A victim of its own success
It’s no secret that the past eight years have seen a dramatic shift in partisan ideology; as republicans, traditionally idealists who withhold little faith in America’s supremacy and the unregulated system capitalism, have created a party of fear, mistrust, and an overwhelming sense of disappointment in government, democrats, who normally teeter on the brink of pessimistic blather, doubting the goodwill of the wealthy, the foreign, and corporate America, have firmly united in a party of ‘hope’ and optimism.
But the problem with optimism and the risk with an unbridled hope is that when it proves false—which it often does—believers end up being wrong and looking naïve. Although Senator Obama has avoided this pitfall thus far, it has only been as a result of Republican success. Both President Bush’s triumphs in avoiding another major domestic terrorist attack and Senator McCain’s achievements in the troop surge have added credibility to Mr. Obama’s arguments that America is safe, terrorist sects aren’t that scary, and the federal government ought to create a dialogue with religious extremists. Even the newfound safety in Iraq, a direct result of the Republican-led surge, has made the region the perfect backdrop for Obama’s photo op with recent hero, General David Petraeus, someone with whom for past, present, and future strategy, Obama doesn’t even agree.
While America beats through another three months of future uncertainty, Republicans need most what they have for years tried hardest to avoid—they need another 9/11, a collapse in Iraqi leadership, and a resurgence in sectarian violence abroad. If Republicans were less successful in their policy, they would prove to America why it’s necessary. Meanwhile a disaster might also shed light on Mr. Obama’s hypocrisy: that by calling for troop withdrawal he, like Mr. Bush before him, is flying the “Mission Accomplished” banner in Iraq long before its due.
-David Lamb
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Wishing for a terrorist attack is not something I condone.
I doubt anyone does. Its a matter of fact though that it would help the Repubs this year. Dont confuse a statement of fact with wishing something to happen.
America is safe and it will be no matter who is president. We need to move away from the idea that people are waiting on our soil for an opportunity to hurt us.
Either way, this is horrible. One of the great failures of our partisan media.