[politics] In which I call...

Ignoring for the moment the surreal feeling I experienced upon reading the headline "Bush: Take bin Laden attack threat seriously" (wouldn't that be nice...), I was particularly outraged by this line from Bush's speech at the NSA (paragraph 11 of the article linked above):

Officials here learn information about plotters and planners and people who would do us harm,” Bush said, reading from note cards. “Now, I understand there’s some in America who say, ‘Well, this can’t be true there are still people willing to attack.’ All I would ask them to do is listen to the words of Osama bin Laden and take him seriously.”

(emphasis mine) Mr. President, if you would be so kind as to point out anyone who has suggested that there aren't any groups or individuals in the world who wouldn't like to attack us, I would really appreciate it. No, really. I'm waiting... *crickets* Yeah, that's what I thought. I am also pissed off by the qualified contradiction of the President's words that follows in the next paragraph:

However, no one in the political debate over the war on terror or the NSA program has suggested that terrorists no longer want to attack the United States. Rather, Bush’s critics have argued that the law requires him to get permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to eavesdrop on communications involving Americans.

"[N]o one in the political debate" - uh... how about just "no one": "However, no one has suggested that terrorists no longer want to attack the United States." It's a bullshit mischaracterization for the sake of appearing balanced. It gives credence to the President's bullshit by suggesting that there are some people who think that no one out there in the big, wide world wants to attack the United States. While I'm sure that if you tried hard enough you could find one or two such people, I'm also pretty sure that such people would also be, how shall I phrase it delicately, crazier than the proverbial shithouse rats. (Yes, that's a technical term.) So there you have it, folks; I'm calling it like I see it. Fresh, steaming cow pies for the AP and the White House both. I'm calling bullshit.