Letters to the Editor
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Bush's confusion, and Hillary's mistake
First, Bush's confusion. If, in fact, our enemies "hate us for our freedom", then why in God's name are you working so furiously to demolish our freedoms, our civil liberties, the rule of law, etc. -- all in the name of PROTECTING what you yourself are demolishing? Why are you doing EXACTLY what you claim to believe our enemies want -- the destruction of what we ought to hold most dear?
And now, for Hillary's mistake. You do recall, don't you, the way John Kerry was lampooned for being "French"? And now YOU use a hoity-toity French phrase like "raison d'etre" in response to a question? Come on, Hillary, speak good-old-boy, down-home English, OK? Ya gotta talk like an Uh-mer-cun so that the yahoos aren't offended!
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Guilty As Charged ...
The President today excoriated the enemy as a bunch of "cold-blooded killers who despise freedom, reject tolerance, and kill the innocent in pursuit of their political vision ..."
Let's see:
1) cold-blooded killers ... who kill the innocent in pursuit of their political vision?
Tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis now dead ... CHECK!
2) despise freedom?
Trample U.S. Consitution ... rampant domestic surveillance ... holding American citizens indefinitely without charge ... equate dissent with traitorous activity ... jail journalists ... CHECK!
3) reject tolerance?
Win an election based on gay-bashing ... CHECK!
As the great Pogo once famously said: "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us!"
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All-time best oxymoron
George W. Bush, "Distinguished Lecturer"
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And yet...
We still find ourselves in a state of war, whether it be the intellectual "liberal" or the fear mongering "conservative."
The congress, composed of both parties, authorized the use of force in Iraq. Both parties were more than pleased with the early results of the war. Both parties are pleased with the war in Afghanistan.
Knowing what she knows, being the smart woman you think she is, why all the votes in favor of Bush policies?
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Bush's Blunder
Quoth Bush...
Will we lose faith in the universality of liberty? Will we ignore history and not realize that liberty has got the capacity to yield the peace we want? So this administration, along with many in our military, will continue to spread the hope of liberty,
What history is he paying attention to, here, exactly? Liberty doesn't come at the point of a bayonet. I mean, come on, already. Gunboat diplomacy and gunpoint liberty? It's like standing over somebody with a bayonet at their throat and barking "You're FREE!" to the lucky recipients of our beneficence! Good thing he's not rejoining the reality-based community anytime soon.
Although I don't like Clinton's Republicratic campaign one bit, at least she's looking at the terrorist issue sanely and sensibly. It's just indicative of how off the deep end the GOP has gotten.
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Let's not get carried away with Clinton praise here
It is so completely obvious that the use of the word "terrorism" is bogus, to the extent that this word has no meaning whatsoever. Anyone who would not make observations similar to Clinton's should be categorically rejected as a presidential possibility by any thinking person. Please, let's not set the bar at Bush's level. "Oooh, look -- her nouns and verbs agree! How presidential."
As for this quote: "We're at war with cold-blooded killers who despise freedom, reject tolerance, and kill the innocent in pursuit of their political vision..." It is amazing how Bush and his ilk apply their own characteristics to their enemies.
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What a relief!!
I'm no fan of Hillary, but from reading hers and Bush's comments, one thing becomes clear: if Hillary (or any non-Republican) becomes president, it means we can go back to being spoken to like adults with a greater-than-3rd-grade comprehension level. I mean, you read Hillary's explanation, and damn if it doesn't sound like she's gone to college and read some books and stuff! No more "in other words," no more putting food on your family, no more getting fooled again! (Well, I guess there's always more of that last one, but perhaps not with such an insulting lack of finesse.)
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comparing answers
Can you imagine a reporter asking Bush -- as Tomasky asked Clinton -- whether he thought the war on Iraq fits "within the tradition we associate with Truman and Acheson?
You can't honestly think Bush knows enough about Truman or the Tamil Tigers to do anything more than sputter and smirk, do you?
Bush couldn't find Sri Lanka on a map that had every nation that doesn't begin with "S" removed for him.
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Acheson
Actually, some of us ought remember that Bush, when queried in 2000, what he was currently reading, he said a biography of Dean Acheson.
Hence, we can see: at least Busho listens to his handlers.
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Redardless
No matter what your political persuasion may be, Hillary Clintons explanation of terrorism makes a heck of a lot more sense than the saber rattling of the Bumbo from the White House. Terrorists were the cause of WW I , others before them killed and maimed, caused wars and mayhem. Nothing new here, and the reasons for their actions varied and vary widely. It suits Bushits purposes to paint them all with the same brush, does he include the inner American bombers and holyrollers who killed themselves and their followers ala Wayco? Generalisations are wrong, Iranians as a people are far from being terrorists just as are Americans, even though their governing powers are acting like the worst of terrorists.
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Intelligence
Anyone with a decent amount of it can easily recognize the fact that Clinton's approach is based on logical and intellectual ways of dealing with the issue of terrorism. Bush's approach to the same subject is obviously more of a "Terrorism For Dummies" approach.
In a world where all things being equal, it becomes quite clear which approach becomes the preferred one in order to eliminate terrorism, as much as possible.
The problem is that all things are not equal. A large amount of people in this country are lazy and lack the basic intelligence to make logical decisions. They're more concerned with Paris Hilton, name-calling and their Tivo's and SUV's than they are about how to address the issues of the globe.
This is why we're in the mess we're in - and why it won't change, even if JFK himself was brought back from the dead and ran for office.