Using Rove arguments to support Obama--try it for fun.

I've decided to try a thought experiment as an homage to the last administration.

I want to trot out some of the same arguments used by the Bush administration and followed by McCain & Palin during the '08 election.

If you supported McCain/Palin or Bush you will remember these. As a point of consistency, they should apply equally well to Obama.

If you find yourself incapable of applying these same chestnuts to Obama, without caveat, then you need to ask yourself if you're not being a little intellectually dishonest.

1. Since Obama's been in office, the terrorists have not attacked us. Therefore, Obama's policies on national security are working. (You'll recall Bush used this same argument as validation for the efficacy of his presidency despite the fact that absence of evidence is not the same as evidence--it's sophistry, specifically argumentum ad ignorantiam --Glenn Beck's stock in trade).

2. Don't change horses in the middle of the stream. Even if Obama's not doing such a good job, things are so bad right now that we shoudn't go messing up things by replacing him because during a crisis, we need stability more than change. (Bush used this and McCain/Palin tried to link into the whole stability of vision thing to keep the Republicans in power--again, this is nothing but Bullshit and the results of the Bush years show it to be the case.)

3. Obama's a secret Muslim and is going to turn us into a communist state. (This doesn't pass the laugh test so I won't even diginify it with an answer except to say that if you believed this crap, you're an idiot.)

I'll stop here. Once I've gone through my Rove file, we can talk about it some more.

The same arguments used in the past must work equally well for the other side. if they don't then perhaps the arguments are suspect to begin with.

Obama knocks it out of the park.

I'm not one to gush, but Barack Obama's speech tonight had to be one of the most inspiring speeches I've ever seen.

In his speech he really made McCain and the Republicans look very small and petty.

That point was driven home by the tepid response from McCain basically calling Obama a liar.

I was surprised to hear all the talking heads in utter amazement at how powerful a speech Obama gave.

The speech asked us to look beyond the petty and toward our own greater future. It asked us to leave the past and unite together as a nation without political divide.

Bold and sweeping language that almost left a tear in my eye.

I felt a seismic shift occur with his speech. All I could do was shake my head at poor old John McCain.

In one single flourish, Obama made obsolete the political tricks of Karl Rove. He did it by pointing out that we, as a people, are better than that and deserve better than that.

I can't wait for the Debates. McCain won't be able to use his tired old stories and Karl Rove's tired old tricks to good effect on Obama. This was a game changer and McCain is one old dog who can't learn new tricks.

The game is afoot.

Rove refusing to testify over attorney firings...makes one wonder why.

I'm gonna try some "cop logic" on this particular situation.

If Rove has nothing to hide, then he should testify. Bush hasn't done anything so secret and earth-shattering to require him to assert executive privilege over the firing of government attorneys.

Were those fired attorneys part of some secret government cabal? No.

Were those who replaced them part of some secret government cabal? Maybe, if you include a highly partisan party machine.

This is the real reason behind the executive privilege claim: They got caught and don't want to own their malfeasance.

That sort of thing is grounds for impeachment and prosecution itself.

Rove will end up testifying. Mark my words.