Friday, October 08, 2004
Ignorance on parade
Douglas Wilson is a favorite writer of mine and I have been blessed tremendously by his writings, but this post is simply annoying. It's annoying because an otherwise intelligent man displays both ignorance and a profound cynicism all at the same time. Listen, the "87 Billion" quote that has been overused by the GOP and its flacks this campaign season is used to illustrate two points about Kerry's tendencies and character. The first is that Kerry is a craven political opportunist when it comes to important issues of the day. His flip-flopping is not isolated to this particular issue, but riddles his long career in the Senate. The second point made by the Bushies, especially as of late, has been to question Kerry's commitment to WINNING the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Wilson either misses these points entirely or chooses to ignore them in his rush to nihilisticaly condemn the political class.
I agree with Wilson that a formal declration of war would have been satisfying on many different levels, but "combat resolutions" are the politically correct way to wage war these days; deal with it. If Congress clearly expressed a desire to openly and declare war, then this president would have asked for it. Congress has instead sought to nicely tie the executive's priviledges in area by insisting that the executive seek "authorization" from that august body. Congress hasn't completely abdicated its duty, just its willingness to use active and bold verbs.
I agree with Wilson that a formal declration of war would have been satisfying on many different levels, but "combat resolutions" are the politically correct way to wage war these days; deal with it. If Congress clearly expressed a desire to openly and declare war, then this president would have asked for it. Congress has instead sought to nicely tie the executive's priviledges in area by insisting that the executive seek "authorization" from that august body. Congress hasn't completely abdicated its duty, just its willingness to use active and bold verbs.
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