ABC and NBC are doing series this week, complete with catchy logos, that directly challenge Bush's "we're safer" theme. World News tonight is running "Still at Risk" (the text is in the crosshairs in the logo)and Nightly News went with "12 Ways to Make america safer". Both had reports tonight on port safety pointing out for less than half a billion dollars port safety could be significanlty improved. The series on NBC will continue on other News shows. Next on the Today Show - Protecting nuclear power plants.
Bush is vulernable on the issue that is supposed to be his strength, leadership in protecting the Nation. So ask yourself WWRD (What would Rove Do)?
It is important to highlight that we are continuing to ignore vulnerabilties to an attack from AQ while flailing in the President's Iraqi quagmire. This is not a call for being obsessive and squandering treasure on a nation with too many vulnerabilities to protect. But something is wrong with the priorities of someone who won't spend 1/4 of 1% of what's been spent so far in Iraq, with no WMD or connections to terrorist threats to the US, to make our ports here at home appreciably safer than they are today. It is about the decisions Bush makes, particularly Iraq, when Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were far more compelling targets. When fixing our intelligence appartus was a matter of urgency that took the resisted 9/11 commission to generate any attention to the problem. And when the homeland security department created over Bush's objection can't find time to improve the security of ports, chemical and nuclear plants because it's to busy making politicized terror alerts. It all adds up to Bush being Wrong about how to confront the threat from Whabbiist terrorism.