I keep hearing and seeing the “divided America” language in the press and on airwaves. Is it just me, or is it all coming out of the left? It is as if they are trying to “talk down” the stock market of our common good. Those of us whose IQ’s are north of our shoe-sizes and whose media reach extends beyond CBS know that the division is negligible. But, there is a real danger in the continued bombardment of the American psyche that this notion will enter the vernacular under “commonly held beliefs” which include “Bush is a stupid draft dodger” and “Christians hate homosexuals.” These are statements that are patently false, but repeated often enough that they roll unchallenged off the tongues of Peter Jennings and his ilk.
On its own, the divided America belief is not harmful. The concern I have is with the vitriol with which the “red” half of the divide is characterized. A particularly nasty comparison is making the circles of the liberal chatologists. It is that W and the GOP in their “seizure” of power are “just like the Nazis” in the 1930’s. It’s pretty easy to ignore when the great political scientist, Linda Ronstadt compares the Bush administration to a “bunch of Hitlers,” but when the charge gets repeated and sent out over the airwaves by the likes of liberal talk radio hosts like Leslie Marshall out of Los Angeles, it gets a bit worrisome. On Hannity and Colmes the other night, Ms. Marshall made the accusation that the Nazis took away people’s freedoms just like the Patriot Act is doing. Even Alan Colmes, the show’s liberal, was horrified by her statements and went out of his way to distance himself. The country singer, Darryl Worley has a song, “Have you Forgotten,” that reminds us of the horror visited upon us by 9/11. With the degradation of the school system, I worry that we might forget the real horror of the Nazis. For Marshall to put the Patriot Act anywhere near the actions of the sick bunch of thugs that ruled Germany and brought the horror of World War II and the “Final Solution” to the world is repulsive and inexcusable.
If you need a reminder, and as a Rumblings reader I doubt you do, there was a superlative show on PBS last night (have you ever noticed that the really good shows are on either really late or when they are doing fundraisers!) titled “Hitler’s Search for the Holy Grail” hosted by Michael Wood. It explores the creation of the mythology that supported the SS. These were truly sick, sick people. No democratically elected American administration should EVER be compared to this depravity.
Unfortunately, this level of hyperbole is not new. Redstater himself challenged then candidate General Wesley Clark in the Noshville Restaurant the day of the Tennessee Democratic Primary to distance himself from Michael Moore and the accusation that the President has been AWOL. “You and I are former officers, you know you don’t get an Honorable Discharge if you’ve been AWOL, General,” said your humble scribbler. “I don’t know the facts, do you?” was his response. This unwillingness to run away from the outrageous is at the root of Democratic losses. The little General (I consider myself “average” in height, but I stood a good head taller) withdrew from the restaurant with his staff pushing him past me. He withdrew from the race the next morning.
As I write this, my position is evolving. Don’t worry, I’m not doing that thing liberals love conservatives to do: “growing.” We are divided. There I’ve said it. I was looking at this morning’s breakfast coffee cake. About 3/4ths of the cake is on one side of the plate…a small sliver, barely enough for ½ a serving is on the other side. That is the kind of “divided” we are. The irony is that sliver keeps yelling at the rest of the cake demanding that they be included. These are the folks W is supposed to “reach out to,” and if he doesn’t it only confirms that he’s in the grip of the “right wing religious zealots.”
But this sliver has pushed us to a dangerous verbal abyss. There were some on the left that had the honesty the weekend before the election to ponder how it was that their rhetoric was closer to Osama Bin Laden than mainstream America…but that honesty is in short supply on the western side of the aisle. It is incumbent on those of us that truly are “mainstream” (look under “normal”) to call the merchants of ludicrous on their outrages. Maybe then more on the left will have the courage of Alan Colmes to distance themselves from this insanity and we can all step back from the abyss.
