INCOMING!: The President's Counter-Offensive Gains Steam
Last week, on Veteran's Day to be precise, the president gave an outstanding speech. He addressed Iraq, again, and pointed to our gains there. He also pointed out that the arguments presented by the Left are just plain wrong (oh, there's a news flash). The process is still moving forward, with another round of elections due at the end of this, and an estimated 200,000 trained Iraqi troops ready to continue working towards fully securing their new, free nation.
He also went after those on the antiwar side (Howard Dean, anyone?) that have accused him of taking us to war over false pretenses. They're essentially, as the president put it, attempting to "rewrite history." He's right, they are. They've been caught in the open, and the MSM hasn't decided to call them on it. Bloggers have, and we've backed a few down over their outrageous comments. The problem is that they're operatives are not so easily cowed. It's not because they've got a legitimate argument, but because they don't have enough common-sense to shut up after being refuted, time and again (Mother Sheehan, anyone?)
This morning, that point was driven home even further. Pres. Bush got a helping hand. I'm not pleased to report this because I utterly dislike this man. He's a total propoganda/media whore, and a rank political opportunist. HOWEVER, even John McCain can get some things right from time-to-time, and he did today. Below is a transcript of an exchange he had this morning on "Face The Nation": (HT: Captain's Quarters & PowerLine)
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005783.php
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/012250.php
SCHIEFFER: President Bush accused his critics of rewriting history last week.
Sen. McCAIN: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: And in--he said in doing so, the criticisms they were making of his war policy was endangering our troops in Iraq. Do you believe it is unpatriotic to criticize the Iraq policy?
Sen. McCAIN: No, I think it's a very legitimate aspect of American life to criticize and to disagree and to debate. But I want to say I think it's a lie to say that the president lied to the American people. I sat on the Robb-Silverman Commission. I saw many, many analysts that came before that committee. I asked every one of them--I said, `Did--were you ever pressured politically or any other way to change your analysis of the situation as you saw?' Every one of them said no.
Even McCain can do something worthwhile. And it's important that he put it out that those accusing the president of lying to get us into Iraq are liars. This president cooked no intelligence. He didn't lean on detractors or skeptics. He didn't "bribe" anyone to lie before Congress. The president used the same intelligence that Pres. Clinton used in '98. He used the most current information that he had in hand, including a report from MI-5 (that has still not retracted their assessment) that Saddam Hussein was working on buying more uranium from them. Yes, I said more. We have found some 1.77 tons of enriched uranium in Iraq; all of it removed after the fall of Baghdad and the capture of Saddam so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the terrorists.
In addition to the uranium, we have also found the following:1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents, 17 chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas) , over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas, and roadside bombs loaded with mustard and "conventional" sarin gas, assembled in binary chemical projectiles for maximum potency. All of this is available through Richard Miniter, and his new book. And, all of it is confirmed by the military.
The president didn't lie. The other side is lying to score political points. To them, right now, the president seems weak. The whole damn party seems to be weak in thier eyes after the Tuesday elections, yet nothing could be further from the truth, and the speech on Veteran's Day proves it. The president isn't backing down. Hell, it looks like he's just getting started.
I fail to see how the Left thinks that every time the president has a setback, or the party has a setback, that all of a sudden our world's going to end. See, we've been on the losing side before. We always battle back. We're just like that frelling Energizer Bunny: We never stop going, and going, and going. We're not going to roll over and play dead now. Hell, the party's just getting warmed up. Nothing energizes our base more than an election. Why? Because it's grass-roots people like Marcie and I that keep people up to date, and remind them how much their vote counts. Only in 2006 and in 2008, it matters more. Not only does a message need to be sent to the Democrats in both elections that their party is over and done with if they don't do something to get back in touch with mainstream America, we need to send a message to the moderates.
They can have their little pet projects they like to work on, and their little causes, but when the party speaks, someone (McCain, anyone?) best be listening. The party must stay unified. The split in May with the Gang of 14 deal sealed the fate of a couple of people up for reelection as the base isn't likely to forget their representatives transgressions. I'm sure the bloggers in the key races will be out in force--both online and out in public--pounding the pavement in favor of a suitable replacement. The alternative media, with bloggers at the vanguard, ensured the election of John Thune in South Dakota. So, it's not like the base can't accomplish a feat like getting someone unseated, and a better representative elected. It's what we've been good at it since Reagan.
And that should be the model the party should look to. When Reagan came into the picture, he carried with him a message that a majority of the country supported. It was plain, old-fashioned American conservative ideals of smaller government, lower taxes, and a strong military. Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like the same ideas the Founding Fathers had. For far too long, the party has accepted anyone into the fold. Senators like Snowe, Chaffee, Collins and McCain are anything but true conservatives, and more often than not they're a pain in the rump.
But, for Sen. McCain, I praise him for doing his job as a supporter of the president to defend him. More senators need to take a page from him, and the same goes for those in the House. Get out and defend the commander-in-chief. You guys in DC believed that he was right when he asked for the use of force initiative from Congress. BOTH TIMES it was asked for. So, if they believed it then, especially after seeing the same intelligence presented in 1998 with some newer reinforcment, why now are they screaming about the president lying? Simple.
It's called desperation.
