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Canadian AND a professor. Amazing. |
Great find. Great post.
Posted on 10/05/2004 5:02:30 PM PDT by Cornpone
George Bush became the 43rd American president in the 2000 election by winning the all-important electoral college vote while losing the popular vote.
America's founding fathers designed a republican democracy where the potential passion of the people is tempered by the sobriety of electors representing the various states.
The 2000 election confirmed the wisdom of the founding fathers. It is as if providence saved the republic by electing a president with great moral reserve to defeat the evil threat of his time.
Few knew the mettle of Bush in 2000. Fewer expected his presidency to be of greater consequence than the one he was succeeding.
But 9/11 was a transformative moment, and a nation could only rise to meet this latest confrontation between good and evil if its leader understood his responsibility unambiguously.
Bush recognized 9/11, with its long antecedent, for what it was -- a new version of the old and recurrent assault that barbarians make on civilization, requiring the sort of stamina civilization needs to protect itself and destroy its enemy.
Barbarians, as the great 14th-century Arab historian-philosopher Ibn Khaldun observed, have no purpose except destruction of civilized life.
The only useful explanation for barbarians is an analysis of their origin. All other efforts in seeking a "root cause" explanation for them are not only futile, they are looking for some or any merit in the behaviour of killers where none is warranted.
Barbarians emerge from harsh conditions of lands beyond the frontier of civilized life, as the huns invading ancient Rome did. Or they are -- as the Nazis were -- the detritus of civilized life, irreparably corrupted and doomed in early 20th-century Germany, or -- as Muslim fascists are -- of failed societies in the Arab-Muslim world.
Bush does not possess Lincoln's grandeur, Roosevelt's or Reagan's charm, or Churchill's eloquence.
But like them, Bush possesses the one big thing needed: resolve and clarity of purpose, when civilization itself is placed in peril.
Kerry wants summit
His opponent, Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry, instead wants to have a summit of Middle Eastern leaders -- many of whom are themselves the alchemists of Islamist barbarism. These are the leaders he will rely on to advance freedom and progress in the region, even though they know such development will mark their doom.
Kerry's supporters make much ado about his experience in Vietnam as a war-decorated hero. But there is no necessary connection between experience in past wars and preparedness or leadership in future conflict.
Kerry is a reminder of others whose much-heralded experience in earlier battles turned counter-productive in subsequent struggles: Marshall Philippe Petain became France's hero as defender of Verdun in World War I. In June 1940, as Hitler's army prevailed over the French, Petain stepped forward to surrender France's honour to German Nazis.
It was left to an unknown officer, Charles de Gaulle, to wage stubbornly France's resistance against barbarians and redeem its shredded honour with Allied support.
Kerry, in contrast to Bush, is clever as a fox, seemingly knows in much detail most things and, like a fox, now strives to substitute cleverness for resolve when confronted with the awful magnitude of such a big thing as the contemporary war of civilization against barbarism.
The choice in this year's presidential election is not between Bush and someone reminding Americans of Lincoln or Churchill.
The choice is between Bush and Kerry as a reminder of Petain, who chose a Vichy peace with barbarians instead of destroying them.
Hence for Americans, and for those whose hopes rest on the great republic's leadership in world affairs, supporting Bush is not a choice but a necessity if we are to prevail over barbarians in our time.
Mansur is a professor of political science
at the University of Western Ontario
Next Column: John Kerry will defeat himself
Powerful words.
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Canadian AND a professor. Amazing. |
Great find. Great post.
I agree. The author seems to be one of the dwindling few, among whom I consider myself, who rightly places current events within a historical context versus histrionics.
Excellent! Ping!
If football games were determined by the number of first downs instead of touchdowns a lot of us who can throw a football ten yards but not seventy yards would be professional quarterbacks.
If... Gore had any sense he would have read the rules before the campaign and gone for the electorial vote instead of the popular vote.
Kerry is Kennedy's puppet, nothing more, nothing less.
"Kerry is a reminder of others whose much-heralded experience in earlier battles turned counter-productive in subsequent struggles: Marshall Philippe Petain became France's hero as defender of Verdun in World War I. In June 1940, as Hitler's army prevailed over the French, Petain stepped forward to surrender France's honour to German Nazis."
Love the French Connection.
D__m, Thats awesome and someone from Canada wrote it,wow
George Bush became the 43rd American president in the 2000 election by winning the all-important electoral college vote while losing the popular vote.
I once saw a Red and Blue map of the 2000 election at the county level. The US was almost all Red except for in the major urban areas, that is, the big cities. You almost had to look close to see the Blue. The electoral college prevents the big cities from completely dominating the rest of the country. This is deliberate and a good thing. It helps prevents a second civil war between the big cities and everyone else.
Anyone care to guess Mr. Mansur's ethnic/cultural/religious identity?
He sounds like an American living in Canada to me.
Sounds like an Arab name...
You didn't emphasis strongly enough on the part I keep trying to get people to notice.
The electors from the states, representing each individual
state,protects us from a few very large populated states.
In the last,2000, election the 500,000 votes over Bush by Kerry could be said they came from one city.
One city in California gave Kerry 750,000 more than Bush. Two states, New York and California, gave Kerry 3,000,000
more than Bush. [World Almanac]
Can you see a pattern of what may be coming? These states have a larger number of immigrants, not yet citizens than any other.
Check it out.
Frannie
I knew a guy with a Salim last name. His grandparents came from Lebanon. He was as American as apple pie.
See...there you go:) Its what we believe...God Bless America!
Couldn't have said it better, myself. Kerry as president will appease, appease, appease. Goons don get appeased. They take,and take and take.
As one A.W. to another, I must agree with most everything you have said. The possible exception being about America being "about what you believe"... I would add "and what you are committed to" as a qualifier. I am sure that the worthies you mentioned as anti-American writers believe what they are saying but in the end are willing to give up those beliefs in order to gain the power they lust after.Their commitment being to power and not principle.(Please see Victor Davis Hanson on being driven by the tide of the battle rather than principle.
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