#8
The bottom line with the current president, as far as I'm concerned, is that at least President Bush started fighting back against the Islamofascists/Jihadists/Caliphatists, or whatever we're calling them these days. If Al Gore had won in 2000, I don't think he would even have been so bold as his former boss Bill Clinton, who was so terribly good at shooting missiles at empty tents; had Senator John Kerry won in 2004, he'd have invited Osama bin Laden and his top management team to Paris to negotiate a settlement that involved turning over Iraq and the rest of the Ummah to be split between the Al Qaeda and Iran, thus triumphantly going far beyond the betrayal of his callow youth.
The first phase of the War on Terror has not gone nearly as well as our initial hopes, either abroad or at home. But at least we're out there swinging -- and hitting, often enough, at least according to some of the things I've read coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan these past few days. I won't argue that it's been done well. There are enough Rantburgers expert in the various arts and crafts of war and intercultural politics, who've generously explained what's been done right, what's been done wrong, and what critically needs to be done next. But to repeat: At Least President Bush Hasn't Surrendered Yet. And while those who don't look beyond their own personal affairs (which is most people, most places, most of the time) don't know, don't care, and don't want to be bothered, those whose view is bigger keep getting mugged by reality. Shoot, the Arabs are giving up on the Palestinians! That is not something I expected to see before I died.
I'm in this thing for the long haul. And I'm just grateful that, if the Republican Party couldn't come up with anyone better than George W. Bush, at least they didn't come up with anyone as bad as the Democratic candidates he beat. In both Fred Thompson and Rudy Guiliani the Republicans have candidates who, I believe, can be counted on to continue the fight -- hopefully better -- but certainly effectively communicating about it. And both have a good chance of beating either the honourable Senator Hillary Clinton or the equally honourable, if less experienced, Senator Barack Obama, current leaders in the Democrats' race.
"Let not the Best be the enemy of the Good," as the saying goes. But sometimes Better Than Nothing really is better than nothing, especially if those are the only choices on offer.
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CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The White House on Sunday fired back at former President Jimmy Carter, calling him "increasingly irrelevant" a day after Carter described George W. Bush's presidency as the worst in history in international relations.