The Pankian Metaphor 3113

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Yes, I suppose I did (avoid asking and answering the question), because I wanted to make a different point, the same "this makes you seem biased" point I've been trying to make elsethread, to no good effect. I have more to say about that, but will do that in response to another post.

(I think, by the way, that if this indicates a flaw in my thinking, it's more likely to be software than hardware, no? unless political leaning are genetic .... )

So let's look at your question again:

The way you ask the question seems to me to implicitly buttume that the only way to undermine what Bush is doing is to quote him out of context. I don't buy that, and I'm not particularly interested in addressing a question with an underlying premise that to me seems so preposterous. Maybe you didn't intend that.

If what you meant was why people *do* use this approach (rather than why they *have to*), well, I buttume it's because "it works" -- except I'm not sure what I mean by that. My impression is that quoting out of context is one of a variety of cheap-shot techniques people on all sides of any debate these days use to stir up their supporters and possibly win over a few of the undecided. Much heat is generated, but very little light.

I don't notice that this technique is used by Bush-bashers more than by Bush-admirers, or vice versa. They all do it, and I wish they would all stop.

My idea about why political discourse has mostly degenerated into an exchange of these cheap shots is that most people would rather do that than actually think about the facts and issues. The former is entertaining in its way; the latter is apt to be hard work, and most people aren't willing and able to do that. Most people are also not eager to question their own buttumptions and biases, and I'll admit I include myself in that group, though on good days I'm somewhat willing, though not eager ....

Shifting the focus from techniques to goals, I would point out that "undermine what Bush is doing" covers a lot of ground, and reasonable people interested in preserving what's good about Western civilization might *want* to undermine some of what he's doing.

Shifting again, to motives this time, if you want to claim that some of the people who seize every opportunity to try to make Bush look bad are doing so for their own political advantage and ignoring the other possible consequences of what they're doing, yeah, I think that's unfortunately true. I just don't buy that everyone who opposes Bush has that motive.

-- B. L. Mbuttingill ObDisclaimer: I don't speak for my employers; they return the favor.