The Time Line of Spin

Ready? Ok, let's go backward. Here's the front and back page of the NY Daily News. Study the front page closely, especially the last line "Rudy rips GOP rival for saying the US to blame for 9/11"

And the story inside?

"COLUMBIA, S.C. - Rudy Giuliani indignantly demanded last night that a presidential rival take it back after suggesting U.S. foreign policy invited the 9/11 terror attack.
Giuliani's angry rebuke last night was aimed at Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who said the U.S. bombing of Iraq over 10 years contributed to Islamic anger that led to the suicide bombings of the twin towers and the Pentagon." [Italics mine]

Now I happen to really respect Ron Paul. His grandfatherly looks aside, he seems to be the only real conservative out of the bunch, and what he believes seems based in reason rather than blind faith and jingoism. I needed to look more so I backtracked the GOP debate on Sully's blog and I found this:

"Giuliani, interestingly, openly lied about Ron Paul's position on 9/11. Paul specifically did not make a statement, as Giuliani immediately claimed, that the U.S. invited 9/11. I rewound to double-check. It was the Fox questioner who ratcheted up the stakes on that question, not Paul. Paul demurred on a specific answer and switched the question to the general issue of blowback."

So this is how it goes--Paul deviates from the Bush talking points and the wingnut thugs in the M$M spin it to make it seem that Paul's a radical. What he was saying about blowback is true--there is a cause and effect dynamic that the US ignores at its own peril. Can I say that US foreign policy is the only reason for the Islamic threat? No. But at the same time I'd be an idiot if I completely dismissed our policies, and thought of us as some angelic saint that hasn't antagonized entire regions of this planet. Being a good leader means telling people something they don't want to hear. Of all the guys last night, Paul was the only one doing that, and now he'll get pummelled.

Video is below. Make up your own mind.