September 8, 2003

foolish, idle mischief ...

John Podhoretz has it just right:

President Bush's subdued, powerful and totally straightforward 19-minute address from the White House was a clear message to his critics: Play time is over.

Bush's opponents had their free month to challenge his stewardship of Iraq and the War on Terror - the freedom to descend into a profoundly immoral chasm by claiming that the attacks on our soldiers, the United Nations and Shi'ite clerics were actually America's fault because we'd turned Iraq into an unsafe place.

With the help of bombers in Iraq, they drove his poll numbers down. Americans began talking idly about how we should be pulling troops out.

It was a delightful display of foolish, idle mischief - mischief purveyed by Democratic candidates and others. They approached the deadly serious issues of foreign policy and American security with the sneering attitude of an adolescent saying "What-ever" to an adult who has the temerity to suggest that driving 95 m.p.h. down a curvy and dangerous country road with an open beer can in your hand isn't really the wisest or safest course.

Well, now it's September. Vacation's done. Dad is back at the office...

The unspoken subtext of the President's speech was that the press and the Democrats are encouraging the terrorists. Which is precisely true. Bush said
...There is more at work in these attacks than blind rage. The terrorists have a strategic goal. They want us to leave Iraq before our work is done. They want to shake the will of the civilized world. In the past, the terrorists have cited the examples of Beirut and Somalia, claiming that if you inflict harm on Americans, we will run from a challenge. In this, they are mistaken...
Gentleman that he is, "Beirut and Somalia" was nicely bi-partisan. (I would have liked him to add "and the recent Democratic Debate," and stick his tongue out and say, "Bring 'em on.")

Posted by John Weidner at September 8, 2003 7:52 AM
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