 By Michael Reagan December 07, 2006
I've never seen a presidency where everybody shoots at the president and nobody defends him, except his wife and Tony Snow. People who oppose "waterboarding" the enemy would be happy to see George Bush undergo the ordeal. He's not even immune from attacks
from people he picks to fill the highest offices in his administration.
He's forced to sit in the Oval Office and watch the man he chose
to be secretary of defense publicly disagree with him on nationwide
TV by telling Sen. Carl Levin we are losing the war in Iraq,
an argument the president rejects out of hand.  Artist Mike Lester, The Rome News-Tribune Distributed to subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.
Instead of suggesting that the only way to deal with the massive problems in Iraq -- the sectarian violence and the attacks by both foreign and domestic insurgents -- is to take the gloves off and come out slugging, the group comes up with recommendations that have nothing to do with winning the war, as that seems to be unthinkable, and everything to do with putting on a good show while we depart. Without ever coming out and saying it, the study group leaves no doubt that it thinks George Bush is not up to the job and has made a real mess of things that can only be "solved" by such idiotic moves as sitting down and having talks with Syria and Iran, both nations that dream nightly about killing us all and bringing the enlightenment of Islamic law and rule to a world badly in need of Islamic reform. It's as Churchill once said about appeasement: it's a case of feeding the alligator and hoping it will eat you last. What you see in all of this is that there is a complete lack of support and respect for this president, even from the people he has around him. For Gates to come out and say what he did in the confirmation hearings for the job George Bush has given him, is nothing less than sheer ingratitude if not open contempt for his benefactor. And he not only takes issue with the president who has appointed him, but does so with impunity. It doesn't matter to him that he gave aid and comfort to the enemy. It doesn't matter to him that it demoralizes the troops in harm's way in Iraq. It's all about him saying what will help him be confirmed as the secretary of defense. He sailed through the hearings and got an almost-unanimous approval from the full Senate but you have to wonder he would have had it so easy up there on Capitol Hill if he had disagreed with Levin and agreed with the president that we are not losing the war in Iraq. Instead, he told the Democrats and the media what they wanted to hear. You have to remember that he is a member of the Iraq Study Group and as such has signed on to their report. He comes from a group of people I know well. They all think they are little gods. It's either their way or no way. They think that they are the be-all and end-all, and the media fawn on them and feed their insatiable egos. Their new way of dealing with Iraq is to figure out ways to leave. My way is more straightforward and simple: forget pandering to the Left's pacifist instincts and just go ahead and kill the enemy, every single one of them. If my Dad had listened to that
bunch the Cold War would still be going on, there would have
been no strategic defense initiative, and there would be no Ronald
Reagan legacy worth a darn. Instead, he hung tough and we won.
Look for Mike's new book "Twice Adopted". Order autographed books at www.reagan.com Distributed exclusively to subscribers for publication by Cagle, Inc. www.caglecartoons.com.
|