Why It Matters

Sure, the first half of ABC's little GOP political advertisement was stomped into the ground by preseason football.

But, as Ruth Marcus writes in the Post:

The gripping final report of the Sept. 11 commission (budget: $13.5 million) became a surprise bestseller at 1.5 million copies. The not-so-gripping, not-so-accurate ABC production (budget: $40 million) was seen by about 13 million viewers on the first night.

And considering how many people still - despite Bush's having finally admitted that it just isn't true - believe that Saddam is connected to the Sept 11 attacks, it's not too hard to imagine that more than a few of those viewers will, despite the warnings about "fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, as well as time compression" and believe its metamessage.

What metamessage is that? Why, the same one this administration and its party have been harping on for 6 years, if not more: it's all Clinton's fault and Bush is a genuine hero, and if you don't agree you hate America.