The fact remains, there are a lot of sunshine patriots out there, that quaver at the least notion that the US may very well be engaged in a massive international struggle within months. These Caspar Milquetoast types are very well trained in the performance of panic, and launch into that mode at every opportunity. They will turn to ANYBODY who makes even a vague promise to "talk", rather than ever resorting to serious confrontation. How do you negotiate with scorpions? The short answer is, you can't. But these make-believe Americans are not swayed by that reasoning. We have had several generations of just this sort of escapist thinking, and that just may tip the scales back to the gridlock so beloved by the indecisive.
For example, are we still a nation that is willing to tolerate a corrupt politician like Torricelli? Are we a nation that truly recognizes the threat we face, and comprehends that the President needs a strengthened hand to deal with the threat? Are we going to prove that Osama bin Laden's opinion of us was right or wrong? I'm referring to his opinion of us as weak and all-consumed by materialism. Another example to draw the point finer: Do we want a Senate that will give us a prescription drug "benefit" while failing for months to pass the Defense appropriation? What will we choose?