Maybe Karl Rove Ought to Run in '08

Karl Rove, deputy chief of staff in the White House and the architect of many of President Bush's successes, had some tough talk for the Dems in New York yesterday:

Speaking in a ballroom just a few miles north of ground zero, Karl Rove said the Democratic party did not understand the consequences of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Rove said Wednesday night. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, spoke at the state Conservative Party's annual dinner. He praised the conservative movement's success, calling it "the guiding philosophy for the White House, the Senate, the House."

Rove said the Democratic Party made the mistake of calling for "moderation and restraint" after the terrorist attacks.

"Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies."

I don't know that I've heard any of the '08 likely candidates talking like this. It seems like most of the GOP leaders are trying desperately to get along with the Dems and the press, rather than confronting the Dems on the issue of their response to terrorism.

Nancy Pelosi yesterday declared the war in Afghanistan over, so I guess we can just pull everybody out and bring them home now and the Afghans will live happily every after.

Seven Republican members of Congress said yesterday House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was "demoralizing" U.S. troops by saying twice Tuesday that the war in Afghanistan is over during a press conference she held to call for an investigation of detainee abuses.

"Would you prefer that they gave up the fight, stopped hunting for Osama bin Laden and allowed the terrorists to run free?" the Republicans, all members of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to the California Democrat.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Pelosi and three other top Democrats called for a commission to investigate reported abuses of detainees from the war on terror. Mrs. Pelosi said it is past time that the administration established a policy on determining the fates of the detainees at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arguing that most are from Afghanistan and that the conflict there has ended.

"I assume that the war in Afghanistan is over, or is the contention that you have that it continues?" she said to a reporter.

A few moments later, she said: "This isn't about the duration of the war. The war in Afghanistan is over."

San Fran Nan is typical of the Dem leadership these days...they just don't get it. By the way, Nan, this was in the news today:

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces surrounded a rebel hide-out in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, and the number of insurgents killed from three days of fighting rose to 102, the defense ministry said.

Sure looks like the Afghan war is over.

UPDATE: Rove must have struck a nerve because the Dems are now demanding an apology and retraction. Don't do it Karl!