Written on Water

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Mark Helprin

[hitthefan]

Last Wednesday, the president was everywhere. But on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, FDR worked quietly in the White House as America battled Japan on Guadalcanal, U-boats on the Atlantic, and Rommel in Tunisia. In the previous 365 days we had quadrupled defense spending and military production, doubled military manpower, turned the Battle of the Atlantic, invaded North Africa in history's then largest amphibious assault, begun the Burma Road, engaged Hirohito's air force, bombed Tokyo, checked the expansion of the Japanese Empire, and triumphed at Midway and in the Coral Sea.

[afuturegovernor]

Such is the modern presidency. FDR lived before the television era and way before the 24 hour new cycle.

[Arkinsaw]

The American people see steady progress. Thats all they can ask at the moment. I have not met anybody, at work, in my extended family, that is upset about the pace that this is going. Haven't heard a word of it. Bush's approval ratings are still sky high. We're capturing high level terrorists. Bush masterfully painted both the UN and Democratic Senate into a corner of sorts. In fact, the Democrats are attempting to slow the pace further.

This article is more wishing and hoping rather than an actual reflection of American sentiment.

[Lurker]

"This was more than anti-invasion insurance, it was blood money, and there is only one decent way to return blood money."

All I can say is "wow".

L

[Senator Pardek]

!

[BCrago66]

The article was not about the American sentiment. It was about President Bush. And it certainly is the case that when the President's ratings were sky-high, he could have pushed through higher military budgets. The President did not have to cave on the federalization of airport security; indeed, he could have instituted Israeli-style security and profiling at the airports.

[RLK]

he subsequently appeared and failed to ask for a declaration of war...

-------------------------

Out of curiosity, who, exactly, would we declare war upon?

[Arkinsaw]

True enough, but the overall tenor of the article seems to be that the administration is failing in the war on terror. I don't think that this is anywhere near the case.

While everything may not have gone as we would like, we are making steady progress.

[The Great Satan]

The crux of the problem is the provision of air support without localized basing.

No, the crux of the problem is that Saddam has advertised he has forward-positioned sleepers with highly weaponized anthrax ready to take out our greatest cities if we attempt to kill him or remove him from power.

[DB]

Exactly. I guess the author thinks we should simply just wiped out every Muslim nation.

I think the author is stuck in the past. This isn't a nice clean war where the enemy has clear borders and wear uniforms to indentify themselves. The world has changed along with our enemies.

[Snidely Whiplash]

Such is the modern presidency. FDR lived before the television era

Only barely. And he was certainly smack in the radio era - he managed to give 28 of those "fireside chats," plus numberous other radio broadcasts, speeches, and nearly 1000 press conferences in his time as POTUS. And this from a man who basically hated the press.

Contrasted with more recent Chief Executives, FDR was practically bound hand and foot to the media.

Snidely

[mercy]

****The President knows that multilateralism is just another name for the preferences of the European Left,****

A bureaucrat born of bureaucrats ... educated by the elete of ivory tower bureaucrats ... acts like a bureaucrat. Big surprise.

Bush Light. It's all you'll ever need.

[MeekOneGOP]

Bump for later read !

[MeekOneGOP]

The American people see steady progress. Thats all they can ask at the moment. I have not met anybody, at work, in my extended family, that is upset about the pace that this is going. Haven't heard a word of it. Bush's approval ratings are still sky high. We're capturing high level terrorists. Bush masterfully painted both the UN and Democratic Senate into a corner of sorts. In fact, the Democrats are attempting to slow the pace further.

This article is more wishing and hoping rather than an actual reflection of American sentiment.

Thanks! Check this out folks !!

Dems Fume as Al Qaeda Cell Political Ties Revealed

Democratic Party insiders are said to be furious over published reports identifying the five al Qaeda cell members arrested over the weekend in Lackawanna, New York as registered Democrats.

Sunday's Buffalo News initially revealed the inconvenient detail, noting first that "members of Lackawanna's Yemeni community describe the five arrested men as 'all-American.'"

"They include a telemarketer, a used car salesman and a former high school soccer star who was named friendliest in his class. Four are married, and three have children. All are registered voters — Democrats," announced USA Today on Monday, picking up the News report.

News of the al Qaeda cell's political affiliation can only exacerbate the party's already growing image as being soft on terrorism. Monday morning, for instance, noting that the Lackawanna five will be unable to go to the polls in the future, WABC Radio's Curtis Sliwa joked, "There's five less votes for Hillary Clinton."

Some Republicans see the "Al Qaeda were Democrats" reports as poetic justice.

Over the years, Democratic Party spinmeisters and their liberal media friends have repeatedly attempted to make hay over the political ties of domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, whom President Clinton once tried to tie to conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh.

[MeekOneGOP]

Bush masterfully painted both the UN and Democratic Senate into a corner of sorts. In fact, the Democrats are attempting to slow the pace further.

Exactly !