September 25, 2001

Rambling Thoughts.  I think that’s the best that I can come up with right now.  Usually, I would like a few days to write and polish an essay, but things are changing so fast around here that I don’t have the time to really work on one thought before the next item comes out that I think would make good material.  So, all two of you who read these things (Thanks, Leigh and Tabitha!) will have to be patient with me if I tend to be a bit uneven.

So, I’ve had a few days to think about George W’s speech to Congress and the Nation the other night (Click the Link Above to Read the Text).  I think it was a great.  Kudos to the folks who wrote this fabulous speech.  Many pundits have commented that it was very straightforward and business-like, without any of the theatrical flourishes that recent presidents (read: Bill Clinton and Ronald Regan) tended to use.  I would disagree with this assessment, instead saying that they took some of the most winning items from both Administrations & incorporated them into a new, sleeker package.  For example, picking out individuals who are prominently placed in the audience during the speech.  Bush used this effectively to show both the patriotism of individuals who were related to victims and the level of support we are receiving from England.  He also used the prop of a fireman’s shield to tell a poignant story.   “Compassionate”

The speech worked on so many levels.  In looking at it again now it managed to:  reassure the country that the Government was trying to help, let us know that we were taking decisive action to move forward in prosecuting those responsible, showed that we have support from other countries for our actions, and asked the American people not to take their anger out at those who were not responsible.  Let’s focus on a few key passages that worked both in a message sense and a literary sense.

It began as almost a State of the Union Address, with the President stating that through the actions of the American people in the past week, he could report that the Union was strong.   He then goes on to list some of the many things that had happened that week, including some background information on Osama and the Taliban.  One of the best parts came next, where GW lays out his requirements to the Taliban:  “By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban.  Deliver to United States authorities all of the leaders of Al Quaeda who hide in your land.  Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens you have unjustly imprisoned. Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country. Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. And hand over every terrorist and every person and their support structure to appropriate authorities.  Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.  These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion.  The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate.”  We can be sure that the Taliban will never concede to these demands, but I feel it was important for us and them to know that we will not back down on these issues.

The President then continues with a terrific portion on the Islamic faith, stating that we do not hate Muslims, rather we are against those that practice the twisted form that the Taliban calls the true faith.  The end of this section of the speech contains a lovely section of prose about how history will view those that follow the teachings of Osama and the Taliban.  It says:  “We're not deceived by their pretenses to piety.  We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.”  How nice is that?

The line is then drawn in the sand:  “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”  No bones about it, a strong statement.  After GW speaks of the things that will be done to combat terrorism here and abroad comes, in my opinion, the most telling moment of the whole speech.  “Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment.”  It was a throwaway line that ended up speaking volumes for GW and his Administration.  This was a President doomed to one term.  Our economy is foundering, he did not have a clear mandate from the people to govern, it was almost as if he were a placeholder for the next guy in four years.  This crisis gives him purpose and a mandate.  It will define him in History. 

We were talking the other night about what we would be doing right now if Gore was our President.  It came down to this:  George is a wartime President, a man whose staff has an extensive military background.   Al would have been a great peacetime president, more suited to running the economy and expanding programs that move us forward technologically and environmentally.  I was one of Gore’s most staunch supporters, but I can now say with authority that I’m glad to have a Hawk like George in office.