From WRTA.com
Some Americans Have a Very Short Memory
By John Edwards - Herndon, VA
Apr 23, 2008, 06:18
Some Americans have a very short memory. On September 11th 2001 (less than 7 years ago) an unprecedented attack on innocent and unarmed Americans occurred. Nearly 3000 people were murdered on that day. George Bush had the fateful job of President and Commander-in-Chief. Immediately following the attack, Americans demanded that the country be defended against the perpetrators and that our nations security be improved to prevent (or at least significantly reduce the possibility of) recurrence. At that time, little else mattered. The inflation rate could have been 10% and it wouldn’t have mattered. Gasoline could have been $5 a gallon and it wouldn’t have mattered. A recession (if we really know what that is) could have been looming and wouldn’t have mattered. Every foreign country on earth could have thought of us as imperialist crusaders and it wouldn’t have mattered. Three thousand fathers, mothers, sons, daughters and friends didn’t come home from work that day and that is what mattered. George Bush understood that and, fortunately for our country, he was up to the challenge. He is a stubborn man that says what he means and means what he says. In nearly any other era of our history, the foreign diplomacy burden of such a characteristic would have been a severe liability and doomed him to a single term in office. But in this era, he was exactly what our nation needed. He has relentlessly pursued Al Qaeda and put them on the defensive. The policies and actions of his administration are responsible for preventing a similar attack for nearly seven years. We have the strongest armed forces in the world, an absolute necessity if we are to take the war to our enemy’s shore.
I agree with Dr. McGinnis that there are plenty of areas that one could be critical of the President and I am sure that eventually there will be another attack on our soil. But, the years since 9/11 have not dimmed my memory. We as a nation must not forget the thousands of people whose lives were devastated on that day. Our President’s number one focus has been and must remain the security of our nation regardless of the price of gas or the value of gold.
George Bush is not a saint. He has many flaws and has made many mistakes in the last seven years. The same can be said for every president since George Washington. It is far too easy for us to be critical of his flaws and ignore the tremendous service he has provided to our posterity and us. The real value of his presidency will not be fully recognized for many years. We have many more years to fight the war of terror but I believe that 100 years from now, President Bush will be remembered as the leader who set America on a course to win the “Long War”. Because of his tenacity and vision, our great grandchildren may have the luxury of spending their time contemplating the price of gold or how much it costs to put gas in their guzzling SUV rather than whether it will be illegal for their daughters to be educated. I only pray that we will keep our priorities straight and elect a successor that will keep his hand on the tiller until victory’s shore is reached.
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