When two reasonably intelligent people look at the same thing and each of them sees something completely different, it?s often because of ideology. Personal values determine how we feel about different concepts and color our understanding of the words we use to debate.
Take the war for instance. Ask a member of the angry left what he thinks of it, and he?s likely to say Bush should never have invaded Iraq on false pretenses and that he has hopelessly botched the post-Saddam reconstruction of the country. If he?s running for office he might mention that the Iraq invasion distracts us from bringing Osama bin Laden to justice.
Someone else, like a conservative or, say, the junior senator from Connecticut, is more likely to assume you?re talking about the war on terror as a whole. Of course it is true that Saddam Hussein didn?t directly help al-Qaida plan the Sept. 11 attacks, but the crushing reality of that day proved how foolish it is to let real threats to our national security fester.
In a sense though, Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror. It has diverted terrorists who would otherwise be occupied elsewhere to Iraq, where they are being killed by the hundreds.
Many liberals criticize the Bush administration for failing to connect the dots before Sept. 11. Yet they refuse to acknowledge that the Iraq situation, the Iran nuclear push, Hezbollah?s war against Israel and the persistence of al-Qaida may be part of the same ominous trend that must be halted.
This collection of terrorists and rogue states certainly do not share the same long-term goals. However, they do share a common enemy. It is the modern West, which includes Israel, because the West?s pluralism and prosperity offer the strongest challenge to their backward, inhumane worldview. And because killing those evil Jews and crusading Christians always plays well at home. These guys know their constituency far better than any Baltimore City council member.
In the wake of last week?s foiled airline terror plot in the United Kingdom ? which many lefty bloggers, including the once-reasonable Andrew Sullivan, suspect was merely a pre-election fiction created by Karl Rove ? President Bush said something so obvious it sparked a controversy. “This nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation,” Bush said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) had the temerity to scold Bush for this. The term fascist is inexact, but it?s as good a word as any to describe gangsters and tyrants who vow to exterminate Jews and who strive for a world where self-declared holy men can ban kite-flying and force women to walk around showing less skin than a beekeeper.
But CAIR?s concerns were taken seriously by the media and by the Bush administration, which was quick to reassure everyone that by no means would it start any sort of insensitive airline passenger profiling. It?s going to take a lot more than TSA patdowns and five-hour flights without Evian, Starbucks and iPods for the American people to demand something that radical.
With such a docile electorate, it?s no wonder many Democrats think they can win big this November. If they were smart, they would continue to hammer Bush on Iraq and not mention the other fronts in the war on terror.
But they?re not, which is why the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released an ad this week featuring footage of Osama bin Laden and blaming Bush for increased terror attacks. The ad?s tagline is “Feel safer? Vote for change.” Odd, since the same crowd blamed John Kerry?s 2004 defeat partially on the late-breaking Osama video that they say scared voters into voting for Bush because they felt safer with him at the helm.
Voters frustrated with Iraq may indeed seek a different answer at the polls this fall, but Democrats would have a stronger chance if they showed even the slightest hint that they fully understood the question.
Aaron Keith Harris writes about politics, the media, pop culture and music and is a regular contributor to National Review Online and Bluegrass Unlimited. He can be reached at [email protected].
