A Possible Turning Point?
For the President, it was
“perhaps the single busiest day of his whole presidential life, and it came moreover at dead center of what was perhaps his period of deepest gloom and perplexity of spirit. Not only was there political division within his party, and even within his own official family,” the military was unable to fulfill “hopes for a multifaceted early-winter triumph... in putting a quick end to the rebellion.” The failures had not “gone unnoticed by the country at large, the voters and investors on whose will and trust the prosecution of the war depended. The Democrats, still on the outside looking in, had seen to that.”
A typical example included a political opponent who
“was savagely pointing out, from the vantage point of his seat in Congress, the administration’s errors.” Speaking to Republican House members, he stated, “Money you have expended without limit, and blood poured out like water. Defeat, debt, taxation... these are your only trophies.”
New Year’s Day wasn’t a good day for the President. As the months dragged on, the President desperately needed to regain momentum, or risk an early end to the war- and defeat. Without the support of a majority of the citizenry, this would be inevitable. A friend sent him a letter advising that he
“set the public aright on the true issue of the war. ‘My suggestion is that you should seize an early opportunity, and any subsequent chance, to teach your great audience of plain people...’”
The President, recognizing the wisdom of such a plan, kept this in the back of his mind.
When invited to speak at the dedication of a new cemetery in Pennsylvania, he seized the moment. President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address outlined the vision and direction the fractured Nation needed as it picked a path towards survival and victory. Looking backward, it became the most critical turning point of the war. These events and quotes from over 140 years ago, as chronicled by Shelby Foote in his seminal work, “The Civil War- a Narrative”, demonstrate that, no matter how far we move away from events in history, there really is nothing new.
In today’s war, we again find an embattled President striving against numerous detractors, including his rivals in the out of power political party, for continued support of the American people. President Bush, like Lincoln, needs a majority allied with him in order to maintain and successfully prosecute a war vital to our Nation’s survival. This is a key ingredient necessary for democratic republics to wage and win wars.
Given the dynamic of recent events- the killing of terror leader Zarqawi, the final settling of a constitutional democratically elected Iraqi government, and yes, the exoneration of trusted confidant Karl Rove of any illegal misdeeds, we could find ourselves at critical turning point in the struggle of our time. It is up to President Bush, as it was Lincoln, to “seize an opportunity.” With a surprise trip to Iraq on the heels of several rare pieces of good news providing some political wind for his sail, Bush has regained some initiative from his many critics.
One of my ongoing beefs with President Bush (leaving aside the open-borders disaster for the moment) has been that he fails to make the case explaining the necessity of our actions in response to September 11th in a way that ordinary Americans can understand. I have long been puzzled by the fact that an administration with its vaunted abilities of media-manipulation and political resourcefulness can be so repeatedly misrepresented and maligned without responding. Why can’t the President make the case?
Perhaps this is starting to change. While in Iraq, President Bush addressed the troops, and by default, the rest of us back here in America:
“These are historic times. The mission that you're accomplishing here in Iraq will go down in the history books as an incredibly important moment in the history of freedom and peace; an incredibly important moment of doing our duty to secure our homeland. You know, right after September the 11th I knew that some would forget the dangers we face. Some would hope that the world would be what it's not -- a peaceful place in which people wouldn't want to do harm to those of us who love freedom. I vowed that day, after September the 11th, to do everything I could to protect the American people...”
He continued: “Baghdad and Iraq is a front in the war on terror. It is a part of our mission to help make sure that the world is a better place. I truly believe the work that you're doing here is laying the foundation of peace for generations to come... The stakes are high, and what happens here in Iraq reaches far beyond the borders of Iraq. The war on terror really will be addressed by strong actions by our intelligence and military services to bring to justice those who would do us harm. I've told the American people, we will defeat the enemy overseas so we do not have to face them here at home.”
Right on! Our Islamic enemies have one less safe haven from which they can strike us. Don’t mess with Texas. Or America...
