Defining victory

Yesterday, President Bush criticized Democrats who are calling for either a date to bring the troops home from Iraq or for the immediate withdrawal of all forces. He said the Democrats want to leave "before the job is done."

"I can't tell you exactly when it's going to be done," Bush said according to the AP. "If we ever give up the desire to help people who live in freedom, we will have lost our soul as a nation, as far as I'm concerned."

Apparently now the mission in Iraq is to help people who live in freedom and to save the soul of the nation.

"War is not a time of joy," he said. "These are challenging times, and they're difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of our country. I understand that. You know, nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see havoc wrought by terrorists."

The terrorists of whom Bush speaks weren’t killing Iraqis when the war on terror began in 2001. Although none would argue that the Iraqis were living in freedom, they had less to fear under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

The problem isn’t that Democrats are calling for a "date-certain withdrawal" or even an immediate withdrawal. The problem is the Democrats who are calling for these things.

The Sunday morning news programs featured Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman. Sen. Hilary Clinton was used in a sound bite on one of the networks as well.

This is why the Republicans have so much hope for November. As long as Democrats keep parading failed national candidates or candidates who are as vilified as Clinton, the ruling party can distract voters from the issues. There is just no way to rehabilitate these characters. Even Democrats can’t stand them.

There need to be alternative voices with alternative messages in the debate. Democrats need to address Iraq without accepting the dualism of cut-and-run versus stay-the-course. Democrats need to offer real diplomacy in the region and look beyond the notion of Israel to create a lasting peace.

For years, the United States and much of the West have been adamant in their support of Israel’s right to exist without ever once recognizing that the government of that country has created an apartheid system at least as bad as South Africa. It’s not anti-Semitic to say that the Israeli government is wrong. It’s not anti-Semitic to recognize the plight of the Palestinians, the wrongs done to the Lebanese.

What should be recognized isn’t the threats of extremists, but the fears of the common folk both here and abroad.

When the Democrats start addressing the 300 percent rise in income for the top one-percent of the Americans, when Democrats begin speaking about the inequities of wage earners in developing countries that draw jobs from the US, they’ll begin to ease the grip of fear that this administration has created in the world.

Or they can continue on their present course and drive Republicans to victory in the fall.