Thwack

I had a reflection on the Doughy Pantload's conceding defeat (without explicit acknowledgment) by Juan Cole a few weeks ago. Today, Cole does a summary of two Iraqi-ignorant pundits who attacked him PERSONALLY as opposed to his fact two plus years ago, neither of whom have apologized. Goldberg and Jeff Jarvis:

But it was never about Iraq. It was about the all-purpose punditocracy, the vicious jab, the smearing of those with whom one disagrees, in the service of the rich and powerful. It is about the cheapening of our democracy, the termite-like boring at the pillars of our republic. Goldberg began by attacking me for saying that the 1997 elections in Iran were more democratic than the January 2005 election in Iraq. He did not critique my reasoning in saying this. He just attacked me. It turns out that he didn't even know anything about the 1997 elections in Iran. Likewise, Jarvis did not actually present any arguments about my coverage of Iraq, he just accused me of spinning it negatively. It is easy to make such an accusation, but hard to do the research and engage in the years of study it would require to address the substance of my weblog.

It isn't about Iraq. It is about the way our discourse was debased by Bush administration triumphalism.

There's much more, but the above is an accurate summation. The important thing for right-wing pundits is to be "RIGHT" not be right.