Wow, Go Dave Obey!

Over on ThinkProgress, we see Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) absolutely slamming the Washington Post over an editorial that repeated the hoary old lines about "unconditional retreat" and "endorsement by MoveOn.org". Here's the transcript:

Let me submit to you the problem we have today is not that we didn’t listen enough to people like the Washington Post. It’s that we listened too much. They endorsed going to war in the first place. They helped drive the drumbeat that drove almost 2/3 of the people in this chamber to vote for that misguided, ill-advised war. So I make no apology. If the moral sensibilities of some people on this floor, or the editorial writers of The Washington Post are offended because they don’t like the specific language contained in our benchmarks or in our timelines. What matters in the end is not what the specific language is. What matters is whether or not we produce a product today that puts pressure on this Administration and sends a message to Iraq, to the Iraqi politicians that we’re going to end the permanent long-term dead end babysitting service. That’s what we’re trying to do.

And if The Washington Post is offended about the way we do it, that’s just too bad. But we’re in the arena. They’re not. And this is the best we can do given the tools that we have. And I make absolutely no apology for it. And I would say one thing, those of us who voted against the war in the first place wouldn’t have nearly as hard a time getting us out of the war if people like The Washington Post and those who criticized us on the floor yesterday hadn’t supported going into that stupid war in the first place.

What can I add to that, really? Too many media outlets like to pretend that they can stand above the fray and give impartial advice, and yet not be responsible today for the "advice" they gave yesterday. The Post's editorial board and neo-con columnists are particularly bad for this, but hardly unique. It's nice to see a Dem standing up against them.