PETRAEUS

General Petraeus’s testimony before the House and Senate was a bitter disappointment at best, but Move On.Org’s full page personal attack in the New York times – “General Petraeus, General Betray Us” – was a disastrous error in judgment. It was ill-conceived, sophomoric, and counter productive.

Petraeus is an honorable career soldier with a Ph. D from Princeton and a reputation as a straight shooter. Attacking him diminishes the credibility Move On has worked so hard to establish as a legitimate voice for millions of Americans, while adding weight to the right wing argument that liberals are irresponsible. The whole thing felt less like Martin Luther King’s march on Washington and more like gang graffiti.

The game isn’t over yet, not by a long shot, but the focus should be on the message, not on the messenger. If certain conservatives are comfortable wallowing in the gutter, that’s their problem. I will not get down there with them.

a foot on either side