The last of the Myths is being to fall. Given the disasterous handling of the budget deficit, the economy and various national policies designed to pander to the extremist wings of the Party, Bush’s percieved skill in foreign policy and national security issues was his hope of appealing to centrist voters. Well, don’t count on it, Curious George.
Damn that liberal media always reporting facts and analysis not in line with the approved spin control. If they had only accepted a anti-trust payoff like good old Rupert did with DirectTV they would see things the Pubbie way.
I’m sure Sam Stone will be by any minute now to tell us how a news anchor on Fox News mentioned that 53% of Americans surveyed by The Free Republic apporved of Bush’s foreign policy, so therefore there’s no problem and this is all hysteria from the liberal media.
Then december will swing by with a quote showing enthusiastic support for the President’s Middle East peace efforts, only it will turn out to be a reference to Clinton’s presidency, and he’ll gloat at how he managed to fool the politicos of the SDMB once again.
I sense in you a kindred spirit on this issue, I too am a bit taken aback by it. However, try to look on the bright side! We can pretty much imply that a quote came from anyone (as long as it advances our particular ideology), and do so with no fear! Hell, we can mix and match quotes from two different people in convenient ways and when called on it, just say “oops” and move on.
Yea, a new day is dawning in the fight against ignorance.
I hate when I do stuff like that. Just last week, after worrying about it for years, I realized that something just had to be done about the level of disorganization in my house. So I rented nineteen rhesus monkeys, got them drunk, and set them about re-indexing my media collection, organizing my files, and arranging my kitchen more practically.
Well, except the whole anthrax in the letters thing. And those sniper guys. And the constant sound of warning sirens from the department of homeland security. And the whole “duct tape and plastic” thing. If the people of the US want a peaceful homeland I’d say these things are not conducive towards achieving them.
(assuming you mean foreign based terrorist acts) sure. Of course, what exactly that means is open to discussion. It could mean that Patroit Act has saved the day. It could mean that terrorists haven’t finalized a new plan to act on American soil yet. (remember there was a significant period of time between attacks on American Soil). It could also mean that there’s suddenly a huge influx of available American targets that are right next door to the terrorists base.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not implying Bush is doing a stand up job protecting the homeland, but since the best you can throw out is a serial killer (Malvo and not even terror related), then he can’t be doing too bad a job in respect to national defense.
how about a response to my post, WorldEater. You seem to assume that the lack of verified attacks by foreign terrorists on American soil for the past two years is attributable to the efforts of the Bush team. I pointed out at least two alternate possabilities, both of which have some practical merit to them, rather than speculating about what ‘might’ have happened if the Patriot Act etc hadn’t been enacted.
to repeat:
there was a significant amount of time between the first WTC bombing and 9/11. In fact, there often has been a period of a couple of years between large scale attacks against Americans - even off American soil (as in teh Cole bombing, the embassy bombings - which were planned to happen together, much like the 9/11 attacks).
Because of the invasions in both Afghanistan and Iraq, the availability of nearby American targets (nearby to assumed terrorist bases), has blossomed. Why plan for years for a large scale attack when a relatively small investment of time and personnel can achieve a Chinese water torture effect of near constant attacks? without having to worry about beating airport or border security?
Weren’t there a couple of people who died, or were at least maimed, in the mailbombings from that loon who was trying to make a smiley face? And the sniper, he killed a few people, right? And the current sniper, he’s taken down two that I know of so far. Is the effectiveness of Homeland Security measured only by the activities of international terrorists and those other threats to the homeland don’t count?
The fact is we haven’t had a domestic attack since 9/11, and their could be a plethora of reasons why this is so. I think your alternate suggestions carry a lot of weight, and I think you are dead on with your logic. In addition to them, it’s very possible that other factors have played their roles as well, some of them perhaps being steps the administration took to protect the homeland. Seems reasonable to me.
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Hopefully they’ll be longer gaps, due to our thwarting of attacks. Only time will tell.
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Well, while the UN blast was horrific, it was no 9/11, and that’s why we always need to keep our guard up. I do agree with you on this point though, it does bring the heat off the homeland.
Hey, I don’t care if you’re convinced or not. Knock yourself out. All I’m saying is that I know a lot of people who don’t feel all that secure in the homeland. Never caught the guy who mailed anthrax. Snipers can evade capture for weeks even in the DC area. The terror threat level rollercoaster and warnings coming out all the time. Warnings to go out and buy plastic sheeting and duct tape. With the blackouts people have become aware of how fragile our power grid is and that is going to keep some people up at night. No repeats of 9/11, so I guess if that’s the metric you’re using, then yep, doing a great job. I use the metric of “how safe do I feel” and many others I know do the same. The reality for me is that I don’t feel the administration is making effective progress in securing the homeland, while at the same time they seem to be stirring the hornet’s nest with their foreign policy.
Everything Bush has touched will be a problem for him. Iraq, the envioronment…that will be a big one…the economy… almost as big as the envioronment. Bush does not have a lock on a second term.