I listened to our esteemed psuedo-President give 15 minutes of vague, stern yet feel good yammering on the drive home from work tonight. Much of what he said was difficult to disagree with, that America cannot stand by as terrorists seek to kill our citizens and tear our nation down, that people the world over should have free governments which serve them rather than repress and control them.
But these are straw man arguments, punching at paper bags rather than working for the unity Bush claims we must have. So here are three questions, the answers to which are not subject to handwaving, asked as if he’d held a press conference or town hall meeting:
President Bush, you spent a good portion of your address tonight on the need for democracy to flourish in the Middle East as part of the solution to our current problems. Could you detail for us the discussions you and your Cabinet have had with the Saudi royal family and President Mubarek, and other efforts made by the executive branch to bring democracy as we understand it to Saudi Arabia and Egypt? President Bush, as you mentioned the brave men and women of our Armed Forces very quickly drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. How come more opium has been harvested in 2006 than in any prior year? President Bush, you called for Americans to unite to fight what you said was the great conflict of the 21st century. How do you expect Americans who are not Republicans to unite behind you when members of your Aministration–including Vice President Cheney–publicly claim that supporting Democratic Party candidates like Ned Lamont is providing support and encouragement to Al Qaeda? Doesn’t inflammatory rhetoric such as this divide and belittle Democratic supporters instead of bringing them into a united community?
Where are the mainstream media reporters, who after all are the ones who have access, on asking these questions? I admit this is just a guess but I don’t believe the White House would issue me, or Karl, or Garret a press pass for the next press conference.
