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Edward I. Koch: Dems, media are making an unforgivable mistake
Jewish World Review ^ | July 16, 2003 | Edward I. Koch

Posted on 07/16/2003 5:43:32 AM PDT by SJackson

The Democratic candidates for President -- and many in the media -- are trying to make President Bush seem like a liar. In so doing, they are making an unforgivable mistake. In his State of the Union Address to Congress on January 28, 2003, President Bush said, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, defending himself before the House of Commons for making a similar representation, said last week that the representation was true and comes from a different source than the one that was recently discredited by the CIA.

For me, it comes down to this: If Bush actually did lie to the American public -- intentionally stating as the truth that which he knew to be false -- then he should be impeached and removed as President. However, if Bush did not lie, and I do not believe that he did, then Americans of all political persuasions should defend our country's reputation for fair play by displaying their indignation at those who bear false witness.

They can do this by rejecting those candidates and political leaders who have perpetuated that charge and by turning to other TV and radio channels when the unfair and venomous attacks against the President are being aired.

I am a proud Democrat who generally supports Democratic candidates for office. I have never voted for anyone other than a Democrat for President.

Although I am a Democrat, I am no ideologue. In some local and state elections, I have proudly crossed party lines for candidates I thought were appreciably better. I believe that the most important issue facing the world is international terrorism, and it is my current intention to vote for George W. Bush for reelection. I do not agree with him on many domestic issues, ranging from privatizing Social Security to tax reductions favoring the wealthy. However, because of his leadership and successes in the war against international terrorism, he is my current choice in 2004.

Whether intelligence reports about Iraq were accurate or not, the President had a right to rely on information from Blair, America's most steadfast ally, and his government. If either Bush or Blair knew the reports were false and either is now engaging in a cover-up, that individual should be removed from office.

I believe Democrats and their media allies will fail to bring Bush down because taking on Saddam Hussein was the right course of action for America. National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, on Face the Nation over the weekend cleaned the clocks of her two media interrogators and critics, CBS' Bob Schieffer and Los Angeles Times Washington Bureau Chief, Doyle McManus with her brilliant responses to their questions. I quote her in part:

Bob Schieffer: The question I have for you this morning, who put it into the speech?
Dr. Rice: Well, let's start at the very beginning, as they say. And the president of the United States -- the notion that the president of the United States took the country to war because he was concerned with one sentence about whether Saddam Hussein sought uranium in Africa is purely ludicrous. And this has gotten to that proportion, that people are saying this statement is why the president took the nation to war.

The president took the nation to war to depose a bloody tyrant who had defied the world for 12 years, who was building a weapons of mass destruction program and had weapons of mass destruction, which he had used in the past, who was a threat to American interest in the Middle East and who, now that he is removed, is giving us an opportunity for Middle East that might finally be at peace and that will not create an atmosphere in which you have ideologies of hatred spawning people who slam airplanes into the World Trade Center. So we do have to put this in perspective.

The president's State of the Union said something that was accurate: This is what the British government said in its reporting. The British, I might note, still stand by that statement. It was not based, they say, on a single source, but on other sources."

Continued....

(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004; edkoch; wmd
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To: Howlin
WABC/770 actually had Koch saying some of this and I heard him. No, he didn't " um " nor " ah " through any of it.

Koch, for a Dem, is a pretty straight shooter and not all bad.

81 posted on 07/16/2003 8:55:26 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: SJackson
Koch has impressed me in the past by being able to articulate Democratic ideas without pounding on that day's talking points. The rest of them would be well served to follow his lead.
82 posted on 07/16/2003 9:18:22 PM PDT by MattAMiller (Down with the Mullahs! Peace, freedom, and prosperity for Iran.)
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To: txzman
Hey! A THINKING Democrat. I thought those were extinct.
83 posted on 07/16/2003 10:03:06 PM PDT by I'm ALL Right!
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To: Happy2BMe
Instead of me asking, why don't you tell me since you seem to be in the know.
84 posted on 07/17/2003 4:47:44 AM PDT by carton253 (You are free to form your own opinions, but not your own facts.)
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To: okie01
Clinton was impeached. But he wasn't removed...

Details, schmetails. :)

Silly me. Of course, you are correct. I stand corrected.

85 posted on 07/17/2003 5:09:41 AM PDT by MrConfettiMan (These pretzels are making me thirsty.)
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To: carton253
Here ya go son
86 posted on 07/17/2003 5:28:33 AM PDT by Happy2BMe (LIBERTY has arrived in Iraq - Now we can concentrate on HOLLYWEED!)
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To: Happy2BMe
Don't call me son...
87 posted on 07/17/2003 5:33:55 AM PDT by carton253 (You are free to form your own opinions, but not your own facts.)
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To: SJackson
And how about all those 90s attacks, lets hold hearings and find out who was responsible for those mistakes as well. Let's start with the beginning, the first WTC attack.

