Junto Boys

PRESIDENTS DAY REPORT

Memo from previous presidents to Bush 43:

"We are destined to be a barrier against the returns of ignorance and barbarism. Old Europe will have to lean on our shoulders, and to hobble along by our side." -Thomas Jefferson

Europe's day has passed. Couching it in gentler language does not alter the fact, no more than "unifying" a hodgepodge of weak nations makes them strong as a group.

"What a colossus shall we be." -Jefferson

The framers did not shy away from a projection of strength. There was no shame in being first, in staking out a leadership position, in assuming and embracing the responsibilities of leadership. And this at a time when backing it up meant a steelier resolve and considerably more sacrifice than it means today.

"Any effort on our part to reason the world out of a belief that we are ambitious will have no other effect than to convince them that we add to our ambition hypocrisy." -John Quincy Adams

We are the world's lone superpower, and we believe it is in the world's best interest that things remain that way. A real superpower doesn't poll other nations to see if they agree.

"Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, ... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselvs and with all nations." -Abe Lincoln

We used to understand the obvious -- that peace is achieved through force. Or as Lt. Col. Ralph Peters so perfectly put it: "Where we cannot be loved, we must be feared." The threat of force is empty without the perception that transgressors of peace will feel the might of force. Iran has to ask itself: "Do I feel lucky?" Were I they, I'd feel a lot less lucky facing Bush than facing any of his mealymouthed opponents inside and outside the party.

"In war, anything is better than indecision. We must decide." -Warrior-president U.S. Grant

With lo these many years of hindsight, the ABB crowd has still not decided what they would have done with Iraq. How could they possibly know what to do with Iran?

"There are occasional crimes committed on so vast a scale and of such peculiar
horror as to make us doubt whether it is not our manifest duty to endeavor at least to show our disapproval of the deed and our sympathy with those who have suffered by it... What form the action shall take must depend... upon the degree of the atrocity and upon our power to remedy it." -Teddy Roosevelt

Or in the words of Thoreau, "Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something." Talk is cheap.

"When properly directed, there is no people in the world not fitted for self-government." -Woodrow Wilson

If we had an intellectually honest press, they would acknowledge the racism and hypocrisy in their arguments that Arabs cannot support democracy. But we already know that they think most people other than themselves are too stupid, too feeble to succeed on their own ability.

"As a nation, ...the best way of dealing with the few slackers or trouble makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic example." -FDR

Perhaps the shame bus has left the station, but why not treat traitors like traitors? People who actively aim to sully the nation should be tried and, if convicted, punished to the limit of the law. At the very least, such endeavor would promote a meaningful discussion regarding strategic national interests, the avoidance of which leaves Bush deserving most of the criticism he receives.

"It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures... If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world--and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation." -Harry Truman

Maybe, maybe not, but we should discuss this like grown-ups.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any bruden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." -JFK

Today's Democrats flow where the wind blows. The wind has blown them far from their moorings, and at this point, should they care to return, it's a long and arduous trek back.

"I have no doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again... The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people. Bringing change in Baghdad will take time and effort." -Bill Clinton

But not his time or effort. Thank God for a president who is willing to take bold world-changing action, and let history judge.

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards. If you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book." -Ronald Reagan

Sources:
Alan Dowd article at nationalreview.com, 2/20/06.
THE WEEK magazine, 2/17/06, p.19.