Perceptions are NOT reality

This morning I got an e-mail from MoveOn.org. Normally I’m happy to be on their mailing list. But this e-mail, with the subject line “Political Dynamite” bothered me.  It started off with:

We commissioned it earlier this year. It shows that voters in all 50 states see a link between the war and our sinking economy. Folks across the country think getting out of Iraq is one of the best ways to help fix our deepening economic crisis.

This message is political dynamite. If the link between Iraq war spending and the recession was in the headlines, John McCain and other pro-war politicians wouldn’t get away with their endless war strategy.

There may or may not be a connection between our occupation and the current recession. A national economy is a complex organism and there are likely many reasons why we’re in a downturn. But a connection isn’t proven because voters BELIEVE it to be true. Polls measure BELIEF, not reality. Most voters in 2002 BELIEVED that Saddam Hussein was involved with planning 9/11. But the REALITY was that Iraq had no operational links with al-Qaeda.

If you read my blog with any regularity, you know that I’m all for ending the occupation of Iraq and transforming our presence in Iraq to one of economic assistance and providing out-of-country training to Iraqi security forces. Even though fostering a belief that we’re in an “Iraq-powered recession” would contribute to my goal of ending the occupation, I’m not willing to be intellectually dishonest and sell perception as reality. That’s what got us in the occupation in the first place. When I rant about ends not justifying the means, I mean it for both Right and Left.