You won't hear me disagree.
There was a day that politics was the practice of upper-class gentlemen who, when they disagreed, disagreed with civility. Those days are long gone for the Democrats, and on the Republican side, they're largely gone outside RINO circles.
However, the mere fact that we're engaged in a gutter fight with people who in many cases (not all) have no sense of decency or respect for American values doesn't mean yelling on an obituary thread is always the best response. True, the goal isn't to be nice, but the goal **IS** to win, and sometimes tactics perceived as overly nasty can seriously backfire.
I understand the comments by veterans who are furious at Wallace's comments about not warning soldiers of an ambush. That's a fair attack and it will work.
Here's the clip, and note by the way that other reporters on the panel, including Peter Jennings, said they'd try to help the American soldiers even if it risked their life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGg_dpGhlf0
On this narrow point, I think we can win an argument that because Mike Wallace was willing to make money off reporting on the deaths of American soldiers and do nothing to help them, we can criticize him at the time of his own death. I think Mike Wallace would have to agree with that.
I'm not so sure some of the other comments are helpful to our cause in the context of an obituary thread. Let's remember that Chris Wallace of FOX News may very well end up seeing this thread, and let's write the way we would if we were talking face-to-face with Wallace family members.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/chris-wallace-mike-wallace-death-statement_n_1414300.html
“...Let’s remember that Chris Wallace of FOX News may very well end up seeing this thread, and let’s write the way we would if we were talking face-to-face with Wallace family members...”
I absolutely hear and understand your point. And the family has my condolences. It absolutely sucks to lose people you love.
But for myself, I can’t get too worked up over the loss of someone who helped the other side accomplish their goals, in whatever capacity. I have family members who died fighting those same goals. Their memory means a lot more to me.
Again, I point to the likes of Ted Kennedy. Everything he did legislatively - whether he actually believed it was for the good of the country or not - was to the detriment of our people. I would be lying to you if I said that I wasn’t relieved when he finally left us - it meant he could do no more damage.
My point was that he chose sides, and that side wasn’t ours - his own COUNTRY’S side - so I won’t eulogize the guy and pretend he was something other than what he was.
Not going to slam him anymore beyond what I already said, either. It is kind of pointless.