Within Two Minutes

I watched with much interest president Obama's speech to the nation regarding the war in Afghanistan. From my perspective, he laid out a clear plan, starting with a short history of our involvement in Afghanistan, the reason why got involved, and what our goals are there now. He carefully linked our military action to the devastating attack on America on September 11, 2001. If we do not destroy the terrorist network, he claimed, they will attack us again. we are not there to occupy the country or even to engage in nation building. Our military has two functions: disrupted the Al Qaeda network so that it cannot export terrorism, and train the Afghan armed forces so they can keep their own people safe and secure.

Within two minutes of his speech the commentators at Fox News were disparaging Obama and his message to theAmerican people. Listening to their critique it appeared that it was a pre-planned generic criticism which was intended to fit no matter what Obama said. Fox News seems to have two rules regarding our current president. Rule one is: everything Obama says or does is bad. Rule two is: in the unlikely event that Obama does or says something good, refer immediately to rule one. Too bad they can't be more patriotic and put the good of the nation ahead of their own rancor and hatred.

Is Huckabee Really a Liberal?

What a fascinating news item. It turns out that when he was governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee pardoned a large number of convicted criminals in his state. One of them has recently been accused of killing four police officers in the state of Washington. He gunned them down in a cold blooded murder. This brings up the question, is Mike Huckabee really a liberal in conservative clothing?

For those with long memories, Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts lost the presidency partly because of his releasing a convicted criminal named Willie Horton. He was accused of being soft on crime. From my perspective, one can ask: is Huckabee of the same stripe? It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the Republican primaries in 2012.

A More Important Question

As I write this, the nation eagerly awaits an announcement by President Obama regarding troop levels in Afghanistan. In case you have forgotten, we are at war in that far-away country. The commanding general has submitted a request for a major increase in the number of American troops under his command there. Obama has taken a long time thinking about this request and what his response should be.

From my perspective, a more important question the President needs to answer is “What is America’s goal in Afghanistan?” Most Americans have forgotten why our troops are fighting there. Obama needs to tell us what our basic goal is, then he can explain how many troops we need to accomplish that task. Hopefully he will do that sometime soon.

Obama's Speech to Schoolchildren

Republicans are on our uproar these days over the President's recent speech to schoolchildren at the beginning of the school year. They claim he is pushing a socialist agenda on them and trying to indoctrinate them into socialism. His message: work hard and do your studies and try to improve the country thereby. Hardly seems a dangerous idea to me but the Republicans see a grand conspiracy in it. If that's the worst thing Obama ever does, this country is in good shape.
From my perspective, is unfortunate that Republicans are spending so much time trying to defeat the President. It's too bad they can't put their energies into something more productive for the improvement of our fair Republic.

Ultimate Result of Hate Speech

Seldom in the history of the United States has public discourse been filled with so much hate speech. What is worrisome to me is that much of the hateful rhetoric is aimed at President Barack Obama. He has been referred to as evil, an illegal alien, a Nazi and even worse. Then we hear that at one public town hall meeting the President conducted, armed people were allowed to be near the event. One was even carrying an assault rifle.

From my perspective, such a confluence of events - hyped up hate and firearms - is a recipe for disaster. How soon will it be before some neurotic wing nut decides to rid America of the “Great Satan.” Here is my prediction: before the 2010 election there will be a major attempt on the President’s life. It is no doubt already in the planning stages.

Murder is the ultimate result of hate speech. Let those who spread hate consider the power of their words.

Short Memory

According to a recent poll, a majority of Americans do not support the war in Afghanistan. They say it is not worth the effort even though they believe we could achieve our objectives there. I find such a thing quite surprising. From my perspeective, those who oppose the war in that far off land must have a short memory. It was from Afghanistan that the attack of September 11, 2001 originated. Certainley our nation has not only the right to strike back at those who inflicted so much harm on us in an unprovoked act of war, but also the responsibility to do so. Let us not falter in this noble cause.

Frightened Republicans

I have been puzzled by the strange antics of leading Republicans recently. They display an almost visceral hatred for President Obama by making ludicrous charges against him. The "death panel" accusation regarding health care reform is a good example. I think I have found the reason for Republican angst.

What frightens Republicans most is that Obama's policies might be successful. He might get some form of health care reform legislation enacted by Congress. They hoped that would be his Waterloo. The downturn in the economy seems to have hit bottom. They fear it might actually improve before the elections in 2010. Cash for Clunkers appears to be a success. Good reason for Republicans do be frightened!