They day Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, and George W. Bush took to the airwaves to mislead, abuse, and even to terrorize Americans with their constant fear-mongering, was the day partisanship died. But worse, the day they used the tragic deaths of 2700 people and the four hundred or so who+óGé¼Gäóve died aroudn the world to terrorism in the past five years following 9-11, to exaggerate beyond recognition a threat, to portend it+óGé¼Gäós +óGé¼+ôWorld War III,+óGé¼-¥ or war with no end is the day Demagoguery replaced republicanism (with a lower-case r). Think about it. In the past five years, according to Nightly News on NBC this past July, 400 people have died internationally to terrorism (this obviously does not include the Iraq war, which isn+óGé¼Gäót and wasn+óGé¼Gäót ever about a terrorist threat or attack by Iraq against us.) That+óGé¼Gäós fewer than a 100 people a year world-wide. And Bush has the temerity to stake out and put in his crosshairs our Constitution, our system of laws, our right to dissent, our right to information that should be public, our right to a free and open press!
This cannot be called a bipartisan failing in the sense the NY Times means it. How can a minority, closed out from discussion, manipulated out of hearings and votes, disallowed to even read bills before votes be blamed for not being the solution? The Times must be kidding -- or throwing a line to the GOP.
What I do blame Democrats for is not being strong enough to stand up to Bush on Iraq. By so failing, they also have made the situation worse. But they really had little say in the first place. The truth is also that the Democrats have had more productive solutions (with dismantling what characterizes this nation). They recommended Homeleand Security, which Bush opposed --until he realized it wouldn't fly to oppose it. He also by then had figured out how to misuse DHS to enrich cronies. They+óGé¼Gäóve proposed better container inspections and better funding of security means. Yet Bush hasn+óGé¼Gäót either budgeted or appropriated properly. Democrats have consistently called for full implementation of the 9-11 Commission Report recommendations. The Bush administration has no interest in this.
The truth is we are alone. We have no leadership. What poor excuse for it we have is more interested in its own consumption, greed authoritarianism and raw power. And so we are alone, completely alone. Let+óGé¼Gäós hope that a true national leader emerges to bring us to a better path. Let+óGé¼Gäós pray it happens this fall and in 2008. Of all days we must think about the possibilities, how we can each make a difference, and how if only more than 2% of the most hard-core would be more informed, more resistant to revisionism, more attentive, more engaged, we would have it made. America would be the participative union of millions all working in common purpose so our government is the best reflection of our best selves.