Your Thanksgiving Day Political Feast

I was pointed by the Yellow Dog Blog to an extremely informative and useful article written by Peter Daou of Salon's Daou Report. The premise is that many of us will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, possibly doing some traveling in the process. Most families have some people on the right, some on the left, and more in the middle. Sadly, politics almost always comes up during long, post feast conversations, (unless, like me, you promptly pass out from turkey protein overload) and things can get heated.

With this in mind, Daou provides you with ten important talking points which will prepare you to respond with authority to any right wing, Bush praising relatives who try to fly the ten most familiar myths about Iraq.

In his article (which you should print out and take with you for your feast) you will have counterpoints with linked references for myths such as:

1. VIRTUALLY EVERYONE WHO SAW THE INTELLIGENCE BELIEVED SADDAM HAD WMD, THEREFORE BUSH IS BEING UNFAIRLY SINGLED OUT FOR CRITICISM

2. AFTER 9/11, WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE THREAT TO MATERIALIZE BEFORE TAKING ACTION

3. DEMOCRATS "VOTED FOR" AND THUS "SUPPORTED" THE WAR

4. TALK OF WITHDRAWAL "SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE" AND "EMBOLDENS THE ENEMY"

5. A WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ WOULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES

6. WITHDRAWING FROM IRAQ IS TANTAMOUNT TO "CUTTING & RUNNING"

7. WE'RE FIGHTING THEM 'THERE' SO WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT THEM HERE

8. DEMOCRATS DON'T HAVE A PLAN FOR IRAQ, THEY'RE JUST ATTACKING BUSH TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS

9. HISTORY WILL VINDICATE BUSH

10. ISN'T IT A GOOD THING THAT SADDAM IS GONE?

Each one of these straw men can be easily and authoritatively taken apart in short easy words that the most addled Bush supporter can understand. Enjoy this piece and go forth armed for debate.