Wondering Aloud*
I’ve taken some time off from this airspace to quietly absorb the lava flow of history that is swirling around us. Well, that “work” thing got in the way a little too, but one cannot help but marvel at the sequence of events that are unfolding before us: W's re-election, the Battle of Fallujah, the terrorist Arafat assuming room temperature, Vanderbilt blowing another game in the 4th quarter! OK, that last one is consistent with a twenty year pattern, but you get the point. I started this blog as a way to vent my feelings about the pending election. The name seemed appropriate at the time because I sensed that something was rumbling out here in the red states. All national media to the contrary, I sensed that people were a) behind this President b) willing to fight this war and that they understood that Iraq WAS a crucial piece of the terrorism puzzle and c) they were upset (I wouldn’t go so far as to say “angry”) at the cultural drift exemplified by the Mayor of San Francisco illegally “marrying” homosexual couples. My sense was this election was going to be a referendum on those issues and that W would win in a “blow out.” Perhaps I was overconfident (see Exit Polls) but, on the whole, I turned out to be right.
Because I grew up overseas, I have always felt that I had the perspective of a loving outsider on this nation. Sometimes you have to step back from something you love to truly appreciate it. But one thing has always struck me about our great land and our people…fundamentally we are pretty darn good. There are no pictures in the history books of German, Russian, Vietnamese, Congolese, Indian, French, or Venezuelan troops handing out candy bars to kids. There are plenty of those shots from World War II on of our guys doing that. We don’t invade countries to expand our empire or seize their wealth (see Japan and Germany). We do it for causes. The great misunderstanding that European’s have about our fighting nature extends back to our own War Between the States. Lincoln failed to successfully prosecute a war against the South when the aim was reunification. Yankees were comfortable with the notion that us folks down here should just be left alone. But when the cause became noble, as set forth in the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, the war became winnable. (Although we in the South still argue that fine point!) Without this appreciation of our character, France and the liberal elite in this country, will always view military action with suspicion. Michael Moore’s revolting assertion that the war in Iraq is being fought for Halliburton offended every thinking American and, I think, did more to win the election for W than countless pro-Bush ads run in the swing states. The great red beating heart of America knows this war is noble on two fronts: 1) We are liberating people…it is unclear how successful we will be, but it is a great and noble vision. 2) We are protecting ourselves…we are fighting the away game. (As of yesterday, the Marines were reporting 1,500 dead terrorists in Fallujah. Securing the heartbeat of even one of those monsters is one less box-cutter wielding freak we will have to deal with over here!) That same heart knows that when the job is done, our troops will come home…they probably even accept that a democratic Iraq will one day vote against us in the U.N. Sixty million people turned out on Election Day to reassure George W. Bush that he was right.
Much has been made of the “values” question in the exit polls. It sends a tremor through the nattering classes of New York and LA that a bunch of religious kooks went out there and got W elected. There is some truth to this statement, but the polls were deceiving. The questionnaire had two line separate line items for “Iraq” and “war on terror.” If you combined them, they outpaced “values” significantly. Similarly, combining “taxes,” “healthcare,” and “jobs” into one category…say “economy,” also beat out “values.” But you cannot escape the fact that this is a fundamentally moral nation. We are more religious than any other developed country on earth. So “values” do matter. I suspect that Chief Justice Rehnquist’s cancer announcement brought more than a few dormant voters out who had to think clearly about the implications of John Kerry appointments to the Federal Bench. We are not a nation that “hates” gay people…we just don’t want their lifestyle shoved down our throat. Case in point: Redstater’s Alma Mater, Vanderbilt, made front page coverage of the “Living” section of the “Pravda on the Cumberland,” our local rag today. We can’t seem to win football games, so I guess it’s become the aim of the school to out strange the opponent. To wit, we had a male homosexual qualify to dress in drag and get himself nominated as one of the “Princesses” to the Homecoming Court. I guarantee you, if they polled the student body, the numbers would be 80-20 opposed. It would probably be more like 95-5 opposed, but at that age, there are going to be a certain number that think it’s cool to be liberal because you’re being “open minded,” and there are going to be another certain number that would vote for it because it’s downright funny. Let’s be honest here. The Tennessean treats this story as if it were significant news…it’s not. It’s gross. It’s offensive and it is the type of “in your face” behavior that offends those of us that live where the ground is painted red. This type of permissiveness on the part of the faculty at an otherwise fine institution is indicative of the lack of moral courage on the part of the liberal elite. This is not to say that this disturbed young man is not deserving of our sympathy and care. He is, but so too are the feelings and traditions of the other 6,000 students at the school. It is this type of liberalism as demonstrated in San Francisco and in the courts of Boston that drove a huge wedge into Mr. Kerry’s campaign. The “divided nation” was on the left…they desperately needed the gay constituency to turn out for them, but that same group is very small and offends the rest of the country that just wants to be left alone.
