train bombings and asks: "These people want to kill us. Would you trust Kerry up against these fanatic killers?"'