Schlock and Awe
John Kerry's newest ad:
"Narrator: “In Iraq, American troops are attacked 87 times a day. At home, the Bush administration has acquired just 530 doses of licensed anthrax vaccine for America’s civilian population. In Afghanistan, the Bush Administration relied on Afghan warlords to go after Osama bin Laden. He got away. Bush said.... ‘I don’t spend that much time on him...I truly am not that concerned about him.’ It’s time for a new direction.”
President Bush's national security speech yesterday in New Jersey:
THE PRESIDENT: My opponent has a fundamental misunderstanding on the war on terror. A reporter recently asked Senator Kerry how September the 11th changed him. He replied, "It didn't change me much at all."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: His unchanged world view is obvious from the policies he still advocates. He has said this war is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation." He has declared, we should not respond to threats until they are — quote — "imminent." He has complained that my administration — quote — "relies unwisely on the threat of military preemption against terrorist organizations." Let me repeat that. He says that preemptive action is "unwise," not only against regimes, but even against terrorist organizations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry's approach would permit a response only after America is hit.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: This kind of September the 10th attitude is no way to protect our country. (Applause.)
The war on terror is a real war, with deadly enemies, not simply a police operation. In an era of weapons of mass destruction, waiting for threats to arrive at our doorsteps is to invite disaster. Tyrants and terrorists will not give us polite notice before they attack our country. As long as I'm the Commander-in-Chief, I will confront dangers abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)...
My opponent has complained that we are trying to — quote — "impose" democracy on people in that region. Is that what he sees in Afghanistan, unwilling people have democracy forced upon them? We removed the Taliban by force, but democracy is rising in that country because the Afghan people, like everywhere, want to live in freedom. (Applause.)
No one forced them to register by the millions, or stand in long lines at polling places. On the day of that historic election, an Afghan widow brought all four of her daughters to vote alongside her. (Applause.) She said this — she said, "When you see women here lined up to vote, this is something profound ... I never dreamed ... this day would come." But that woman's dream finally arrived, as it will one day across the greater Middle East. (Applause.) Thank you.
The dream of freedom is moving forward in Iraq. The terrorists know it, and they hate it, and they fight it. And we can expect more violence as Iraq moves toward free elections. Yet, every day in Iraq, our coalition is defeating the enemy's strategic objectives. The enemy seeks to disrupt the march toward democracy. But an Iraqi independent electoral commission is up and running, political parties are planning campaigns, voter registration will begin next month — and free and fair Iraqi elections will be held on schedule this coming January. (Applause.)
The enemy seeks to establish sanctuaries in Iraq from which to commit acts of terror. But Iraqi and coalition forces are on the offensive in Fallujah and North Babil, and have restored government control in Samarra, Tall Afar, and Najaf. The enemy wants to make Iraqis afraid to join security forces. But every week, more and more Iraqis answer the call to arms. More than 100,000 soldiers, police and border guards are already trained, equipped and bravely serving their country. And well over 200,000 will be in place by the end of 2005. (Applause.)
The enemy seeks to break the will of the Iraqi people. But as Prime Minister Allawi told the Congress, Iraqis are hopeful, optimistic and determined to prevail in their struggle for liberty. (Applause.)
After the enemy has failed in so many goals, what can these killers do now? They can fill up our TV screens with horrible images of suicide bombings and beheadings. These scenes are chaotic and horrific, but they're not a complete picture of what's happening in Iraq. A recent poll found that more than 75 percent of Iraqis want to vote, and they have confidence in the electoral progress. And more than 75 percent are hopeful about the future of their country. The violent acts of a few will not divert Iraqis and our coalition from the mission we have accepted. Iraq will be free, Iraqis will be secure and the terrorists will fail.(Applause.)
