 |
|
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 23, 2005
/ 19 Elul, 5765
War-time leadership
By
Diana West
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Let's take a look at this portrait of presidential leadership, as painted by the Associated Press: "Sitting in [the USS Iwo Jima] mess hall, the president watched large screens beaming to him via videoconference the images of three federal officials — Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the National Hurricane Center's deputy director Ed Rappaport, and a Federal Emergency Management Agency official — who gave him updates on the storm. He was told that [Hurricane] Rita was expected to hit the upper-to-middle part of the Texas coast by the weekend."
I didn't understand why at first, but I found this description, this finger-on-the-pulse, command-decision set-up, most depressing. Maybe it was because I had just heard the exact same info on my car radio. Sure, the symbolism of the commander in chief on the job is important, but this was showboating.
The blowhards of Katrina have whipped up a political windstorm around the president, but I really don't want to see him bend — and keep bending. After all, this was President Bush's fifth trip to the hurricane zone. Maybe he'll trade in his frequent-flyer miles for higher poll numbers.
Do I sound disgruntled? I am also perplexed, left to focus on the inscrutability of such symbolism because the narrative thread of this presidency has become so hard to follow.
For example, Katrina isn't our only crisis. What's up with our borders, for instance? Why doesn't the president bring them under control? So far, the White House solution to the immigration crisis is to plot against border-control advocate Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, conjure up visions of alien amnesty, and now — final-straw time — appoint a novice to head up the crucial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. "I will seek to work with those who are knowledgeable in this area, who know more than I do," 36-year-old Julie Myers told lawmakers at her Senate confirmation hearing last week.
It's not just that Mrs. Myers' admitted inexperience fails to inspire confidence. It's not just that she is the latest in a string of what JWR columnist Michelle Malkin has called "clueless cronies" appointed to Bush administration jobs in immigration and border security. (Ms. Myers is the niece of outgoing Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers, and she just married Mr. Chertoff's chief of staff, John F. Wood.) Downright scary is the symbolism of her appointment — that Mr. Bush considers immigration law enforcement a handy place to park a well-connected novice, no matter how willing to learn.
What's the president thinking? Maybe for the first time in his administration, I haven't a clue. What's really going on in the Middle East? I get the "staying" part of the "staying the course" in Iraq, but frankly the "course" could use some re-tooling to take into account the hard lessons learned (I wish) about fighting Islamic jihad.
And what's really going on with Israel? Having withdrawn from Gaza, Israel doesn't even get Washington lip service when it comes to its determination not to assist in PA elections that feature Hamas terrorists. Which begs the question: Whatever happened to George W. Bush's raison d'etre — namely, that we oppose terror networks and the countries that support them? Maybe the answer lies in what passes for tea leaves these days — as in the fact that the new U.S. ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, most recently Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's right-hand man on Iraq, has "roots in the Arab world so deep," reports the Washington Post, "that his beloved greyhound is named Kisa — for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, his first posting in the Arab world." Explains Mr. Jones: "Maybe they wanted someone who could provide the Arab perspective, too." Which is weird, at best. Of all countries, Israel certainly knows the Arab point of view, historically delivered at gunpoint. But why, oh why, is the American ambassador concerned with presenting the Arab point of view? Is the Arab point of view the American point of view? And where does that leave us in the so-called war on terror?
Earlier this month, the shocking plan for the memorial to the heroes of Flight 93 was released — a memorial in the shape of an Islamic crescent. The only elected official to call for a better plan to honor these brave Americans (who, having saved Washington from further destruction on September 11, plunged to earth hearing al Qaeda hijackers cry, "Allah is the greatest") was Mr. Tancredo. The president, the rest of our leaders, were silent. Maybe we don't expect more of them anymore, which in itself is symbolic. But if the symbolism is clear, the leadership is not.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
Diana West Archives
© 2005, Diana West
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