As the dust settles and the declining print media trumpets headlines of “Divided Nation,” the good people out here in every day America are ready to get back to work. We are not divided we are a united country except in the diseased minds of a precious few. It is funny watching them on the talk shows explain how “close” the election really was, or, even better, advance their theories about how the election was rigged by Diebolt voting machines. They remind me of the black knight scene in Monty Python’s “Holy Grail:” “it’s just a flesh wound!” The other image I have, a painful one for a Southerner, is the remnants of Pickett’s Brigade emerging from the smoke on that Pennsylvania battlefield retreating back to the tree line and fading into history. For the Democrats, however, there is no General Lee riding slowly along the line saying, “it’s all my fault.”
*"Wondering Aloud" - great song by Jethro Tull!
Because I grew up overseas, I have always felt that I had the perspective of a loving outsider on this nation. Sometimes you have to step back from something you love to truly appreciate it. But one thing has always struck me about our great land and our people…fundamentally we are pretty darn good. There are no pictures in the history books of German, Russian, Vietnamese, Congolese, Indian, French, or Venezuelan troops handing out candy bars to kids. There are plenty of those shots from World War II on of our guys doing that. We don’t invade countries to expand our empire or seize their wealth (see Japan and Germany). We do it for causes. The great misunderstanding that European’s have about our fighting nature extends back to our own War Between the States. Lincoln failed to successfully prosecute a war against the South when the aim was reunification. Yankees were comfortable with the notion that us folks down here should just be left alone. But when the cause became noble, as set forth in the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, the war became winnable. (Although we in the South still argue that fine point!) Without this appreciation of our character, France and the liberal elite in this country, will always view military action with suspicion. Michael Moore’s revolting assertion that the war in Iraq is being fought for Halliburton offended every thinking American and, I think, did more to win the election for W than countless pro-Bush ads run in the swing states. The great red beating heart of America knows this war is noble on two fronts: 1) We are liberating people…it is unclear how successful we will be, but it is a great and noble vision. 2) We are protecting ourselves…we are fighting the away game. (As of yesterday, the Marines were reporting 1,500 dead terrorists in Fallujah. Securing the heartbeat of even one of those monsters is one less box-cutter wielding freak we will have to deal with over here!) That same heart knows that when the job is done, our troops will come home…they probably even accept that a democratic Iraq will one day vote against us in the U.N. Sixty million people turned out on Election Day to reassure George W. Bush that he was right.
