Vile assholes again

Been reading the kerfuffle about Obama mistaking Auschwitz for Buchenwald and his great uncle for his uncle in a speech.

Several thoughts:

First, I had several aunts and uncles who were really my great aunts and uncles. That's what I called them and that's what they answered to. That sort of language was normal in the middle of America that I grew up in. Those folks were my grandparents brothers and sisters, but often they were as close as or closer than some of my real uncles and aunts.

Second, calling Buchenwald Auschwitz seems to be not a very big deal. Anyone who has had to speak publicly has made minor mistakes like that, It happens to trial attorneys frequently, you correct and move on. The jurors or judge will simply correct in their head realizing that you truly "miss-spoke." I mean lets face it the [great]uncle was really there.

Third though, is the bazaar insistence of various Republicans and right wingers who continue to attack the entire speach. Going so far as to try to prove that the guy wasn't even in the war in Europe, then when they get slapped down (by a WWII vet who was there) they keep gong on to try to justify their bullshit.

I guess it worked in 2004 and 2000, but those were not the kind of campaigns that this one seems able to be. The fact that in both those elections they were able to attack people who really did serve in Vietnam as well cowards and get away with it with enough people to get real cowards elected continues to amaze me. However, this time the response was immediate by Obama and effective. In fact, that has been what has been happening right through the election up to this point. They should have figured out that things have changed and their vile lies are not being accepted quite as easily.

As a trial attorney I know that sometimes one does not get the answer one wants from a question. Sometimes it's an important question. What you do at that point is (unless you have some way of proving the witness was lying) simply go on to the next question and pretend that the answer you got wasn't all that important after all. You don't keep digging.

That is just what these guys have continued to do in this case and in so doing they look a little sillier and anything else that they throw out there is going to be a little less likely to stick (hopefully).