With sinking poll numbers, scandals enveloping key members of the Republican Party, and the public realizing what a mistake it made in November 2004, conservatives knew there was only one thing to do - change the subject.
So it should come as no surprise that conservatives are pushing the "war on Christmas" story. John Gibson, Fox News host, wrote The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought, which of course was heavily publicized on Fox News. Bill O'Reilly didn't blame it on liberals rather "It's the far left. It's the loony left, the Kool-Aid secular progressive ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] America-haters. That's who's doing this."
A funny thing happened on the way the war on Christmas. Apparently some of the foot soldiers are Fox News employees and the President and Mrs. Bush. You see the FOX News store decided to sell "holiday ornaments" and the Bushes sent out a card with "generic season's greetings," just the type of things that conservatives blame the left. Realizing the ridiculous nature, FOX quickly changed their store description to read holiday rather than Christmas, figuring they can fool most of their readers.
One can wonder why this is all going on. Washington Post reporter Dana Milbank on Countdown suggested that it merely reflected the ability of groups to raise funds by riling up their followers. Instead it is a way to change the subject. This so called war really got its first publicity last year, right during the discussion on whether the Ohio vote was on the level. This year the news returned as Bush's approval fell to record low levels.
Surprise, Surprise. With a war over Christmas easier to fight than a fight on his record, administration, or party, expect a lot more stories.
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