The intelligence failure of note is the one where we heard a speech from the president about Iraq's WMDs including nuclear then proceeded to blow up an aspirin factory. Talk about intelligence failure. The media really dug deep on this one. As I recall the result was " oops ".

Dims are nearing the point on this where treason kicks in for them. These attacks on the president are encouraging the enemy to kill our soldiers in Iraq. An unconscionable act. As if any of the Dims had any conscience to begin with. Thier quest for power is going to far.
88 posted on 07/17/2003 5:37:25 AM PDT by snooker
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To: SJackson
Democrats "bear false witness" bump.
89 posted on 07/17/2003 5:42:56 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: SJackson
I believe Democrats and their media allies will fail to bring Bush down because taking on Saddam Hussein was the right course of action for America.

Not sure if this was noted, but this is certainly intriguing coming from a liberal. Most liberals deny any media being for them.

90 posted on 07/17/2003 5:53:44 AM PDT by smith288 (We are but a moon, reflecting the light of the Son.)
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To: Temple Owl
ping
91 posted on 07/17/2003 6:12:20 AM PDT by Tribune7
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To: Happy2BMe
What the hell do you WANT from Bush on this? The SCOTUS spoke and their decision is made. What did you think should have happened? That because Bush didn't pull a Gephardt and "overrule a wrong SCOTUS decision he doesn't agree with" (which is ILLEGAL and out of the president's power), he must agree with it or did wrong?

Go live where Kings rule. Here, we have elected representatives with limits on what they're allowed to do for good reason.

92 posted on 07/17/2003 6:14:39 AM PDT by Wondervixen (Ask for her by name--Accept no substitutes!)
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To: Wondervixen
"Go live where Kings rule."

Kings "ruled" only until they were overthrown. Good kings reigned with complete and unreserved allegience of their subjects.

Once the kings abandoned the causes of their countrymen, the soldiers began to falter, the battles began to fail, and the king no longer sat on his throne.

93 posted on 07/17/2003 6:26:41 AM PDT by Happy2BMe (LIBERTY has arrived in Iraq - Now we can concentrate on HOLLYWEED!)
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To: CIB-173RDABN
Ed Koch did NOT support the impeachment of Clinton.
94 posted on 07/17/2003 6:33:51 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: R. Scott
Actually, I never feared Saddam Hussein would launch a nuclear strike on the U.S. if he had nukes; he was far more likely to use it against Israel. However, what DID concern me about Saddam Hussein was his potential for unleashing BIOLOGICAL or CHEMICAL weapons against the U.S., as those weapons are far easier to conceal than nukes, and we KNOW he had them and had used them in the past. To me, the nuke issue was almost a non-issue, and I paid it very little heed (on the other hand, I am VERY concerned that N. Korea may sell a nuke to an anti-American group).
95 posted on 07/17/2003 6:47:15 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: snooker
The Dems do not have a quest for power, they have an unbridled LUST for power, and it is truly frightening, since they will go to any length at all to get that power. To the Dems, NOTHING is off the table in their lust for power.
96 posted on 07/17/2003 6:51:00 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: ought-six
Why am I not surprised that he would have a differnt standard for a Republican then a Democrat.
97 posted on 07/17/2003 7:07:16 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN
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To: MattAMiller
The question that some in the GOP should be asking is why the BERST and MOST EFFECTIVE defense of President Bush to date comes from Ed Koch...
98 posted on 07/17/2003 7:28:56 AM PDT by ken5050 (ann coulter NEEDS to have kids ASAP....her gene pool has to be passed on.....any volunteers?)
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To: ReaganRevolution
WOW! Indeed.

And for emphasis, I was recently listening to Hardball host Chris Matthews, being interviewed on a New York City radio talk show.

Matthews another dedicated Democrat said the Democratic Party is in deep trouble today and has to find a platform with which Middle America will agree. He said "Republicans will agree on fewer taxes, less government and "let's win the war.

The Democrats say more taxes, more government and let's lose the war."

Sounds like the it could be the end of the party with the RATS leaving the ship.

99 posted on 07/17/2003 7:38:41 AM PDT by Temple Owl
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To: Temple Owl
Koch is irrelevant, and has been for over a decade... I appreciate some of his pro-Bush statements, but even there it's tempered, with some Bush-bashing... I'd take his comments with a grain of salt, IMO
100 posted on 07/17/2003 7:48:06 AM PDT by NYC Republican
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