Much has been made of the “values” question in the exit polls. It sends a tremor through the nattering classes of New York and LA that a bunch of religious kooks went out there and got W elected. There is some truth to this statement, but the polls were deceiving. The questionnaire had two line separate line items for “Iraq” and “war on terror.” If you combined them, they outpaced “values” significantly. Similarly, combining “taxes,” “healthcare,” and “jobs” into one category…say “economy,” also beat out “values.” But you cannot escape the fact that this is a fundamentally moral nation. We are more religious than any other developed country on earth. So “values” do matter. I suspect that Chief Justice Rehnquist’s cancer announcement brought more than a few dormant voters out who had to think clearly about the implications of John Kerry appointments to the Federal Bench. We are not a nation that “hates” gay people…we just don’t want their lifestyle shoved down our throat. Case in point: Redstater’s Alma Mater, Vanderbilt, made front page coverage of the “Living” section of the “Pravda on the Cumberland,” our local rag today. We can’t seem to win football games, so I guess it’s become the aim of the school to out strange the opponent. To wit, we had a male homosexual qualify to dress in drag and get himself nominated as one of the “Princesses” to the Homecoming Court. I guarantee you, if they polled the student body, the numbers would be 80-20 opposed. It would probably be more like 95-5 opposed, but at that age, there are going to be a certain number that think it’s cool to be liberal because you’re being “open minded,” and there are going to be another certain number that would vote for it because it’s downright funny. Let’s be honest here. The Tennessean treats this story as if it were significant news…it’s not. It’s gross. It’s offensive and it is the type of “in your face” behavior that offends those of us that live where the ground is painted red. This type of permissiveness on the part of the faculty at an otherwise fine institution is indicative of the lack of moral courage on the part of the liberal elite. This is not to say that this disturbed young man is not deserving of our sympathy and care. He is, but so too are the feelings and traditions of the other 6,000 students at the school. It is this type of liberalism as demonstrated in San Francisco and in the courts of Boston that drove a huge wedge into Mr. Kerry’s campaign. The “divided nation” was on the left…they desperately needed the gay constituency to turn out for them, but that same group is very small and offends the rest of the country that just wants to be left alone.
As the dust settles and the declining print media trumpets headlines of “Divided Nation,” the good people out here in every day America are ready to get back to work. We are not divided we are a united country except in the diseased minds of a precious few. It is funny watching them on the talk shows explain how “close” the election really was, or, even better, advance their theories about how the election was rigged by Diebolt voting machines. They remind me of the black knight scene in Monty Python’s “Holy Grail:” “it’s just a flesh wound!” The other image I have, a painful one for a Southerner, is the remnants of Pickett’s Brigade emerging from the smoke on that Pennsylvania battlefield retreating back to the tree line and fading into history. For the Democrats, however, there is no General Lee riding slowly along the line saying, “it’s all my fault.”
*"Wondering Aloud" - great song by Jethro Tull!
Election Flu and a Quick Recovery
Tuesday came into Nashville wet and windy. I had a meeting downtown early and was impressed by lines at two of the polling stations I passed on my way in. Fortunately, I passed most of the day in meetings and other than a radio tidbit here and there, couldn’t really focus on the election.
About 4PM I returned to my office and flipped on my computer…a virus had struck. Not the computer, but me. A nauseous weak feeling, dryness in the mouth and a sense of great discomfort swept me. On the screen Drudge was reporting that the exit polls were boosting spirits in the Kerry camp…he was winning Florida by 8, Pennsylvania by 20, Ohio by 6! Unable to focus, I packed up some papers and headed home. Checking in with the parents in Florida brought even worse news: Redstater’s Mom reporting, “we aren’t even winning in South Carolina!” “What have I missed?” I mused. By the time I reached home, I decided the only thing to do was to ignore the TV and Internet for a while. Forty-five minutes of Nordic Tracking and reading the “Odyssey,” put me in a better frame of mind. After showering I headed to the kitchen, retrieved one of those icy cold beverages I’d love to sit down and quaff with W, and hit “Power” on the clicker.
My nausea quickly subsided as I watched the Confederacy go for W faster than Sherman burned Atlanta. Then the red tide swept up into the Mid and Southwest. Despite Susan Estrich’s bleating that these numbers were wrong because the exit polls had shown her guy would win, the electoral numbers for W were rolling up like the price of a high-octane gasoline. Despite the media’s post-2000 reluctance to call it, Florida was in the Bush camp and Ohio was headed that way fast. Juan Williams looked like he had food poisoning by 2 AM…and kept referring to jfk as “Gore.” The number stuck at 269 electoral votes from about 1 AM till 2:30 and I elected to head to bed. I knew that worst case, it would end up in the House. I also knew we were up at least 3 in the Senate.
