Tuesday, January 01, 2008

President Bush deserves all our support and goodwill

[There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country...It was not the first time in recent years we’ve felt this horror, this sorrowful sense of estrangement, not nearly. This sort of lawless behavior has become standard practice since Sept. 11, 2001.
The country and much of the world was rightly and profoundly frightened by the single-minded hatred and ingenuity displayed by this new enemy. But there is no excuse for how President Bush and his advisers panicked — how they forgot that it is their responsibility to protect American lives and American ideals, that there really is no safety for Americans or their country when those ideals are sacrificed.
Out of panic and ideology, President Bush squandered America’s position of moral and political leadership, swept aside international institutions and treaties, sullied America’s global image, and trampled on the constitutional pillars that have supported our democracy through the most terrifying and challenging times. These policies have fed the world’s anger and alienation and have not made any of us safer... Editorial
Looking at America The New York Times: December 31, 2007]
[As such, any purely materialistic political philosophy will be a non-starter. I never say that "Republicanism" is any kind of ideal. Far from it. It's just that the left is so incredibly dangerous and destructive to human ends, that it must be opposed, just as the Islamofascists must be. In the case of the latter, their great evil is the same: the systematic smothering of our spiritual individuation...
Liberals fantasize that we invaded Iraq for purely imperialistic reasons, or for reasons of "revenge." In fact, America never does this...Thus, when liberals fantasize about America being an "evil empire," it is simply a projection of their own spiritually debased state. Their talionic feelings toward President Bush could not be more childishly transparent. They really would like to torture and kill him... It's an Ideal World to Become Who You Are from One Cosmos by Gagdad Bob] 9:05 AM 10:25 AM 10:32 AM
[The fundamental reason for the Left's outrage is not Sen's language but his claim that India should regard George Bush as its best friend. ''There has not been, and I don't think in the near future we will see, such a friend and supporter as this president. Absolutely. There is none.'' Now, leftists view Bush rather as the Pope views Satan. They are incensed at being told that Satan is our best friend...
The Left views Bush as the ultimate symbol of US imperialism...I don't think so. Much as we may disapprove of Bush's muscularity, the record shows that no other US president has ever been willing to ride roughshod over the anti-proliferation lobby, the pro-Pakistan lobby and the pro-China lobby. Former ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra notes that Indians dislike Bush and like Clinton. Yet, he notes that Clinton gave India little save sanctions. Clinton sought to punish India for its nuclear explosion, not convert it into a high strategic partner. Earlier US Presidents - Bush Sr., Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy - did nothing much for India. Nor in the future will Hilary Clinton, who strongly opposed some clauses of the Hyde Act... SWAMINOMICS Don't hate Bush, he's India's best friend Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar times of india 2 Sep 2007] 2:11 PM
[I answered by saying that within India there were two distinct and opposed schools of thought. On the one hand, there was the knee-jerk anti-Americanism of the Communists and the fellow travellers. On the other hand, there was the blind pro-Americanism of the English-language media and the business class...
The Communists cannot forgive the US for having won the Cold War. Their political animosity is deepened by their economic philosophy, which maintains — in the face of much contrary evidence — that State planning is a better means to enhance welfare and productivity than the entrepreneurship and innovation of individuals and communities.
On the other side, the consuming middle-classes are enamoured of the American way of life, their love and enchantment deepened by business and family ties. They hope that by cosying up to Washington, India, and Indians, will be granted membership of such select, rich men’s clubs as the G-8 and the UN Security Council...
For too long were India and the US indeed ‘estranged democracies’. That they no longer suspect or distrust one another is a considerable advance. But now one needs, at least on the Indian side, some cold, hard thinking on how to take the relationship forward without turning friendship into subservience. Country cousins Ramachandra Guha Hindustan Times January 01, 2008 Home Views Editorials Big Idea]
One who has steered the world through very difficult times with decisive conviction, President Bush deserves all our support and goodwill. [TNM]

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