Black Box Report

There are many mysteries of the universe we may never be able to explain, like how the Egyptian pyramids were built; the disappearance of the ancient Mayan civilization; and how did John Bolton ever get a job as a diplomat? The moustache that roared is at it again, telling FOX News, naturally, that the mullahs in Iran are hankering for a Democratic president so they can freely pursue a nuclear weapons program and DESTROY THE WORLD!!!!...or something. Surprisingly enough, one diarist at Daily Kos agrees, but for different reasons:

After seven years of watching Bush and the neo-cons push for war with Iran I'd be hoping for a Democratic President too. It must have been nerve-racking for them to hear the administration use claims they knew to be false as justification for an attack. Iran knew they had no WMDs but until the NIE was leaked not a lot of other people did. The NIE concluded they had abandoned their nuclear program several years ago. The Bush Administration had had this report for a while now. They buried it, ready to lie their way into yet another war in the middle east. Now why would Iran not want another eight years of that?

That argument aside - and it's not a bad one - Bolton's comments don't make a lick of sense when you consider that it was a result of the current Republican foreign policy that Iran's position in the Middle East has been strengthened:

Yeah, i'm sure that (Iran) would rather have someone who is likely to do something in the WH rather than Bush who has played into their hands from day one.

For a party that prides itself (or used to) on being "the party of ideas," they haven't had an original idea, much less campaign strategy, for the last quarter-century. And Bolton's latest example of Yosemite Sam rhetoric is just the same stuff, different election:

Bolton's fearmongering on Iran mirrors the conservative strategy around the 2006 elections. At the time, Sen. Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, and the White House all suggested al Qaeda was hoping for a Democratic Congress.

Back then we were told if Democrats took control of Congress, we'd lose Iraq and terrorists would invade your kitchen! So, how did those predictions work out?

The prevailing talking point before the 2006 election was that if Democrats became the majority in Congress, we'd fail in Iraq and terrorists would be everywhere here at home. However, now you can't hear a Republican speak without mentioning that we're winning the war in Iraq, and there hasn't been a major attack on American Soil since a Republican ran the White House! So given that predictions are dubious but results are rock solid, it stands to reason that Bolton's suggestion will have the opposite effect - Tehran is as good as destroyed once a Democrat gets the presidency.

John Bolton. Always wrong. Still on TV.