The Democratic Response to Bush's Speech

While on the road yesterday I had a chance to listen to a great deal of commentary on the Dem response to Bush's speech. I think it could best be summed up by this cartoon from the Orange County Register:



The Dems were screaming all day that Bush had somehow misused 9/11 in his speech at Fort Hood to tie Iraq to the 9/11 attacks. In fact, Bush simply stated the obvious fact (to everyone but Dems) that Iraq is the latest and biggest battle of the War on Terror, and the folks we're fighting over there come from the same stock of crazies that hit the World Trade Center. We're either going to fight them in the Middle East, or we'll end up fighting them in the Middle West.

John Kerry (the Dem senator who is rumored to have served in Vietnam) declared that Iraq is now a magnet for terrorists, as though that's a bad thing. Before Iraq, the magnet was the World Trade Center, so all in all I'd rather keep the Islamonuts in Iraq, thank you very much.

In my view, the war on terror really started in 1993 with the first attack on the Trade Center, and continued with the attacks on our African embassies, our troops in Saudi Arabia, and the suicide bombing of the USS Cole. It didn't start on 9/11. It's just that for the first 8 years of the war we chose not to fight back (see Clinton, Bill). Oh sure, we shot a few missiles into meaningless facilities in Iraq and Sudan and probably wiped out a night janitor or two, but those responses were purely symbolic and were really intended to change the news cycle to get the focus temporarily off of Clinton's dalliances.

After 9/11 some of the Clinton's cronies actually complained that the attacks hadn't occurred on Clinton's watch which somehow deprived him of his chance at greatness. In fact, several attacks happened on Clinton's watch - he just chose not to respond in any kind of meaningful way.

The Dem response is reinforcing the idea that they are not serious about national security and cannot be trusted to lead the country in a dangerous time. They just don't get it but the American people do, and as long as that continues to be true, the American people will call on the GOP for their national leadership.

How do I know the American people get it? Because of stories like this:

President Bush, who met with relatives of fallen soldiers before Tuesday's Fort Bragg speech, was urged to stay the course in Iraq by a woman who gave him a bracelet honoring her late husband.

"I said: 'I know people are pushing you, but please don't pull the guys out of Iraq too soon,' " said Crystal Owen, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Mike Owen, was killed in Iraq last year.

"Don't let my husband -- and 1,700-plus other deaths -- be in vain," she added during a private meeting with Mr. Bush at the North Carolina base. "They were over there, fighting for a democratic nation, and I hope you'll keep our service members over there until the mission can be accomplished."

Mrs. Owen gave the president a stainless steel bracelet engraved with the names of her husband and another soldier, Cpl. John Santos, both of whom were killed on Oct. 15.

The president slipped the bracelet on his left wrist and wore it throughout his 28-minute prime-time address to the nation, becoming visibly emotional at times.

"We have lost good men and women who left our shores to defend freedom and did not live to make the journey home," he said as his eyes turned glassy. "I've met with families grieving the loss of loved ones who were taken from us too soon."

Before his speech, as is his custom, the president met for three hours with more than 90 spouses, children and parents of 32 soldiers killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The last person he met was Mrs. Owen.
"Even though he'd met with 31 other families prior to me, it was like I was the only one -- I mean, he made me feel special," she told The Washington Times yesterday. "He wanted to know about Mike and about me and if I was OK.

"I did get teary-eyed and he kind of held my hands for a while," she added. "He was very sincere and gave me a kiss on the cheek as he left -- I was a little flabbergasted."

The only other people in the room were two Secret Service agents and a photographer for the White House, which declined to release photos.

Mr. Bush has always barred press coverage of his meetings with family members of fallen soldiers.