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A RE-ASSERTION

I've always liked Bill Whittle's Eject!Eject!. Liked him and quietly admired his ability to express what a whole lot of us feel. Me included. We all avidly awaited the most recent essay from him. This most recent did not disappoint.

Now I find myself re-reading it. As we come down to the last few weeks of this campaign I find myself wondering if it is possible to just give it away. I see the numbers and think about friends of mine who are practicing Donks (like Dan and Mike... and others)who are rabidly anti-Bush... and I think about how this whole race is a toss up. A toss up. Amazing.

And I think that it may be time for a reassessment... or perhaps a re-approachment might be a better word. What we need to do is back away from the "contest" and put our hands around the core distinctions that divide the parties. Do we really want Bush or do we really want Kerry? Not the men. Not the personality contests and all that TV packaging crap, but the culture war stuff that Whittle talks through. Can we afford to be Kerry-esque? Or must we be "mean" like President Bush is described by Wittle?

I'm most inclined to hang in there with the Prez. I just don't believe that we can afford to be "nice" with these enemies. And I don't believe that we can recruit new friends in the fight. I think that the world has already made choices. The Brits are with us. And a cadre of honest and honorable men. The Aussies. We know who our friends are. The rest of them can live with what ever they have. I really don't care what the French think.

Anyhow, it would be a useful exercise for all of us to go re-read Wittle's essay (part 1 and part 2) on Deterrence. If you have already read it.. go through it again just to clear the pre-November air. If you haven't, then for God's sake do so. Now. Liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat.

Damn. I wish that I could write that good.

Bob