What's the downside to telling Westminster College that Cheney's speech will be political? What's the upside to claiming beforehand that it's a nonpolitical foreign policy address?
Why do they lie all the time?
STLtoday - News - Election 2004: Cheney spoke from the Westminster College gymnasium, where Winston Churchill warned 58 years ago that an "iron curtain" was descending across Europe. The White House asked Westminster to sponsor the speech, which was billed as a nonpolitical foreign policy address. Some in the audience found that misleading. "I didn't hear the major foreign policy announcement," said Jim Marshall, 21, a junior from St. Louis.
Westminster President Fletcher M. Lamkin agreed that "it was more of a political speech than we expected, but the door's open" to Kerry to speak as well. "We would treat him with the same dignity and respect that we did Mr. Cheney," Lamkin said.
The Westminster College President writes:
Posted by DeLong at April 27, 2004 06:06 PM | TrackBack | | Other weblogs commenting on this postDear Westminster Students, Faculty and Staff::
I would like to thank each and every one of you who were so courteous and respectful to Mr. Cheney during his visit and speech. Frankly, I must admit that I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Cheney chose to step off the high ground and resort to Kerry-bashing for a large portion of his speech. The content and tone of his speech was not provided to us prior to the event -- we had only been told the speech would be about foreign policy, including issues in Iraq. Nevertheless, I was extremely proud of the students, staff, and faculty who represented the College so well during the organization of the visit and during the speech itself -- inside and outside of the gym....
Finally, I want to make it clear to the Westminster community that, in the interest of balance and fairness and integrity, we will strongly encourage Senator Kerry to take advantage of this venue to make his views known as well. In fact, I have already stated this invitation publicly via members of the media immediately after Mr. Cheney's speech. In the framework of academic freedom and balance, I would expect and demand that our campus community treat Mr. Kerry with equal courtesy and respect should he decide to visit here. It is my sincere belief and commitment that this college will continue to be world-class venue for international leaders who want to speak to the world via Westminster.
--Fletcher M. Lamkin, Ph.D.
Speaking of people with no soul...
Posted by: Palolo lolo on April 27, 2004 06:10 PMWhat's the upside? It's for the movie they're going to run on the wall-sized screens at the national convention-- the stentorian announcer's voice will intone, "speaking from the very platform where Winston Churchill roused the free world to resist the spread of communist tyranny, vice president dick cheney courageously faced down insidious east coast liberalism." Cut to a sentence or two of Cheney bully-speak. Cut to spliced-in standing ovation.
Remember the Apple super bowl commercial that introduced the Mac? Cheney looks sooo much like the big brother character whose image got blasted by the thrown hammer, doesn't he?
Fletcher Lamkin - Fair and Balanced! Yes!!!
Posted by: dwain on April 27, 2004 06:32 PMWas it Woodward himself or someone commenting on his book that suggested Cheney just lost it totally over this whole build-up to take out Iraq? Can it be that Bush's righthand man has simply gone insane? And yet true to form - the worse one's performance turns out to be in this White House, the more likely one will keep one's position.
Posted by: Harold McClure on April 27, 2004 07:12 PMMy god. Apparently there remains a man who puts principle ahead of politics in the United States. Put him in the Smithsonian.
Of course, wingnuts must immediately be researching his past for evidence of sympathizing with gays or, worse, voting Democrat.
Posted by: anon2 on April 27, 2004 07:40 PMLamkin is a retired Brigadier General. He must have been livid.
Posted by: Knut Wicksell on April 27, 2004 07:55 PMObviously, bigDickey remembers those days when he himself was in the bunker, vietcong was dropping bombs on his heads and he could not think straight. Dickey is still suffering from VN war trauma so forgive him, brothers.
Posted by: john on April 27, 2004 11:11 PMWell he is what I call an 'honorary Viet Nam Verteran', when I'm in a cynical mood. Meaning that he's a GOP politician, so little details like "other priorities" are overlooked by Patriotic Real Red-State Americans.
Comsymps like Kerry, who were luxuriating on tropical luxury cruises, and getting medals for 'itty bitty' shrapnel wounds deserve, of course, nothing but contempt from Patriotic Real Red-State Americans.
Is it possible that Cheney billed this as a foreign policy speech simply so that he could bill the government for the travel, and not the campaign?
Posted by: James Galbraith on April 28, 2004 06:04 PMIs it possible that Cheney billed this as a foreign policy speech simply so that he could bill the government for the travel, and not the campaign?
Posted by: James Galbraith on April 28, 2004 06:04 PMWhat a bunch of mind numbed losers.
Posted by: Juan on April 30, 2004 09:17 PMpaxil There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by
ridicule, howsoever poor and witless. Observe the ass, for instance: his
character is about perfect, he is the choicest spirit among all the humbler
animals, yet see what ridicule has brought him to. Instead of feeling
complimented when we are called an ass, we are left in doubt.
-- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"
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