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| William Kristol: The 9/11 Election |
| 2004-10-23 |
| From the November 1 / November 8, 2004 issue: This is the first presidential election since September 11, 2001, and it will define America's response: On the one hand, we can attempt to return to the 1990s; on the other hand, we can face our challenges, and carry out our duties. "We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance." "What American would not trade the economy we had in the 1990s, the fact that we were not at war and young Americans were not deployed?" "During the decade of the 1990s, our times often seemed peaceful on the surface.Yet beneath the surface were currents of danger. Terrorists were training and planning in distant camps. . . . America's response to terrorism was generally piecemeal and symbolic. The terrorists concluded this was a sign of weakness, and their plans became more ambitious, and their attacks more deadly. Most Americans still felt that terrorism was something distant, and something that would not strike on a large scale in America. That is the time my opponent wants to go back to. A time when danger was real and growing, but we didn't know it. . . . September 11, 2001 changed all that. We realized that the apparent security of the 1990s was an illusion. . . . Will we make decisions in the light of September 11, or continue to live in the mirage of safety that was actually a time of gathering threats?" THIS IS THE FIRST presidential election since September 11, 2001. Its central issue is the meaning of September 11. The events of that day did not really "change everything," as Bush sometimes says in a defensible shorthand. But they did reveal, as columnist Paul Greenberg put it, that "everything we had thought/assumed/expected in the Golden '90s hadn't been so." The surface peace of the 1990s had been bought at a great price. On 9/11 a failure of American leadership was revealed, a failure to look ahead and act forcefully to forestall threats--to do what Bush has called "the hard work of fighting terror and spreading freedom." This is what President Bush thinks. John Kerry really doesn't agree. That's why it is so fitting that Bill Clinton will reemerge to campaign for Kerry this week. The choice will then be clearly posed: On the one hand, we can attempt to return to the 1990s. This is not, of course, an unattractive prospect, but it is surely an unachievable one. To pretend we can go back to the 1990s raises false hopes that will prove dangerous to the country. On the other hand, we can face our challenges, and carry out our duties--as President Bush has tried, with considerable success, to lead us to do. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #22 :-) Ship - Kristol is indeed Jewish, as for the self-hate, I don't think so. Typically he and the other "evil Neocon Joooooish Cabal™" are accused of using America's strengths for Israel's security, nevermind that our interests are intertwined... It's a red herring |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-24 9:45:56 AM |
| #21 LOL! I'll be back and check the Jew proof tomorrow! Any links for the self-hate? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-24 9:37:17 AM |
| #20 tw, How do you know that Mike is not in the 2nd grade? If he hasn't reached the 4th grade yet then you can't blame him. Maybe he got left behind on the underfunded "No Child Left Behind". |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2004-10-23 10:01:04 PM |
| #19 No, Michael. You need to look at the words in the posted article. Read them. Then you evaluate the article on its merits. You were taught to do this in 3rd or 4th grade, if you went to a halfway decent public school. If this is beyond you, please go back to lurking until you have seen enough examples to discern the principles of the excercise, at which point you may try again. Thank you. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-23 9:43:31 PM |
| #18 mike you need help - I'd suggest cuddly therapy in a EU country. They'd understand and affirm you |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-23 6:50:25 PM |
| #17 If someone is a self hating jew, then that's all we need to know about him. That would apply to William Kristol too, wouldn't it? . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-10-23 6:38:43 PM |
| #16 Mike, what the hell is wrong with you? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-23 6:29:21 PM |
| #15 Voting update Is William Kristol a self hating jew? Tom = Needs more info to decide. Whoo = yes, if William Kristol is a Democrat Big Ed = incoherent (ballot discarded as invalid) . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-10-23 6:13:42 PM |
| #14 BTW - Kedwards staff unveiled their stupid ostrich ad, but after comparisons to the Wolves ad by W's staff, they haven't used the Ostrich anywhere. A cheap PR release is all... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-23 4:22:23 PM |
| #13 I misspoke. The Ostrich was in a Kerry ad, but the idea of an ostrich with head in sand is a perfect metaphor for the vast majority of Kerry supporters... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-10-23 4:08:19 PM |
| #12 Sylwester - Quit worrying about who hates what. I am not Jewish, but to use this as an issue is as gratiuitous as the ambulance chasing appeasers using the Veep's daughter for poliical hay. Kristol, though I sometimes disagree with him, is right on point here! Anyone who doesn't realize that is like the ostrich in the new Bush-Cheney Ad. i.e. Sylwester - go screw..... NEVER MIND |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-10-23 4:00:28 PM |
| #11 Mikey - you dumbfuck. I was mocking you (as usual) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-23 2:22:15 PM |
| #10 I thought Democrat Jews were the self-hating type, i.e. voting against their interests. |
| Posted by: Whoo 2004-10-23 1:58:35 PM |
| #9 Been doing troll dust, Mike? |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-10-23 1:41:42 PM |
| #8 The vote so far: Is William Kristol a self hating Jew? .com = no Frank G = yes PBMcL = undecided Capt America = maybe, but substantially correct . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-10-23 1:36:37 PM |
| #7 Skip the ethnic comments and consider the substance. Bill Kristol is absolutely correct. This election is very much a decision on our post-9/11 approach to terrorism. Are we going to play 'cops-and-robbers' like the '90's or are we going to remain on offense. For me the choice is obvious: on defense you have to be 100% right all the time (an impossibility); whereas on offense, we chase them into caves. |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-10-23 12:14:54 PM |
| #6 Methinks the sink trap awaits you, Mike... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2004-10-23 11:34:05 AM |
| #5 He's an evil Neocon self-hating Joooo, right, MS? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-23 11:07:44 AM |
| #4 Check. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-23 11:02:59 AM |
| #3 I suppose I need to start keeping score. I'll put you, .com, down as voting that William Kristol is not a self hating jew. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-10-23 11:00:01 AM |
| #2 Mike S - In the same vein as your gratuitous "comment": Hmmm. I see no mention of "self-hate" here. Why, SPo'D hasn't even commented on this thread! You must be psychic - or something. As for Kristol being a Jew, how do you know Mikey? How do you really know with absolute certainty? How can you ambush SPo'D without certainty? *slaps forehead* Duh, of course! Sorry - it's obvious, now: You checked Kristol's foreskin! FOAD. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-23 10:50:49 AM |
| #1 William Kristol is a Jew. Sock Puppet of Doom, is William Kristol another one of those self hating jews? If so, is that all we need to know about him? . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-10-23 10:37:39 AM |