Ain't Got a Clue

Thomas Friedman is always talking about the War on Ideas underlying broader struggles like our newfangled War on Terror(ism) -- sharp power is necessary, but ineffectual without the appeal of soft power. I've always found his arguments pretty persuasive, and common sensical as well.

He goes at it again today in his column about how the Bushies' massive PR machine -- which managed in 2004 to propagandize Max Cleland and John Kerry, two authentic war heroes, into oblivion -- is strangely toothless when it comes to the terrorist nightmare.

Ask yourself this: If Osama bin Laden were running against George Bush for president, how would Karl Rove and Karen Hughes have handled the Yazidi murders? Within an hour, they’d have had a press release out saying: “This genocide of Iraqi civilians was inspired by bin Laden. We accuse bin Laden of the mass murder of 500 women and children. Bin Laden has killed more Iraqis and Muslims than any person alive. Support bin Laden and you support genocide against Muslims.” And they would have repeated that point on every network, every day.