[quidnunc]

BikerNYC wrote: I just don't think it is that simple. First of all, the socialists got only 43% of the vote, hadly supporting a claim that "Spaniards panicked and voted for appeasement." Moreover, there was a large percentage of the people who opposed the war all along, and it would be ridiculous to expect them to turn around and vote for the very government which brought the country into a war they didn't want to get into in the first place. … Democracy can be a bitch, but if a majority of the people never wanted to go to war in Iraq in the first place, it is not surprising that the government which led them that way got its payback.

The was was just as unpopular on the day before the bombing, yet polls showed Aznar's party comfortably ahead.

I find ridiculous the idea that, because there was a bombing, the people should have supported the government at all costs. With that kind of reasoning, our worry should not be with the Dems, but with those in power who might seek to apply that rule in this country.

When a nation is attracked by foreign enemies its people can (a) rally 'round the flag to demonstrate that they will not be subjugated, or (b) capitulate in order to avoid further conflict, even at the expense of their honor and national identity.

The Spanish chose to capitulate.

[BikerNYC]

Polls? Right. We all know around here how bogus polls can be.

To you, "rally 'round the flag" means "rally 'round the party in power." With that logic, there is great incentive for those in power to do something drastic so that people "rally 'round the flag."

[Selene]

The Spanish chose to capitulate

Its not over yet. AQ said that it will take 2-3 hits to bring Spain inline. What else could they want? Prisoner release, money, mosques, more immigration, give back the disputed territories?