Pundit Boxscore for Wednesday 25 June 2003

SPINSANITY ON COULTER, SCHEER: In a complex critique of both sides in the ongoing debate over weapons of mass destruction and and the justification for the war in Iraq, Ben Fritz of Spinsanity chastises the top two members of the Lying in Ponds Top Ten. First, he goes after Ann Coulter for impugning the motives of her political opponents:

Some conservatives, meanwhile, have made equally baseless accusations that ignore the real concerns of liberal critics, instead merely accusing them of bad motives. "It's transparently political," said Sean Hannity on the Fox News show "Hannity and Colmes" on June 5. "This is a political witch-hunt. Because they're on the wrong side of history." Columnist Ann Coulter also chimed in with the accusation that, "Seething with rage and frustration at the success of the war in Iraq, liberals have started in with their female taunting about weapons of mass destruction."

Mr. Fritz also criticizes both Robert Scheer and "inactive" Lying in Ponds pundit Robert Kagan for hiding the complexity of the issue by quoting only selective portions of a government report:

A recent column by Robert Scheer is a typical example of these sorts of liberal criticisms. He correctly points out that President Bush cited the aforementioned Niger uranium story (which turned out to be based on forged documents) and that that the administration has often implied a connection between Iraq and September 11 that has not been demonstrated. He also points to recent revelations about a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) document from last September. He quotes part of it that reads, "there is no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing and stockpiling chemical weapons, or whether Iraq has - or will - establish its chemical warfare agent production facilities." He contrasts that with more definitive statements made at the time by administration officials to conclude that the President and his aides have been deceptive.

That DIA report, however, is a perfect example of how both sides in this debate have managed to avoid each other's claims. Robert Kagan also cited it earlier this month in a Washington Post op-ed defending the administration against charges of deception. Kagan simply quotes a different part than Sheer does, which reads, "Iraq probably possesses chemical agent in chemical munitions" and "probably possesses bulk chemical stockpiles, primarily containing precursors, but that also could consist of some mustard agent and VX." Both Kagan and Scheer are using real evidence, but by only pointing to the portions that back up their case, they present simplistic cases to the public that ignore the complexities of the actual document.

Author/ Affiliation	Title/ Date	words	PI	Partisan References
Clarence Page Chicago Tribune	O'Connor splits the difference 25 June 2003	850	100	1R+: Richard Nixon
Maureen Dowd New York Times	Could Thomas Be Right? 25 June 2003	838	64	1D-: Bob Kerrey 8R-: Republicans, Bush, G.O.P. , Bob Dole, President Bush, Bush, Gonzales, President Bush 1D=, 1R=
David S. Broder Washington Post	How to Head Off a Fight Over the High Court 25 June 2003	1058	20	10D+: Democratic, Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Leahy, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, Clinton, Clinton, Leahy, Leahy, Leahy 6D-: Daschle, Leahy, Democratic, John Kerry, Joseph Lieberman, Democratic 14R+: Alberto Gonzales, Republicans, Bush, Senate Republican, Orrin Hatch, Hatch, Hatch, Hatch, Bush, Hatch, the president, Hatch, Gonzales, Fleischer 1R-: Ari Fleischer 6D=, 9R=
Claudia Rosett Inactive	Two Refugee Stories 25 June 2003	1949	0	27R=
Cal Thomas Tribune Media Services	Negative action at the Supreme Court 25 June 2003	754	0
Linda Chavez Creators Syndicate	In Michigan case, the real losers were the American people 25 June 2003	738	0
Anne Applebaum Inactive	Bumbling Bipartisanship 25 June 2003	815	0	3D=, 5R=
Michael Kinsley Washington Post	Want Diversity? Think Fuzzy 25 June 2003	1044	0
Thomas L. Friedman Inactive	Bad Planning 25 June 2003	888	0	8R=
Walter Williams Creators Syndicate	How much we tolerate 25 June 2003	701	0