If you recall my prediction, the last 10% - a W blowout – was in the making. The end came mercifully swift the next morning when my Blackberry buzzed…”FNC ALERT: KERRY CALLS BUSH TO CONCEDE.” It was the one truly decent thing John Forbes Kerry had done in over a year of campaigning. He was retiring from the fight like a gentleman, not the sobbing whining sniveler (now shouter) that Al Gore was four years ago. Who knows, maybe Teresa said she wasn’t going to pay the legal bills, but the reality is the numbers were stark. Later in the day, JFK gave an excellent speech and bowed out with grace and class. His full-toothed campaign mate babbled again about “working to make one America again…” “Hey, Little Johnny! Take a look at the map below…we are ONE AMERICA!”
At 3PM, George Walker Bush, gave his thanks to his campaign in a beautiful speech at the Ronald Reagan building. It’s worth a read, because it contains the heart of his agenda but also shows the decency of the man. As a Texan by birth and no doubt feeling the effects of the stress that began with the “flu” the day before, my eyes welled up on the following lines:
Those lines apply not only to the people of the Lone Star State, but to all decent Americans and that’s the vast, vast majority. This election proved it. An editorial page in the Wall Street Journal this morning made the following observation:
God Bless our nation, our people and our re-elected President! Now, let's all get back to work!
About 4PM I returned to my office and flipped on my computer…a virus had struck. Not the computer, but me. A nauseous weak feeling, dryness in the mouth and a sense of great discomfort swept me. On the screen Drudge was reporting that the exit polls were boosting spirits in the Kerry camp…he was winning Florida by 8, Pennsylvania by 20, Ohio by 6! Unable to focus, I packed up some papers and headed home. Checking in with the parents in Florida brought even worse news: Redstater’s Mom reporting, “we aren’t even winning in South Carolina!” “What have I missed?” I mused. By the time I reached home, I decided the only thing to do was to ignore the TV and Internet for a while. Forty-five minutes of Nordic Tracking and reading the “Odyssey,” put me in a better frame of mind. After showering I headed to the kitchen, retrieved one of those icy cold beverages I’d love to sit down and quaff with W, and hit “Power” on the clicker.
My nausea quickly subsided as I watched the Confederacy go for W faster than Sherman burned Atlanta. Then the red tide swept up into the Mid and Southwest. Despite Susan Estrich’s bleating that these numbers were wrong because the exit polls had shown her guy would win, the electoral numbers for W were rolling up like the price of a high-octane gasoline. Despite the media’s post-2000 reluctance to call it, Florida was in the Bush camp and Ohio was headed that way fast. Juan Williams looked like he had food poisoning by 2 AM…and kept referring to jfk as “Gore.” The number stuck at 269 electoral votes from about 1 AM till 2:30 and I elected to head to bed. I knew that worst case, it would end up in the House. I also knew we were up at least 3 in the Senate.
If you recall my prediction, the last 10% - a W blowout – was in the making. The end came mercifully swift the next morning when my Blackberry buzzed…”FNC ALERT: KERRY CALLS BUSH TO CONCEDE.” It was the one truly decent thing John Forbes Kerry had done in over a year of campaigning. He was retiring from the fight like a gentleman, not the sobbing whining sniveler (now shouter) that Al Gore was four years ago. Who knows, maybe Teresa said she wasn’t going to pay the legal bills, but the reality is the numbers were stark. Later in the day, JFK gave an excellent speech and bowed out with grace and class. His full-toothed campaign mate babbled again about “working to make one America again…” “Hey, Little Johnny! Take a look at the map below…we are ONE AMERICA!”
At 3PM, George Walker Bush, gave his thanks to his campaign in a beautiful speech at the Ronald Reagan building. It’s worth a read, because it contains the heart of his agenda but also shows the decency of the man. As a Texan by birth and no doubt feeling the effects of the stress that began with the “flu” the day before, my eyes welled up on the following lines:
“Let me close with a word to the people of the state of Texas. We have
known each other the longest, and you started me on this journey. On the open
plains of Texas, I first learned the character of our country: sturdy and
honest, and as hopeful as the break of day. I will always be grateful to the
good people of my state. And whatever the road that lies ahead, that road will
take me home.”