My opponent has a different outlook. While America does the hard work of fighting terror and spreading freedom, he has chosen the easy path of protest and defeatism. He refuses to acknowledge progress, or praise the growing democratic spirit in Iraq. He has not made democracy a priority of his foreign policy. But what is his strategy, his vision, his answer? Is he content to watch and wait, as anger and resentment grow for more decades in the Middle East, feeding more terrorism until radicals without conscience gain the weapons to kill without limit? Giving up the fight might seem easier in the short run, but we learned on September the 11th that if violence and fanaticism are not opposed at their source, they will find us where we live. America is safer today because Afghanistan and Iraq are fighting terrorists instead of harboring them. (Applause.)
And I believe future generations of Americans will be spared violence and fear as democracy and hope and governments that oppose terror multiply across the Middle East. (Applause.)
(Hat tip - and probably restitution - to the KerrySpot. I just couldn't resist my improvement on his headline)
What I can add is that I heard a JIP of a Kerry speech in Florida that preceded the President's. It brought to mind a description I read in the American Spectator about a Kerry "rally" in Florida back in early summer which an anonymous Dem operative described as "awful." It sounded like it was held in a vacant lot. Either there were a dozen diehard faithful in attendance tops, or else a whole lot more people who were sitting on their hands a lot, removing them from beneath their buttcheeks only to check their watches and try to keep their eyes open.
It'd be sad if the Boston Balker didn't deserve a whole lot worse.
I still carry around with me the picture I've had in my head all year: Election night, and John Kerry stands on stage, holding a microphone. His campaign placards and buttons litter the floor. Everybody has left, whether to get drunk at home or get drunk at a bar, perchance to worf into a favorite dumpster. He has a pitious, pathetic look on his suddenly more markedly St. Bernardish face. As the arena techs turn out the lights and prepare to lock up and go home for the night, Kerry intones, "But I served in Vietnam..."
In reality, he'd never be so candid, even in private.
But knowing his personality as we've come to over the past year, we can safely conclude that his looming defeat will eat his heart out for the rest of his undeserved, overprivileged life.
Just goes to show that sometimes, success really is the best revenge.
"Narrator: “In Iraq, American troops are attacked 87 times a day. At home, the Bush administration has acquired just 530 doses of licensed anthrax vaccine for America’s civilian population. In Afghanistan, the Bush Administration relied on Afghan warlords to go after Osama bin Laden. He got away. Bush said.... ‘I don’t spend that much time on him...I truly am not that concerned about him.’ It’s time for a new direction.”
President Bush's national security speech yesterday in New Jersey:
THE PRESIDENT: My opponent has a fundamental misunderstanding on the war on terror. A reporter recently asked Senator Kerry how September the 11th changed him. He replied, "It didn't change me much at all."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: His unchanged world view is obvious from the policies he still advocates. He has said this war is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation." He has declared, we should not respond to threats until they are — quote — "imminent." He has complained that my administration — quote — "relies unwisely on the threat of military preemption against terrorist organizations." Let me repeat that. He says that preemptive action is "unwise," not only against regimes, but even against terrorist organizations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Kerry's approach would permit a response only after America is hit.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: This kind of September the 10th attitude is no way to protect our country. (Applause.)
The war on terror is a real war, with deadly enemies, not simply a police operation. In an era of weapons of mass destruction, waiting for threats to arrive at our doorsteps is to invite disaster. Tyrants and terrorists will not give us polite notice before they attack our country. As long as I'm the Commander-in-Chief, I will confront dangers abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)...
My opponent has complained that we are trying to — quote — "impose" democracy on people in that region. Is that what he sees in Afghanistan, unwilling people have democracy forced upon them? We removed the Taliban by force, but democracy is rising in that country because the Afghan people, like everywhere, want to live in freedom. (Applause.)
No one forced them to register by the millions, or stand in long lines at polling places. On the day of that historic election, an Afghan widow brought all four of her daughters to vote alongside her. (Applause.) She said this — she said, "When you see women here lined up to vote, this is something profound ... I never dreamed ... this day would come." But that woman's dream finally arrived, as it will one day across the greater Middle East. (Applause.) Thank you.
