A Good Talking-To
June 28, 2005
Just finished listening to the speech. I liked it. I REALLY liked it. Maybe it wasn’t as strong as, say, the "Tear Down This Wall" speech, but it was solid and stirring nonetheless. Bush did what he needed to do: he clearly and specifically articulated the importance of a victory in Iraq to the overall War on Terrorism. This is the closest he has ever come to delivering a Reagan-esque speech. He was solid, focused, on point–he defined resolve tonight. The speech was also a subtle screw-you to those (on both the far-left and the far-right) who believe that Iraq is a Vietnam-style quagmire. This speech may well represent a second wind for the Bush Administration. Man, he nailed this one.
UPDATE: Bush’s speech in its entirety.
SECOND UPDATE: Reactions from Capitol Hill and from John Derbyshire of National Review.
June 28th, 2005 at 6:18 pm
“The speech was also a subtle screw-you to those (on both the far-left and the far-right) who believe that Iraq is a Vietnam-style quagmire.”
His reluctance to even understand and resolve concerned views demonstrate his position in the “far-right”. This blog should be renamed “Spin Alley” because your views are more subjective than objective.
June 29th, 2005 at 9:38 am
I liked the speech as well. Some people are whining about a “clear exit strategy,” but
I think these same malcontents would be blasting him for “cutting and running” if he did provide a timeline for the return of the troops. He must contend with one generation (my own (those 35 and under)), who grew up with war as nothing more than a big video game, where we drop a few bombs and go home in a matter of months, and the generation before us, who have understandable misgivings after the Vietnam War. But this situation is neither and should not be veiwed through either lens.
Furthermore, those politicians who are “outraged” by the connection to 9/11 are being “outrageously” disingenuous in their alleged ire. The President linked dogma of the insurgent fanatics in Iraq to the 9/11 terrorists. Is that unreasonable? I don’t think so. And I think if people stopped to think about what was said, rather that launching into the usual, anti-Bush vitriol, perhaps they would understand what he is saying.