Posted on 04/17/2009 12:26:19 PM PDT by Scanian
There are undoubtedly people who have a more vivid memory of Will Farrell’s "Saturday Night Live" version of the "Axis of Evil" — the one in which Farrell, as President George W. Bush, denounced Iran, Iraq and "one of those Koreas" — than of the real thing from Bush's 2002 State of the Union address. A lot of comedians made a lot of fun of the "Axis of Evil" concept. But now, more than seven years later, it's looking pretty solid.
This is what Bush said on the subject of Iran, Iraq and North Korea:
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.
You can argue till the end of time about Iraq's place in that group. But is there anything you would disagree with in the former president's assessment of Iran and North Korea? The last administration's comedy fodder is this administration's bipartisan consensus.
Recently I called David Frum, who is a friend and also the Bush speechwriter who came up with the "Axis" concept. (He originally wrote it as "Axis of Hatred.") Given the seriousness of the situations in Iran and North Korea today, I asked, why all the mocking of the concept, virtually from the very beginning?
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Frum keeps looking for another 15 minutes of shame...
Actually, I like “Axis of Hatred” better. It doesn’t open itself up to criticism from the left that America is taking a religiously superior position to those countries. Bush should have stuck with “Axis of Hatred”.
Reagan was right about the Evil Empire and Bush was right about the Axis of Evil...including Iraq.
My tagline explains much.
So, we shouldn’t call evil by its real name because leftists might criticize us for it.
I’m sensing a pattern here...
I'm sensing simple mathematics might be lost on you.
Winning elections is about convincing more people to believe you than believes the opposition. For eight years we were treated to a Republican administration that was incapable of keeping out of it's own way and communicating a consistent and effective message.
Words matter. Until people who run on the GOP ticket start to embrace the power of language, like the founders of the conservative movement - Goldwater, Buckley and Weyrich did so brilliantly, we will never win another national election.
Hatred is a better noun than evil because it still conveys a message, but isn't as divisive or religious. If you can't understand that simple difference in locution, there may not be any hope.
Agree fully with your tag.
Hatred is a better word to describe pure evil if you’re a squish with no regard for words or their meaning.
BTW, since you’re such an expert on winning national elections, how much did Barry Goldwater win his by?
Thanks.
I’m not sure, but I think it’s original.
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