Words For Today: "Undermining our troops"
Let's get with the program, pussycats: How would Mr. Cheney have *any* idea about what would or wouldn't undermine our troops? The last time he had an opportunity to gain even minimal knowledge about what it might or might not mean to actually *be* a "troop," he had, "OTHER PRIORITIES"!
Remember . . . ?
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New! Role of Messenger and Comment about Spin
This story shows (at least) two interesting framing elements. First, we can see the existence of spin...not in the story itself, but in Cheney's rhetorical strategy when responding to criticisms of his military service. Cheney deferred the draft during the Vietnam War five times. When asked by a journalist for the Washington Post why he didn't serve, he responded by saying "I had other priorities in the 60's than military service." He quickly followed this with the comment that he "would have obviously been happy to serve had I been called." To learn more about this topic check out the New York Times article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/01/politics/campaign/01CHEN.html?ex=1398830400&;;en=1c0259e620183dd6&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
This is an example of spin because he framed military service as both "less important" than other priorities - and therefore asserted that he was doing things that are more important - and that his patriotism is beyond scrutiny because he declared that he "obviously" would have been happy to serve. This said, despite the reality of his decision to remain in college for personal benefit for six years - which was more in service to himself than toward his country.
The second element of framing we can see playing an important role in this story is the validity of the messenger (pardon the pun!). On page 36 of Thinking Points (in chapter three titled Frames and Brains) George Lakoff talks about how crucial the messenger is when delivering a message. An effective messenger needs to have integrity and credibility. In this story the messenger - Vice President Cheney - is being attacked as a credible messenger. His credibility is undermined in the following way:
1. Cheney takes an authoritative position on the management of military matters during a time of conflict (the invasion and occupation of Iraq)
2. His message is about the needs of troops in battle
3. His status as a messenger for troops is undermined in two ways
i. He does not have direct experience in battle
ii. He has shirked responsibility in the past by failing to answer
the call of duty when he deferred military service
iii. He is not a credible patriot, but is instead an entreprenuer who
cares more for his own benefit than the benefit of the country