There are very few things in politics more attractive than a straw man. You can blame problems on them, cast them as obstructionists, or paint them as dangerous forces to be faced down and vanquished. And, since the straw man is just that — a figment of the imagination — you will never face blow-back for citing him.
Unless, of course, the press steps up and points out that a politician is using the straw man to paint his political opponents as scaremongers.
Which is exactly what the Associated Press does not do in the first two paragraphs of its report on President Bush’s visit to Little Rock today:
President Bush, on a campaign-style road trip to pressure recalcitrant Democrats and reluctant Republicans on a Social Security, warned Friday against “scare tactics” in the burgeoning debate.
The president decried the kind of opposition campaigns now being waged against his proposals, saying they mislead seniors into thinking they won’t get the Social Security checks on which they depend.
There is strong opposition to Bush’s Social Security proposals. But we know of no example of opponents suggesting that current recipients of Social Security checks could be shortchanged by Bush’s plan. It’s an interesting accusation, but it’s one that no one has made. And AP owes it to its readers to point that out.
A straw man remains standing only for so long as there is someone to prop him up.
–Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang was a writer at CJR Daily.