And then Mitchell starts with what he sees as the most obvious similarity between Vietnam and Iraq:

Let’s start with: the nation’s leaders lying to the American people to gain our involvement in the two wars. Don’t take my word for it. Gallup found this week that half of all Americans now say that President Bush deliberately misled them on WMDs.

Um. That’s his evidence? A poll? The number could be 100% of Americans and it wouldn’t count as proof – in a court of law or with a fair editor — that Bush “lied” (neither, alas, would Mr. Mitchell’s “word” that it is so). Indeed, the polling question is whether or not America was “misled” not if it was lied to. Readers around here understand that the distinction is significant. Readers probably also understand that if the polls overwhelmingly said Bush told the truth, Mitchell wouldn’t bother with polls.

Beyond all this, I’m not sure it’s worth going after Mitchell much more. The rest of his vein-popping tirade has nothing to do with me. He goes off on “Goldberg types” and ascribes to me by association things I have never said. He again cites polls as proof of … something or other.

The spittle really flies when he offers a list of alleged similarities between the two wars which amount to little more than question-begging or listing things he didn’t like about both wars side-by-side. I’m sure the people he “knows” talk about the similarities of destroying Fallujah and destroying Vietnamese cities all the time. But it’s not a point that comes up in the press that much.

Mitchell seems to operate under the assumption that only lefties of his age and anti-war demeanor can speak intelligently – or righteously – about Vietnam War (if that’s the case maybe he should read <a href=” http://slate.msn.com/id/2112895/

” target=”_blank”> Christopher Hitchens on the subject).

This was largely my point about liberal babyboomers being incapable of looking at the world without seeing Vietnam. I think he proves my point.