Playback Editor
The American left is so full of hatred for George Bush, so bitterly determined for Hillary (Mom) to succeed in 2008 that they have lost all perspective and rationality. The ramifications of their partisan behavior will do far more than bring down this president and insure defeat in Iraq; such actions may ultimately cost us an American city. (Such loss will be blamed on Bush whenever it occurs.)
Today the left can taste blow back for everything from Monicagate to a self-destructing Howard Dean. The damage to our security as a result of the partisan emasculation of a wartime president has gotten lost in the frenzy. The left is too immersed in their 21st Century dream of Camelot. Dreams of Hillary, Bill and Barbara again on stage with Fleetwood Mac, blue balloons and peace signs in the air. A disgraced Bush exiled to rural Texas. Cheney in a coffin. This is their moment to realize their dream and they are going for broke.
Their strategy may very well work. They deny, shift (do the Kerry), point fingers at Bush and let the media do the rest. No man can struggle against the spirit of his country or make his contemporaries share feelings that run counter to their hopes and desires. (Tocqueville) This especially applies to leaders who lack the fluid communication skills necessary to lead a nation ignorant of history and in possession of a very short attention span. President Bush, honest, brave and resolute to a point , is such a man. He simply can no longer sell the significance of winning this war to the American public. The window is almost closed.
In last night's address, the president personally admitted mistakes, defined new strategies and put Iraq's government on notice. He stressed the importance of victory to our national interests. He spoke openly about Iran and Syria impacting the war and how he intends to deal with them. He was direct and he was honest. It bought him zero reprieve. From the moment the speech ended, tribal drums and screams were heard across the country. The focus was not on what to do next. It was all about driving the final spike into Bush.
The Left's immediate response was to butcher Bush with attacks. Prior to the speech MSNBC had the atmosphere of a tailgate party. Chris Matthews was literally foaming and drooling. Keith Olbermann's eyes glared with customary smug, condescending glee, displaying the trademark childlike behavior and massive insecurities that got him fired from ESPN 2. (The cradle of journalism)
CNN was a bit more professional. Their pre-speech coverage resembled hospice service, their post speech, an autopsy. The often criticized Fox, the only network with a double digit percentage of bi-partisanship representation, took a position of acknowledging a grim moment in American history without throwing in the towel. Fox was the only network asking time and again, definitively, "If we leave, what then Nancy?"
Democracy is facing a 21st century gut check. Religious fanatics sponsored by state governments are eager to get their hands on weapons capable of leveling our cities. If acquired, they will not hesitate to use them. If successful, hundreds of millions in the Muslim world will celebrate in the streets. This is the mentality and challenge we are up against.
The question is how to stop this from happening. Will we fight as necessary to maintain our security or will our ideological differences neuter us, ultimately insuring disaster? There is little question over whether we could prevail if we fought with the ruthlessness of a Hussein, an Assad or Osama. It is no coincidence that the ironfisted Saddam was able to keep Iraq united for decades while we have floundered.
President Bush's most effective line from a military perspective was when he said he would loosen the handcuffs on the troops. To what degree this transpires into reality remains to be seen. The media will be watching everywhere, eager to broadcast any mistake worldwide. At the same time the "save the whales crowd" will be marching in the streets, screaming for the end of the war, never bothering with presenting a rational endgame alternative.
All of this will continue to play out worldwide, real time. We have become "The Truman Show". The administration is extremely aware of this. It's been their biggest challenge since the war began. Our opponents count on it as a key to their success. They watched Arafat master western media manipulation for decades against the Israelis. Their game plan has been to flood our cable networks with carnage so that the Keith Olbermann's will pound it home to an American public preoccupied with American Idol, Donald and Rosie. Why mess with success?
In the days following 9-11, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu addressed the United Nations, telling the civilized world that we have the skill to defeat the terrorist threat. He followed by questioning if we have the will. It is a question that remains to be answered. Will the United States shift necessary gears, stay the course and emerge victorious or crumble and suffer the consequences? History is written by the victors and one hell of a chapter is coming up.
After reading today's New York Times editorial, I have terrible concerns it might be written in Persian. You don't have to strain to hear them laughing in Tehran. If the Left's media campaign succeeds and we withdraw, People Magazine's next ad campaign (If People Magazine still exists) won't read "save Darfur" , it will read "Where's Clooney?"
You see the sexiest man alive won't be in the line of fire. He will have long fled the country, having been been privately jetted to his ten million dollar villa in the Italian Rivera. The question is where will you and your children be?
New York Times Editorial
The Real Disaster
Published: January 11, 2007
President Bush told Americans last night that failure in Iraq would be a disaster. The disaster is Mr. Bush’s war, and he has already failed. Last night was his chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation, and he did not take it.
Americans needed to hear a clear plan to extricate United States troops from the disaster that Mr. Bush created. What they got was more gauzy talk of victory in the war on terrorism and of creating a “young democracy” in Iraq. In other words, a way for this president to run out the clock and leave his mess for the next one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/opinion/11thu1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