Publius II
Last week, on Veteran's Day to be precise, the president gave an outstanding speech. He addressed Iraq, again, and pointed to our gains there. He also pointed out that the arguments presented by the Left are just plain wrong (oh, there's a news flash). The process is still moving forward, with another round of elections due at the end of this, and an estimated 200,000 trained Iraqi troops ready to continue working towards fully securing their new, free nation.
He also went after those on the antiwar side (Howard Dean, anyone?) that have accused him of taking us to war over false pretenses. They're essentially, as the president put it, attempting to "rewrite history." He's right, they are. They've been caught in the open, and the MSM hasn't decided to call them on it. Bloggers have, and we've backed a few down over their outrageous comments. The problem is that they're operatives are not so easily cowed. It's not because they've got a legitimate argument, but because they don't have enough common-sense to shut up after being refuted, time and again (Mother Sheehan, anyone?)
This morning, that point was driven home even further. Pres. Bush got a helping hand. I'm not pleased to report this because I utterly dislike this man. He's a total propoganda/media whore, and a rank political opportunist. HOWEVER, even John McCain can get some things right from time-to-time, and he did today. Below is a transcript of an exchange he had this morning on "Face The Nation": (HT: Captain's Quarters & PowerLine)
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005783.php
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/012250.php
SCHIEFFER: President Bush accused his critics of rewriting history last week.
Sen. McCAIN: Yeah.
SCHIEFFER: And in--he said in doing so, the criticisms they were making of his war policy was endangering our troops in Iraq. Do you believe it is unpatriotic to criticize the Iraq policy?
Sen. McCAIN: No, I think it's a very legitimate aspect of American life to criticize and to disagree and to debate. But I want to say I think it's a lie to say that the president lied to the American people. I sat on the Robb-Silverman Commission. I saw many, many analysts that came before that committee. I asked every one of them--I said, `Did--were you ever pressured politically or any other way to change your analysis of the situation as you saw?' Every one of them said no.
Even McCain can do something worthwhile. And it's important that he put it out that those accusing the president of lying to get us into Iraq are liars. This president cooked no intelligence. He didn't lean on detractors or skeptics. He didn't "bribe" anyone to lie before Congress. The president used the same intelligence that Pres. Clinton used in '98. He used the most current information that he had in hand, including a report from MI-5 (that has still not retracted their assessment) that Saddam Hussein was working on buying more uranium from them. Yes, I said more. We have found some 1.77 tons of enriched uranium in Iraq; all of it removed after the fall of Baghdad and the capture of Saddam so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the terrorists.
In addition to the uranium, we have also found the following:1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents, 17 chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas) , over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas, and roadside bombs loaded with mustard and "conventional" sarin gas, assembled in binary chemical projectiles for maximum potency. All of this is available through Richard Miniter, and his new book. And, all of it is confirmed by the military.
The president didn't lie. The other side is lying to score political points. To them, right now, the president seems weak. The whole damn party seems to be weak in thier eyes after the Tuesday elections, yet nothing could be further from the truth, and the speech on Veteran's Day proves it. The president isn't backing down. Hell, it looks like he's just getting started.
I fail to see how the Left thinks that every time the president has a setback, or the party has a setback, that all of a sudden our world's going to end. See, we've been on the losing side before. We always battle back. We're just like that frelling Energizer Bunny: We never stop going, and going, and going. We're not going to roll over and play dead now. Hell, the party's just getting warmed up. Nothing energizes our base more than an election. Why? Because it's grass-roots people like Marcie and I that keep people up to date, and remind them how much their vote counts. Only in 2006 and in 2008, it matters more. Not only does a message need to be sent to the Democrats in both elections that their party is over and done with if they don't do something to get back in touch with mainstream America, we need to send a message to the moderates.
They can have their little pet projects they like to work on, and their little causes, but when the party speaks, someone (McCain, anyone?) best be listening. The party must stay unified. The split in May with the Gang of 14 deal sealed the fate of a couple of people up for reelection as the base isn't likely to forget their representatives transgressions. I'm sure the bloggers in the key races will be out in force--both online and out in public--pounding the pavement in favor of a suitable replacement. The alternative media, with bloggers at the vanguard, ensured the election of John Thune in South Dakota. So, it's not like the base can't accomplish a feat like getting someone unseated, and a better representative elected. It's what we've been good at it since Reagan.
And that should be the model the party should look to. When Reagan came into the picture, he carried with him a message that a majority of the country supported. It was plain, old-fashioned American conservative ideals of smaller government, lower taxes, and a strong military. Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like the same ideas the Founding Fathers had. For far too long, the party has accepted anyone into the fold. Senators like Snowe, Chaffee, Collins and McCain are anything but true conservatives, and more often than not they're a pain in the rump.
But, for Sen. McCain, I praise him for doing his job as a supporter of the president to defend him. More senators need to take a page from him, and the same goes for those in the House. Get out and defend the commander-in-chief. You guys in DC believed that he was right when he asked for the use of force initiative from Congress. BOTH TIMES it was asked for. So, if they believed it then, especially after seeing the same intelligence presented in 1998 with some newer reinforcment, why now are they screaming about the president lying? Simple.
It's called desperation.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 9:28 PM
1 Comments:
President Bush went on the offensive! It's good to hear and I expect we will hear more. After the terrorist bombed three Hotels in Jordan, the people let it be known they will not tolerate terrorism. Maybe we listened to them. United America Commitee.org announced a national rally against Islamofascism Day for February 1, 2006. More and more people and organizations are speaking out. Never forget 9/11. Rawriter
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