The Weakest Standard

I haven't commented on The Weekly Standard's 'Case Closed' article. The main reason is because Josh Marshall, Calpundit, Atrios, Eric Alterman, and the majority of the blogosphere has listed their comments. I don't have too much more to add than what has already been said...

But I do think that these type of misleading statements by the right side of the political spectrum, statements that twist raw data into hard facts, have ruined any chance of establishing a legitimate public discourse about the issues that matter to this nation and to the world.

This PIPA report underscores the above point:

A new study based on a series of seven nationwide polls conducted from January through September of this year reveals that before and after the Iraq war, a majority of Americans have had significant misperceptions and these are highly related to support for the war with Iraq.
[...]
Those who primarily watch Fox News are significantly more likely to have misperceptions, while those who primarily listen to NPR or watch PBS are significantly less likely.

An in-depth analysis of a series of polls conducted June through September found 48% incorrectly believed that evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda have been found, 22% that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and 25% that world public opinion favored the US going to war with Iraq. Overall 60% had at least one of these three misperceptions.