An anti-war group has recreated and will air one of the most deplorable political commercials in history: the Johnson presidential campaign ad called “Daisy” that said Goldwater would cause a nuclear war. (It was aired only once because of the strenuous objections it received.) Like the old one, this version shows a girl plucking petals off a daisy–and then a mushroom cloud.
“We wanted to run an ad that would highlight that very real possibility (of nuclear war) and help encourage a national discussion,” said MoveOn.org’s international campaign director.
This is left-wing paranoia. There is no attempt to argue this position; it’s an arbitrary assertion. I have no doubt it, and the commercial, appeals to anti-conceptual, emotionalist dolts that dominant the Left. Thinking people dismiss these scare tactics.
The group’s site wants people to sign a campaign to send a letter to President Bush that says, in part:
The United States has made a commitment to approaching the danger that Saddam Hussein poses through the international community. The resumption of the inspections regime is a triumph for the U.S., international law and multilateralism. But the United States will lose all credibility with its allies if it appears that it will go to war regardless of the inspections’ success. And by alienating and infuriating allies through unilateral action, the U.S. could throw the success of the campaign against terrorism into jeopardy. Mr. President, it appears that your administration is looking for an excuse to go to war, when a peaceful and just solution may be at hand. We ask that you live up to your word and give diplomacy a chance.
As of today, with weapons inspectors discovering chemical weapons artillery shells in Iraq, this weak argument is officially null and void.