It's About Damn Time

For nearly a year, the Left has been shooting at the lame duck that is our presidential administration. It was inspiring to see on Veteran's Day that lame duck stand up, lick its wounds, shake off the bruises, grab its sawed-off, and take aim.

The attacks from the Left came heavy and hard back in the summer following the death of Chief Justice Rhenquist. President Bush nominated right-of-center Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court. The Democrats put up opposition and the "gang of 14" settled what could have been a waste of taxpayers dollars. Noticing the Bush Administration was still high on last November's re-election, the Left went on the offensive and took every shot they could. (I don't blame 'em. Good play, Dems. Good play.) It was frustrating for the Right to see the White House not defending themselves.

Katrina and other hurricane coverage brought the next onslaught of attacks. Mayor Ray Nagin, Sen. Mary Landrue, and Gov. Kathleen Blanco all took heavy blows at Bush and Friends. It was surely rough. Sen. Hillary Clinton even called for an investigation of what went wrong with the administration's actions (or lack of) prior, during, and after Katrina. Then there was FEMA director Mike Brown.

In the midst of all of this, Bush made the fatal mistake of pissing off his base, the group soley responsible for his second term and his approval rating not being lower than that of Teddy Kennedy's at a Mary Jo Kopechne Memorial Service - He appointed Harriet Miers to replace Justice O'Conner on the black-robed bench. Not only did the Left whine, but the Right put up a fight too. Bush's ratings sank lower than Mary Jo in the Chappaquiddick. After a few weeks of his base screaming for him to appoint someone more qualified (such as a UC Basketball convict), Miers stepped down and Sam Alito was propped up to take the place of O'Conner. Now, Sen. Harry Reid and others are saying a fillibuster might just happen in January.

As if all of that wasn't enough, Sen. Reid shut down the Senate to investigate the reasons for going to war in 2003. The Dems used everything they had to further tarnish the administration's image. This is where we heed our miniature history lesson.

On November 11th, Bush shocked the political nerds by actually defending the war on terror (and for those who see it as something separate - the war in Iraq). But it wasn't just the same "stay the course... we're doing well... c'mon, stick with me guys" mantra. He railed against his critics that once supported the mission in Iraq, but are now not only voting against funding for it, but regretting (Fmr. Sen. John Edwards) their vote.

Bush said, "Many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: 'When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat and a grave threat to our security.'" and "These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will."

Bush wasn't the only one taking aim, Cheney took cue as well, "The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone – but we’re not going to sit by and let them rewrite history.
We’re going to continue throwing their own words back at them. And far more important, we’re going to continue sending a consistent message to the men and women who are fighting the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other fronts." Others of the White House have made similar remarks to the Today Show, Meet the Press, and other media outlets.

It's about damn time Bush finished running his 2004 victory lap and realized his legacy and image was in jeopardy. But it goes much deeper than that. By not pointing out the achievements of our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the war on terror, they are neglecting to show unlimited support for our troops. It was definitely sad to see the mission veterans fought for being under-publicized, not just by the mainstream media, but by our Commander in Chief. These counter-attacks by Bush, Cheney, and other insiders shows that they are not to be reckoned with in rhetoric. They have always cared about the troops and the war on terror, but it's sad that it took low approval ratings to grab this administration's attention.

Keep it up, gentlemen. Not just for my love of the political cat-fight, but for the veterans of the war on terror and the America-lovers.