Sorry, Mr. President, we won't shut up

Monday, November 21, 2005

Sorry, Mr. President, we won't shut up

The Orange Grove: Even with the left discredited, Bush can't expect to go unchallenged over war

Tibor R. Machan
Adviser to Freedom Communications

Does President Bush believe that by his announcing that critics of the Iraq war dampen our troops' morale he will prevent such criticism? Does he believe his words will silence critics and raise troop morale?

This is America, and if Americans share a common trait, it's rebellion at those who wield power. Well, they used to, anyway - most of them. Remember, this country was born in revolution.

(snip)

Still, Bush should have stayed away from his censorial lament, aired previously by his first attorney general, John Ashcroft. It won't fly - this is not the Soviet Union (yet). I have been laying off the war partly because the United States, being steeped in it, probably should get more solid, expert advice on how to extricate itself. The whole thing was ill-conceived, ill-commenced and should at least be well-concluded. Fretting now about why this is a botched operation isn't too useful.


(snip)

No, Mr. President, it is not a wise thing to tell us all to shut up to suit your likely embarrassment over an impossible situation from which you will not likely emerge with a swell presidential legacy. The troops, by the way, will do just fine. They may even be proud knowing that citizens back home haven't gone to sleep on their citizenship job of taking government to task when it's justified.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/abox/article_778301.php