One of the skills we are supposed to learn in law school is how to find inconsistencies in arguments. When taken to extremes, people say we are nit-picking.
Please tell me if I am nit-picking John McCain or if these are serious logical errors.
Everything comes from this article:
MSNBC: McCain fears ‘Tet Offensive’ in Iraq
First, let’s compare the following statement with a public opinion poll. (Emphasis added.)
By the way, a lot of us are also very concerned about the possibility of a, quote, “Tet Offensive.” You know, some large-scale tact that could then switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did.
The article tells us that “[l]ast month, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that 62 percent said the United States made a mistake in going to war in Iraq.”
That is a very generous number, too. Take a look at this website that collects all sorts of polls related to the Iraq war.
So, if most Americans currently feel negatively about the war, and he thinks another Tet Offensive would “switch” public opinion. Does that mean a Tet Offensive would generate more support for the war?
Second, let’s compare the same statement to another statement he makes in the same speech. (Emphasis added.)
By the way, a lot of us are also very concerned about the possibility of a, quote, “Tet Offensive.” You know, some large-scale tact that could then switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did.
Should we set a date by which to determine if the troop “surge” is a success?
I think that it should be publicly open-ended because I think that if you set a date, that there’s every possibility that the insurgents would just lay back and wait until we leave.
Uh, so if we set a date then there will not be a Tet Offensive? Then shouldn’t we set a date? Wait, maybe we want a Tet Offensive because then people will support the war.
After writing this all down, I think I understand these statements. McCain is like most politicians – he has no idea what is going on and simply says things that he thinks his voters want to hear. The alternative is too depressing – our leaders actually believe they know what is going on and think that their actions will improve things.