Those lines apply not only to the people of the Lone Star State, but to all decent Americans and that’s the vast, vast majority. This election proved it. An editorial page in the Wall Street Journal this morning made the following observation:
“This is a Democratic Party in which nostalgia for tradition is too oftenIt is this misunderstanding that cost and will continue to cost Democrats elections…and Redstater has no problem saying, “thank God!”
considered racism, opposition to gay marriage is bigotry, misgiving about
abortion is misogyny, Christian fundamentalism is like Islamic fundamentalism,
discussion about gender roles is sexism, and confidence in America's global
purpose is cultural imperialism. To put it mildly, this is not the values system
to which most Americans adhere."
God Bless our nation, our people and our re-elected President! Now, let's all get back to work!
GLOAT FEST 2004
OK, OK, we’ll get back to “unifying” and putting the nation back together real soon. HOWEVER, with as much garbage as our President and we in the Redstates have had to stomach gracefully over the last four years…we’re allowed a moment of gloating!
Without further ado, here are my top ten gloats.
1.TOM DASCHLE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Good-bye Mr. Smarmy Obstructionist!
2.MICHAEL MOORE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Lose some weight you slobbering liar! Your poisonous accusations, lies and distortions are THE primary reason for the dialogue to get so vitriolic! You hate America and everything we stand for…LEAVE!
3. TERRY McAULIFFE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Woopee, you raised more money and you still couldn’t win. Why don’t you and Bob Shrum open a campaign-consulting firm for LOSERS!
4. FRANCE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Grow up and become a real country some time…the last time you deserved international respect was when an Italian was leading your forces into battle.
5. HOLLYWOOD: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Get out of your gilded mansions and realize that this country is good and decent…or, live up to the promises so many of you made and LEAVE!
6.CNN, The New York Times, MSNBCCBSABCNBC: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Nice try! Guess what? Americans are not as stupid as you think!
7.BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Love your music Boss, but stay out of politics! Ditto for Nanci Griffith and the Dixie Chicks.
8.OSAMA BIN LADEN: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Can you say “MOAB?” Dig deeper pal, we’re coming for you!
9. UN and especially the IAEA: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Another nice try at influencing an American election…in the words of Donald Trump: “YOU’RE FIRED!”
10. EVERY LIBERAL WITH A “SELECTED NOT ELECTED” BUMPER STICKER: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! MANDATE! GET IT!
All are invited to include their own targets for gloating!
Without further ado, here are my top ten gloats.
1.TOM DASCHLE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Good-bye Mr. Smarmy Obstructionist!
2.MICHAEL MOORE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Lose some weight you slobbering liar! Your poisonous accusations, lies and distortions are THE primary reason for the dialogue to get so vitriolic! You hate America and everything we stand for…LEAVE!
3. TERRY McAULIFFE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Woopee, you raised more money and you still couldn’t win. Why don’t you and Bob Shrum open a campaign-consulting firm for LOSERS!
4. FRANCE: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Grow up and become a real country some time…the last time you deserved international respect was when an Italian was leading your forces into battle.
5. HOLLYWOOD: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Get out of your gilded mansions and realize that this country is good and decent…or, live up to the promises so many of you made and LEAVE!
6.CNN, The New York Times, MSNBCCBSABCNBC: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Nice try! Guess what? Americans are not as stupid as you think!
7.BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Love your music Boss, but stay out of politics! Ditto for Nanci Griffith and the Dixie Chicks.
8.OSAMA BIN LADEN: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Can you say “MOAB?” Dig deeper pal, we’re coming for you!
9. UN and especially the IAEA: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Another nice try at influencing an American election…in the words of Donald Trump: “YOU’RE FIRED!”
10. EVERY LIBERAL WITH A “SELECTED NOT ELECTED” BUMPER STICKER: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! MANDATE! GET IT!
All are invited to include their own targets for gloating!
