We're all just one word away from saying "I can't believe they did that!" The word starts with the letter "H" and it's history on our country cannot be forgotten. HOSTAGES.
The gamesmanship between Congress and the White House would actually be fun if we didn't have 100,000+ American troops waking up and falling asleep in the middle of Iraq's Civil War. The brave soldiers are doing their part, even as their own support dwindles for President George Bush and his Dr. Strangelove team of war strategists.
But at home, the American public is once again being lulled to sleep by its leaders. "Three Cheers" for the Democrats, who finally got their act together at a time when the public was starting to wonder if they forgot the Midterm Mandate. "Three Cheers" for the Democrats, who were able to put their own Presidential campaigning aside and unite on these historic votes. "Three Cheers" for the Democrats, whose leaders told the President to "calm down" and "work with us."
All this cheering is comforting, it even helps Americans feel reason and responsibility are taking hold in the United States. But we're all just one word away from saying "I can't believe they did that!" The word starts with the letter "H" and it's history on our country cannot be forgotten. HOSTAGES.
Back in 1979 we all woke up to the news that some radicals raided the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, capturing 52 Americans. It shocked Americans in a way we weren't shocked again till the Challenger explosion in '86 and then September 11th, 2001.
One reason we haven't heard about "Prisoners of War" or "Hostages" is these terrorists don't want the hassle, don't have the overhead and don't need to create one location for American forces to focus. Instead these terrorists strike at random, from shadows of a road, through the dagger of a smile.
But as Bush crash-lands his final years in office, we're approaching the time in a President's term when our enemies can strike and prove a President inept at effectively responding. For Carter it occurred 444 days before he left office. Get out your calendars. Bush's 444 days start this November.
A hostage crisis would rally Americans, but after day one, not around our leader. Our hearts would pour out to the hostages and the troops. Our anger would be directed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Republicans would line up with Democrats to bring our bring our troops home immediately. It's one thing to be sitting ducks in a Civil War. It's another to watch events unfold, knowing full well they were all created because of lies and deceit by Bush, Cheney, Rove and the rest. Imagine how soon impeachment proceedings would start, once the hostages were freed?