MoveOn and Coulter

I haven't commented on MoveOn.org's anti-Petraeus ad. Maybe I should have, but figuring out the actual issues and decisions on Iraq seems to me to take priority over domestic mud-fights. But of course it was unforgivable. It's one thing to criticize the general - because the president has placed him directly in the cross-hairs of politics. It's one thing to worry that he's too wedded to his own project in Iraq or too easily coopted by the partisan right. But impugning his patriotism is vile and does nothing but discredit the smearers. And whatever worries many of us had, his testimony before Congress this week struck me as honest and candid and restrained. Petraeus and Patrick Fitzgerald are examples of public servants in intense political squalls who managed to keep their heads and their integrity intact. I'm relieved such men still exist in government. We need many more.

The only thing to add is that the hard right should perhaps take out the beam in its own eye on the question of impugning others' loyalty before tackling the deficiencies of others. If the anti-war crowd must disown Moveon, why is Ann Coulter still on Fox?