Election '08 - Clark on McCain; FactChecking

Cartoon:
http://www.caglepost.com/cartoon/Huffaker/52615/Vietnam+or+Osama+.html

General Wesley Clark on Face the Nation
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/ftn/main3460.shtml

FactCheck Essay
http://www.factcheck.org/specialreports/false_ads_there_oughta_be_a_law.html


July 8, 2008
Letter to Editor, area newspaper:

It was a shock to see Huffaker's July 3 cartoon attribute to General Wesley Clark the exact opposite of Clark’s June 26 statement on Face the Nation. Clark said about John McCain, "He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a POW." The question was: to what extent does youthful military heroism -- McCain's -- translate into national security policymaking experience or ability?

I realize this is the "Opinion" page, but this cartoon seems to cross a line. The reverse of Clark’s statement appeared presented as the "fact" upon which the opinion -- its effect on bin Laden -- was based. More, the statement attributed to Clark is one people everywhere would regard with revulsion. In today’s swirl of spin, fact, and error, discerning the facts is no easy challenge, but indispensable for democracy. As Jefferson said, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."

So -- should editors “fact-check” cartoons?

Interestingly, Washington State’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s “truth-in-political-advertising” law in 1998, saying: “Instead of relying on the State to silence false political speech, the First Amendment requires our dependence on even more speech to bring forth truth.”

General Clark said about McCain as POW: “He was a hero to me...and millions of others.” I am thankful for opportunities for “even more speech” in our free American press -- firsthand transcripts, full videos, sites like FactCheck.org, Herald-Sun’s Letters -- and hope Huffaker can offer his viewpoint.