The dream of freedom is moving forward in Iraq. The terrorists know it, and they hate it, and they fight it. And we can expect more violence as Iraq moves toward free elections. Yet, every day in Iraq, our coalition is defeating the enemy's strategic objectives. The enemy seeks to disrupt the march toward democracy. But an Iraqi independent electoral commission is up and running, political parties are planning campaigns, voter registration will begin next month — and free and fair Iraqi elections will be held on schedule this coming January. (Applause.)
The enemy seeks to establish sanctuaries in Iraq from which to commit acts of terror. But Iraqi and coalition forces are on the offensive in Fallujah and North Babil, and have restored government control in Samarra, Tall Afar, and Najaf. The enemy wants to make Iraqis afraid to join security forces. But every week, more and more Iraqis answer the call to arms. More than 100,000 soldiers, police and border guards are already trained, equipped and bravely serving their country. And well over 200,000 will be in place by the end of 2005. (Applause.)
The enemy seeks to break the will of the Iraqi people. But as Prime Minister Allawi told the Congress, Iraqis are hopeful, optimistic and determined to prevail in their struggle for liberty. (Applause.)
After the enemy has failed in so many goals, what can these killers do now? They can fill up our TV screens with horrible images of suicide bombings and beheadings. These scenes are chaotic and horrific, but they're not a complete picture of what's happening in Iraq. A recent poll found that more than 75 percent of Iraqis want to vote, and they have confidence in the electoral progress. And more than 75 percent are hopeful about the future of their country. The violent acts of a few will not divert Iraqis and our coalition from the mission we have accepted. Iraq will be free, Iraqis will be secure and the terrorists will fail.(Applause.)
My opponent has a different outlook. While America does the hard work of fighting terror and spreading freedom, he has chosen the easy path of protest and defeatism. He refuses to acknowledge progress, or praise the growing democratic spirit in Iraq. He has not made democracy a priority of his foreign policy. But what is his strategy, his vision, his answer? Is he content to watch and wait, as anger and resentment grow for more decades in the Middle East, feeding more terrorism until radicals without conscience gain the weapons to kill without limit? Giving up the fight might seem easier in the short run, but we learned on September the 11th that if violence and fanaticism are not opposed at their source, they will find us where we live. America is safer today because Afghanistan and Iraq are fighting terrorists instead of harboring them. (Applause.)
And I believe future generations of Americans will be spared violence and fear as democracy and hope and governments that oppose terror multiply across the Middle East. (Applause.)
(Hat tip - and probably restitution - to the KerrySpot. I just couldn't resist my improvement on his headline)
What I can add is that I heard a JIP of a Kerry speech in Florida that preceded the President's. It brought to mind a description I read in the American Spectator about a Kerry "rally" in Florida back in early summer which an anonymous Dem operative described as "awful." It sounded like it was held in a vacant lot. Either there were a dozen diehard faithful in attendance tops, or else a whole lot more people who were sitting on their hands a lot, removing them from beneath their buttcheeks only to check their watches and try to keep their eyes open.
It'd be sad if the Boston Balker didn't deserve a whole lot worse.
I still carry around with me the picture I've had in my head all year: Election night, and John Kerry stands on stage, holding a microphone. His campaign placards and buttons litter the floor. Everybody has left, whether to get drunk at home or get drunk at a bar, perchance to worf into a favorite dumpster. He has a pitious, pathetic look on his suddenly more markedly St. Bernardish face. As the arena techs turn out the lights and prepare to lock up and go home for the night, Kerry intones, "But I served in Vietnam..."
In reality, he'd never be so candid, even in private.
But knowing his personality as we've come to over the past year, we can safely conclude that his looming defeat will eat his heart out for the rest of his undeserved, overprivileged life.
Just goes to show that sometimes, success really is the best revenge.
posted by JASmius at 8:05 PM
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