June 25, 2005
"no trimming on issues"
Shape of Days has posted the whole of Karl Rove's speech, the quote from which set so many Dems to whining and blubbering about how their feelings were hurt. ["How dare he say we're wimps, the big bully. Sniff, sniff. We're just sensitive! So what if we can feel how harsh rejection wounded the self-esteem of Osama bin Laden, and forced him to become a protester against American Imperialism? That doesn't give Karl Rove the right to question our patriotism!"] The speech is good reading. Here's one thing that's really worth keeping in mind:...The 2004 election was a steep political mountain to climb, but the President scaled it — and he did so with energy, passion, decency, and an unwavering commitment to principle.Back in November 2003, I blogged about how incredible, how amazing it was that Bush was going to include Social Security reform in his campaign. And how honest. It's still one of the most thrilling things that's happened in American politics in our time. But Bush makes it look so easy, no one notices.What is significant about November’s victory is not simply that the President won, but how he won. In the 2004 election, President Bush placed all his chips on the table. There was no trimming on issues, no “campaign conversion,” no backing away from Social Security and tax code reform. The President persistently made the case for an “ownership society”; championed a culture of life; defended the institution of marriage; stood with the people of Iraq in their passage to liberty; remained committed to spreading democracy in the Middle East; and continued to aggressively wage and win the war on global terrorism.
President Bush showed himself as he is. He wanted a referendum on what he has accomplished — and most importantly, on what he hopes to achieve....
[Thanks to Lorie at Polipundit. And that post has a lot of quotes in the comments section, showing just how right Rove was about how liberals reacted to 9/11.]
Writing this made me think of the funny story of Rove and the protesters I blogged in 2-2004. It still makes me laugh and laugh to think of the protesters running away from Karl, and his bewilderment...
Posted by John Weidner at June 25, 2005 09:58 AM
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Sometimes I think you're reading my mind. I completely agree with you about two things in this post. One that Bush makes some of what he does look so easy that maybe that's part of why people freak out about him. He just DOES what he thinks he should do. It's totally wondrous. The other is that he got elected by a huge number of voters WHILE some excoriated him AND while saying things that are essentially unpleasant but also true. It's so odd because I feel we have a president who is truly presidential and a leader and whose judgment I trust . . . at the same time that some people think the man is evil incarnate. Makes me feel like I'm in an alternate universe or already dead and looking down on those wild and crazy pre-dead humans. And then I read people like you. Thanks.
Posted by: Anne at June 26, 2005 03:34 PMAnd thank you. I often feel like the kid saying, "The Emperor has no clothes," and the crowd says, "Huh? That's crazy."
Posted by: John Weidner at June 27, 2005 09:19 AMNOTE: What is probably a comment on this post, plus an answer, is at the Hitchins post below...
Posted by: John Weidner at June 27, 2005 11:52 AM1) Anne - another possibility is he's just doing as he's told...and given how flustered he looks when something doesn't go according to plan, it looks likely to me (you know, when he gets that mad-chimpy look on his face?).
2) Bush campaigned on...what??? 9/11, yes. Social security? Not hardly...or more accurately, he hardly campaigned on it except a couple of times to say it had a long-term solvency problem (which no one disagreed about). Indeed, I seem to recall in 2000 he promised to put the Trust Fund money into a "lock box", in response to Gore's pledge to do that...That lasted all of, what, 3 months?
Oh, and your link doesn't show Bush was running on SS, all it shows is, and I quote "Michael Barone thinks Bush is going to campaign on Social Security reform..." ... IS GOING TO... but he never really did.
3) Why is it if a liberal says Bush lied, you guys scream "Traitor", "Terrorist lover", "America Hater", but the moment someone like me takes exception to being called a traitor by a piece of pondscum like Rove, after I gave 20yrs in uniform (a uniform Rove ran from when he had the chance to wear one...much like most of Bush's biggest fans still do today!) you call him "honest", and wonder why my "feelings are hurt"? Strikes me you have a clear doublestandard here - even the smallest criticism of Great Leader must be suppressed, but even lowest insult against us just shows we're whiners.
"mad-chimpy look" Yawn, no need to read the rest of the comment.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at July 1, 2005 05:14 PM
