Bush on the Offensive

Some people have questioned the timing of President Bush coming out swinging at the people who support a revisionist version of how the war in Iraq started. Others have questioned whether his speech on Veteran's Day was going to be a one time thing.

I think Bush's timing is perfect and I think that his opponents have once again "misunderestimated" him. Bush going on the offensive is not a one time thing. He's used a rope-a-dope and now is coming out swinging in the late rounds to finish off his opponents in time for the 2006 elections.

Others have pointed out that Bush has the facts on his side. Who and what Senators and Congressmen voted for is a matter of public record. Ted Kennedy, for example, voted against the first Gulf War and against the invasion of Iraq but he voted for the Clinton proposal to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Now that Iraq is free from the tyranny of Saddam and has its own constitutionally elected government - how can Kennedy honestly reconcile his votes to the reality of the situation?

Other now "anti-war" members of Congress also face these "I voted for the war before I voted against it" conundrums.

You can fool some of the people all of the time but you're not pulling the wool over the eyes of the military. They know who has stood with them and who has not. That is why Bush or Rumsfeld or Condolezza Rice can get huge ovations in front of military crowds and conversely why you'll never see a speech by John Kerry or Ted Kennedy from a military base. The people doing the heavy lifting know the job is worth-while and they know full well who has their backs here at home. Questions like "Senator Kennedy you're a Harvard alumni - how come you never came out in support of allowing military recruiters on campus?" would be among the least damaging and most polite questions the Senior Senator from Massatucky would face. The Junior Senator would be sure to face questions about Form 180 and whether he ever put himself up for any of his famous medals that he may or may not have thrown over the White House fence.

You can't say you support "our troops" and then vote against them at every turn. The people in the US are hugely for our men and women of the military and if you've been a hypocrite with your votes then you can forget about winning any general elections.

Bush opponents look at his current poll numbers and think they have him on the run. As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend."

Bush has no more elections to win. He's got nothing to lose by going on a big "compare and contrast" binge/media tour right about now. Especially now.

Bush has the facts on his side. Every major leader and intelligence agency believed Saddam Hussien had weapons of mass destruction. (And keep in mind that those WMD may yet be found - it may be Saddam's ace in the hole to reveal their whereabouts to save his neck from the hangman's noose.) Almost every Democratic leader voted to remove Saddam and said it was because of WMD back when Clinton was President. Bush can simply point out that these people have now placed politics above national security.

And what was the alternative course to the course to war that Bush picked? The course chosen by the French? Another great compare and contrast opportunity for Bush. Day 17 and counting of French rioting leaves little wiggle room in the argument over who chose the right course in facing down Islamofacism - Bush or Chirac. Who has best handled their nation's economies? Bush or Chirac? Comparing Bush's leadership to Chirac's will be like shooting frogs in a barrel.

While I'm at it - let me say that the main stream media and the Democrats have taken their best shots at Karl Rove and he's still standing. The MSM may have tricked themselves into thinking that they're won a victory by getting Scooter Libby to resign but mark my words - it will be a pyrrhic victory at best. Libby has only been indicted. The real fireworks will come at his trial where Libby will be able to defend himself. No journalistic privledges will be allowed from the witness stand and the MSM will surely regret making a big deal out of Joe Wilson's wife's profession. When the truth comes out - it will be the Washington media that comes out bloodied and not Karl Rove or the Bush administration.