Intellectual honesty and sweet Caroline

Hands, touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline.................

OK, I apologize for that (for now).

One particular bit of intellectual dishonesty by various right-wing vermin is to say that "Well, everyone said or knew..." or "Someone specific said...." and then use that to justify their abortive misfires.

Case in point--Rush's dumber brother.

To wit:

Feingold is also incensed that President Bush has a "preemptive doctrine of war." But did he have the courage to challenge Sen. Kerry when Kerry admitted during the presidential campaign that "American presidents have always had a right of preemption to address immediate threats"?

Boys and girls, can you spot the logical flaw so large you could drive David's drug-addled brother through it? How about "American presidents have always had a right of preemption to address immediate threats?"

Of course they have, Sen. Kerry was absolutely right, and what Kerry said has nothing whatsoever to do with Bush's "doctrine" of "preemptive" wars of choice justified only with threats intended to frighten the uninformed. Daniel Webster set forth the basic principles of preemptive defense in the Caroline matter (you see, there was a connection!).

In 1837, British troops sank an American ship, the Caroline, in U.S. waters based on claims (probably true) that the ship was being used to provide supplies to rebels against British rule in Canada. Secretary of State Webster defined the situations when preemptive force may be used. First, force in anticipatory self-defense may only be used when "the necessity of that self-defense is instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means and no moment for deliberation." In addition, Secretary Webster suggests that the action taken must be proportionate to the threat and not be excessive.

Any 6th grader could see that Operation Iraqi Clusterfuck doesn't come anywhere close to falling within the Caroline doctrine, but certainly that is too much to ask of Limbaugh and his ilk. So much for intellectual honesty.

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I've been inclined
To believe they never would