Mr. Kristol,
I feel compelled to comment on your article of August 7, 2006:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/weeklystandard/20060807/cm_weeklystandard/antiwarantiisraelantijoe“We have a president who knows we are at war with jihadist Islam. And he is willing to stake his presidency on that fight …”
At this juncture, having witnessed this president’s inability to speak coherently on any topic, nor abstain from acting the fool in public both at home and on the international stage, it comes as a surprise to many that we have a president who knows anything at all.
And the current state of the nation – where there is not a single area, from the economy to our international standing, that has not been impacted negatively by this president and his policies – serves as ample proof that whatever Bush’s area of knowledge is, it in no way lends itself to being a competent leader.
The problem here, which you don’t seem to grasp, is that when faced with such incompetence in a time of national and international upheaval, people start to think.
“… a reinvigorated governing and war-fighting Republican party is surely an achievable goal. And a necessary one.”
People start to think that an administration that fabricated reasons for invading Iraq might not be all that trustworthy when it comes to renewed cheerleading from the ‘war-fighting Republicans’. They start to think that when they have paid for a war, in trillions of dollars and thousands of deaths, there should be a little more to show for it than the unending chaos and carnage that Iraq has become.
People start to think that when those who espouse war as the solution to anything and everything are the same people who profit financially from such actions, perhaps their support of such conflicts has more to do with money than lofty idealism.
People start to think that when he hands out tax-cuts to the wealthiest individuals, and tax subsidies to the most profitable corporations during a time of ‘war’, while plunging the country into unconscionable debt, maybe the president doesn’t have the best interests of the vast majority of the citizenry, nor the long-term welfare of the country, at heart.
“It's become clear, by contrast, that the Democratic party doesn't really want to fight jihadism. It's just too difficult.”
It’s not a matter of difficulty, so much as a matter of proceeding with the course of action that tends to solve rather than exacerbate the problem at hand.
People start to think that when you kill one so-called terrorist and a dozen more are motivated to take up arms against you, it might not be the wisest way to proceed. People start to think that when it has been proven, time and again, that inflicting casualties that include innocent civilians and children creates MORE enemies rather than LESS, doing so can be perceived as being counter-productive.
Yes, Mr. Kristol, people start to think – and more and more of them are thinking about where this country is being led by this president and his administration, and by you PNAC adherents who told a once-trusting American populace that the War in Iraq would pay for itself, would be an easy victory, would lead to Iraq being a model of democracy in the Middle East – all accomplished while the citizens of Baghdad welcomed their liberators with sweets and flowers.
People start to think they’ve been consistently lied to, and have had their lives irretrievably damaged, by the Republican party who has overseen the outsourcing of their jobs, the deterioration of their rights and freedoms, and the constant beating of a war-drum that, coincidentally, puts money into all of the ‘right’ pockets.
People start to think that when the Republican response to every question – about their management of everything from the War in Iraq to their disastrous fiscal policies – is to accuse their interlocutor of being unpatriotic or anti-American, it might be a sign that they have no sound explanation for their actions and have no other option than to resort to name-calling.
People start to think that when their elected representatives roll over and play dead while their president refuses to abide by the very Constitution he swore to uphold, it’s time to go to the polls in November and vote to throw them out on their rear-ends.
As for ‘elected representative’ Lieberman and his pro-war, pro-Bush stance, his current political travails are a result of just THAT – his constituents feel, as is their right, that he no longer represents their views. It’s a very simple concept, Mr. Kristol. It’s called democracy and, despite the beating it’s taken from this president and his supporters, it is still alive and kickin’.
“If (Lieberman’s) independent candidacy succeeds, it will be a message to Bush that he should forge ahead toward victory in Iraq and elsewhere.”
Ah, yes, Victory in Iraq! It’s just around the corner – just like it was when the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner was raised a few years ago, a few trillion dollars ago, a few tens of thousands of deaths ago, a countless number of lies ago.
But maybe that will all turn around when Joementum, who, as you say, “would make a fine secretary of defense for the remainder of the Bush years”, is installed in his new position. Yeah, that’s the ticket. (By the way, have you told Rumsfeld yet?)
Before closing, I should add one more thing about how people are thinking, Mr. Kristol. When they hear someone who said, back in February 2002, “Having defeated and then occupied Iraq, democratizing the country should not be too tall an order for the world's sole superpower,” now expressing his thoughts on any topic whatsoever, people start to think that he probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
With all DUE respect,
Nancy Greggs
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