HISSY FIT COMMENTARY

The premise of Frank Rich’s Op-Ed in the November 6 edition of The New York Times is pointed, pertinent and on-target. Unfortunately, like many writers – I include myself in this as well – he overreaches, trying to cover too much ground by indicting the present administration for everything save hurricanes, instead of sticking to the story.

In doing so, he demonstrates why people with a conservative viewpoint consider most liberals shrill shills of anti-Americanism. I can see Rich stamping the ground and pouting while he dictates to himself.

Rich’s op-ed concerns the disgusting manipulation of the combat death of former NFL player Pat Tillman by the Department of Defense. The buck stops somewhere (Rich has no conception of the chain of command) and so, the Commander-in-Chief has to accept blame for this event. Tillman, a member of 2nd Battalion 75th Rangers – Rich never bothers to mention his outfit, another indication of his lack of knowledge of the military ethos – was killed in Afghanistan and the DoD went on to exaggerate, overstate and lie outrightly about his death.

Although the op-ed is titled “The Mysterious Death of Pat Tillman,” Rich doesn’t get to Tillman for three long and wordy paragraphs, preferring to start off indicting Lewis Libby instead (and ignoring the Times’ own style manual along the way). Rich eventually goes off on a ramble about Tillman’s military career; this consumes an entire paragraph from NFL to death, quite a slight to Tillman.

Nonetheless, the remainder of this wordy essay tries to put forth a case for connecting this “cover up” with the Wilson/Plame/Miller case. Rich could have written “The Mysterious Case of Joseph Wilson” as well, but that would also require telling the truth about Wilson/Plame/Miller, et al, and THAT ain’t happening. In fact, Judith Miller doesn’t even get a mention.

Rich then goes on to connect Tillman’s death with coffin photos, body counts, the contractor hangings in Fallujah, 60 Minutes II, the report on the events of September 11, 2001, the “bad news for America and the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign” (still can’t get over that second term, eh Frank?), etc., etc. He also throws in the “Manchurian Candidate,” Jessica Lynch, the C-I-C’s “Mission Accomplished” carrier fly-in (still ain’t a Democrat around that can do that, eh, Frank?), Abu Ghraib (awwww. Frank, we REALLY don’t care about THAT), and on and on and on. He ends the op-ed hip shooting at Libby and the President’s approval rating.

I guess if you open a piece with Lewis Libby and close it with him, that means you’ve come full circle. I would think it would have helped if the title and the body of the piece had something to do with the open and close – or vice versa; or something – but I must be in error.

Anyway … Rich ends up writing a difficult-to-follow-the-point, unreadable, liberal hissy fit about almost anything but what/why/how/who/etc., happened to Pat Tillman, which would have made a damn good op-ed, because that WAS bullshit.

Frank Rich is considered one of the big boys in liberal commentary, but this piece misses the mark – like all rants – simply by not sticking to a point. ANY point.