What then must we do?
This will be my last post before we know who will be the next leader of the free world. If you have already been polarized into one camp or the other, you have probably already voted. God bless you...but consider, that this is the privelege that this President has sought to bring to millions of others around the world. Not because he was elected to do so. He did it because we were attacked. Yes, we responded and eliminated the Taliban and their sick, oppressive regime. We also attacked and eliminated the sick, oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein. Libya's Khaddafi has followed suit without us having to fire a shot.
Michael Moore sickos, the extreme left wing of the Democratic party and Osama Bin Laden, love to make light of W's sitting in the classroom that clear blue morning, reading about a goat to schoolchildren. But if you look closely at the eyes of our President, you can see a transformation occuring. A mission he had never wished for was thrust upon him and he bore that weight for all of us admirably. We were all "changed terribly, a terrible beauty was born." The sad reality is that the terrible beauty was born a long time ago: in Tehran, in Beirut, in Mogadishu, in New York City the first time the Twin Towers were bombed, in Kuwait, in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya, in Yemen. How much more were we supposed to take?
We are either 9/12 people or we are 9/10 people now. Count me in the former.
What does that mean, do be a 9/12 person?
1. It means that we have an innate trust of the American people. We believe we are the "last best hope" of freedom and that we have an obligation to carry that banner forward to all. Freedom is the elixir for terrorism.
2. It means that we understand that temporary abrogation of rights, although they have been extraordinarily small to all, are necessary in time of WAR. We remember that similar and harsher measures were necessary when our democracy was challenged before - the Civil War, World War II - and quickly restored once the coast was clear.
3. It means we understand that we cannot falter in the pursuit of the "bad guys." These people, despite their dressed up surroundings (OK, was it just me, or did it seem like the OBL tape was filmed in a UN studio? Where were the guns, the banners and the usual OBL hyperbole...I almost miss the "we will kill you and all your children" rhetoric) have every intention of killing us...and it does not matter whether you live in a red state or a blue state, despite his promise of cease-fire on the latter. You do not negotiate, appease or "deal with" these people in a more sensitive manner. You make them room temperature and then dust. The other big video released at the end of last week was the "American Taliban" dude threatening that our streets will "run with blood" if we re-elect G.W.B. I watched about 10 minutes of that and had the same reaction I used to have in my more competitive younger days: "F--- you!" You don't threaten the USA pal, we're coming for you! The Marine Corps motto should be the motto for the United States: "No greater friend, no worse enemy."
4. It means that living in the Red States, which were directly threatened by OBL in his Friday broadcast means we are under the gun. SURPRISE!!! We're all under the gun. The only way to push the barrel away is to kill the person that holds the trigger. AND to bring freedom and hope to those that might consider picking up the rifle. This is the heart and soul of the Bush doctrine...being a 9/12 person means we embrace that.
Being a 9/10 person means that you will rejoice when our enemies celebrate a jfk presidency. A number of honest liberal pundits have commented over the weekend that reviewing the OBL tape gave them pause. "How did it happen," one liberal commentator noted, "that my position is so closely aligned with a man who killed 3,000 innocent Americans?" Blame Howard Dean and Michael Moore. They hijacked the heart and soul of the Democratic party. Then blame John Kerry who never had the courage nor conviction to stand up for what is right. Whichever way the poll winds blew, jfk was there. Instead of taking a principled stand and saying that we should not denigrate the President of the United States when the country is at war, he joined right in as it suited his needs. It was and still is about power...not about what is right.
Are the domestic and social agendas important tomorrow? Of course they are! It keeps me awake at night thinking about a Kerry court. But those issues pale in comparison to the overriding concern of whether we can physically survive a Kerry presidency. God willing, we won't have to find out.
So, in the end it is this: do we want a holiday from history? If so, we will elect John Kerry. If not, and we are prepared for the roller coaster ride that is at the core of the American spirit, we will send George Walker Bush back from his ranch in Crawford, Texas to the highest elected office in the land.
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