Here's the kind of thing that amazes me. I guess it shouldn't but it does. It's the way a seemingly-intelligent human being — in this case, Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson — can leap from one position to the opposite in the blink of an eye. This is from today's episode of Crossfire on CNN, and I cut 'n' pasted this right out of the transcript. Carlson was talking about some allegations that are circling that John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial airliners a few months before 9/11 because he had been tipped that terrorists had a plan to hijack planes and fly them into buildings. Here's the relevant passage…
Strictly speaking, this charge is false. Ashcroft did stop flying commercial, but it was because of domestic, not terrorist threats. But it's worse than that. It is the ugliest possible conspiracy theory and it's a destructive one, too. If you don't like Ashcroft's policy, attack them, critique them. But don't accuse him or any other American of knowing about 9/11 in advance. It's just too much.
Okay, I agree with that. I don't care much for Mr. Ashcroft but that doesn't mean the charge is true. I certainly haven't heard of any evidence that would justify the charge. So good for Carlson. But then, less than 45 seconds later, he says…
…I knew a lot of perfectly decent smart people who actually became mentally ill thanks to Bill Clinton. And you're seeing the exact process happening on the other side…Paul Krugman has become so obsessed with Bush, he actually accused him of causing anti-Semitism in Malaysia. After that column, I have to say…As much as I thought he was smart once upon a time, he's gone crazy.
So much for civility in our political discourse.