Running from the Center

The indispensible Glenn Greenwald is upset that the media frequently label St. McCain a centrist. Greenwald is particularly peeved that he's seen as a foreign policy centrist. As always, Greenwald is right on the money. McCain is no centrist. He's pro-life, pro-business (though he doesn't really understand how or why), pro-war, and most recently pro-torture (yippee!). Labeling McCain a "centrist" is endemic of the mainstream media. The Saint has occasionally shown some proclivity for moderation so he is eternally a centrist. The same label is applied to Joe Lieberman's foreign policy. Now, a half-assed examination of Lieberman's foreign policy views reveal that he is in lock step with George W. Bush, Bill Kristol, and John McCain on this i.e. a neoconservative. However, since Lieberman is an independent Democrat he's seen as between both the Democratic and Republican parties; therefore, he must be a centrist. Anyways, the same logic can of course be applied to McCain. John McCain believes the state of war is good for the country and he supports escalation of the Iraq war and bombing Iran. These are, of course, neoconservative viewpoints that align him perfectly with the right-wing of the Republican party. As much as I'd like to blame this on the media's love affair with John McCain, I think that it's probably more appropriate to chalk this one up to ignorance via laziness. Brian Beutler, has a very persuasive theory along these lines:

...the line connecting the most liberal politicians in Washington to the most conservative politicians in Washington really does, on social issues, run relatively smoothly from the left flank of the Democratic party through the right flank of the Republican party with a break between blue and red somewhere close to a "center". That, probably as much as anything else, explains why traditional media uses the system it uses. In effect, of course, this puts a ton of emphasis on party distinctions, placing, for instance, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman shoulder-to-shoulder on the spectrum even though one's foreign policy views are fairly at odds with the other's.

Well said, Mr. Beutler. The media just doesn't have the will, by way of laziness or outright apathy, to differetiate between the line on social issues and foreign policy. In terms of social issues, Lieberman really is a moderate Democrat or a "centrist", if you will. On the contrary, he has a neoconservative foreign policy in lock step with his good buddy St. John McCain.

Anyways, I know this is a long post but you must bear with me a little longer. The catalyst for comrade Greenwald's ire was this article by Michael Hirsh in Newsweek, and this segment in particular:

Lieberman, [McCain's] fellow centrist, recently seems to have assigned himself the role of McCain's monitor. Just two weeks ago, when McCain mistakenly said Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters, it was the Connecticut senator who again pulled him aside, gently reminding him that the Iranian regime has been accused of training fellow Shiite extremists, not Sunni Al Qaeda.

I return again to Brian Beutler. In Mr Beutler's opinion that segment should have been presented as such:

"Lieberman, his fellow interventionist hawk, recently seems to have assigned himself the role of McCain's remedial tutor on terrorism issues, reminding him that Shiite-led Iran is emphatically not training Sunni Al Qaeda troops in Iraq or anywhere else."

Once again, well said Mr. Beutler. Ok, now I'm done, you can go have fun now!

Review: Stop-Loss

This past Saturday I saw Stop-Loss. The film is Kimberly Pierce's, the director of Boys Don't Cry, effort to explore the effects of the military's stop-loss policy ordered by the President. In case you don't know, a soldier is stop-lossed when they are reenlisted in the military against there will. This policy is ordered by the President when recruitment goals are not being met and no draft is in place. It amounts essentially to a "backdoor draft" a term that is used throughout the movie and appears frequently throughout the media. The stop-loss policy can only go into effect in a time of war. Now that we've got that covered, let's move on the movie. The central character in Pierce's film is that of Staff Sergeant Brandon King, expertly portrayed by Ryan Phillipe. He is an all-American, good-ol' Texas boy. He is a squad leader in Iraq. His squad is made up of some of his friends from his hometown, including Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) and Tommy Burgess (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Stop-Loss opens with a particularly greuling episode in Iraq that results in a number of deaths in King's squad. King feels personally responsible for the loss of his men and is greatly troubled upon his return, with his squad, to Texas. Shortly after his return stateside, King is informed that he has been stop-lossed. This of course does not sit well with King who had planned on leaving the army and beginning a civilian life. King leaves with his best friend's (Shriver) fiance Michelle (played by Abbie Cornish). He hopes to meet with a senator and convince him to pull some strings so he can avoid another tour in Iraq.

This movie has been getting mixed reviews. I personally thought it was extremely well done. The movie combines a traditional cinema format with home video shot by King and his squad in Iraq. These videos were very effectively edited into the film and are repeatedly flash-backed to (did I say that right?) throughout. Phillippe is at the top of his game in Stop-Loss. He certianly has come a long way since I Know What You Did Last Summer. Phillippe's portrayal of King is layered in emotional depth and haunting guilt. Tatum is developing into a great actor and his role as the unstable Steve Shriver is belivable. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is another one of those underused actors. Aside from Phillippe his performance is the best in the film. Abbie Cornish was powerful as Michelle and I liked how there was no romance forced between her and Phillippe. These movies are so much better when they aren't afraid to leave the love story out. While the film definately comes off as anti-war, its loving and respectful portrayal of American soldiers will certainly playcate any kneejerk critics. Stop-Loss is definately a film worth seeing for both those in support and against the war.

Rating: ***

*Uwe Boll/Michael Bay bad **Keeanu Reevesish ***Great ***Fantastic

P.S. I guess I should note that if I give something a **1/2 rating, that counts as "good."