 |
|
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. 14, 2006
/ 21 Elul, 5766
The ‘stubborn’ President Bush
By
Cal Thomas
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Had it been a small group of liberals rather than conservative writers meeting with President Bush in the Oval Office on Tuesday, they might have run from the room like scalded dogs when he said: "I've never been more convinced that the decisions I've made are the right decisions." The president volunteered he knows people consider him stubborn and responds to such criticism with, "If you believe in a strategy ... you have to stick to that strategy."
Is this ignoring "facts" that things don't appear to be going swimmingly on the ground in Iraq? No, said the president. He believes the struggle will be a long one with "Islamo-radicalism." He said, "The politics of Iraq are going to just take a while to settle out. People still believe Saddam (Hussein) has a chance to come back." He acknowledged with hindsight "we probably could have trained people ... quicker," by which he apparently meant Iraqi troops, adding quickly, "there are all kinds of ways to look back," but "ideological struggles take time. We live in a world in which there should be, there needs to be, instant success ... things must happen rapidly." He said he thinks this comes from "too many TV channels" where even the most difficult situations are resolved in an hour or less.
Other points the president made regarding the Middle East included:
-
"Fifty years from now, it is conceivable that there will be virulent forms of Islamo-radicalism competing. It's conceivable that moderate government be toppled and oil used as a political weapon. It is conceivable that a Middle East where young democracies have been undermined could be dominated by state sponsors of terror with nuclear weapons."
-
"The long-term strategy is to change the conditions that enable this ideology to flourish, to out-compete it with better ideas."
-
He hopes to leave to his successors "foundations" for fighting terrorism and interrogating suspects that will allow future presidents to successfully wage the battle.
-
About whether more troops are needed in Iraq: "If (Commanding) General (George) Casey feels like he needs more troops, we'll send them." He said he does not intend to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam during which tactical decisions about military strategy were made by civilians in the White House, and is leaving such decisions to the commanders on the ground.
The president pledged to "try all diplomatic means" in dealing with Iran. "We're in the beginning of dealing with the Iranian issue diplomatically," he said, adding this is what was done with Iraq. But he said insight into the Iranian government is "somewhat clouded." He also said "the world tends to be risk-averse" in its approach to nations and ideologies that threaten us, an apparent reference to European opposition to U.S. policies.
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
I asked him if he thinks Democrats will win a majority in Congress in the November election. "I don't think they're going to win," he stated. "I don't believe they'll win it, because I believe that these elections will come down to two things: one, firm belief that in order to win the war on terror there must be a comprehensive strategy that recognizes this war is being fought on more than one front; and two, the economy." He did lament that some Republican candidates think they can win by distancing themselves from his policies, noting that could send a message that people who do such things are political opportunists. He implied such a strategy might turn off the GOP base. The president said 12 to 15 races would decide who runs the next Congress.
That view was endorsed by a top White House strategist, who forecasts a post-election spread of 52-48 or 53-47 in the Senate, with Republicans maintaining their majority, and a loss of eight to 12 seats in the House, but with the GOP still in charge. With the president's approval numbers slowly rising to the mid-40s, the strategist say that all Republicans need is a couple more points to be OK.
The strategist, who spoke at an off-the-record lunch, predicted Hillary Clinton will get the Democratic nomination in 2008 and will run against a very good Republican.
Look for the dominant issues leading up to the November election to be the war, taxes, education and the economy. No one at the White House wants to say it publicly, but gas prices continue to fall, and the president might wonder why, when gasoline was $3.50 a gallon, it was on the front page, but now that prices have dropped 80 cents or more in some places, one doesn't see as much attention given to it.
The president suggested he wants to again take on Social Security and Medicare reform, earmark reform and the line-item veto as his domestic priorities after the election. If he's right in his election forecast, he might be able to. If not, he'll be taking on investigations and possibly impeachment resolutions by mostly liberal congressional committee chairs. A lot is riding on the outcome. Maybe that's why he called us in.
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 Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.
Cal Thomas Archives
© 2006, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
