November 1, 2006

Armchair Presidents

It’s easy to give someone advice after the fact, and even then, there is no measure that the advice would have been a better decision. In sports, it’s called being an armchair quarterback.

The armchair quarterbacks of the sports world have their peers in the world of political commentary. The armchair presidents of the political universe include the usual liberal newspaper and television pundits, heads of think tanks and organizations that represent the extreme left wing of political ideology, faceless liberal bloggers who still cling to the hope that a future Supreme Court will overturn the result of the 2000 presidential election and the leftist leaders of the Democratic Party who believe their socialist plans for America will help them win back control of Congress.

The armchair presidents claim to have the winning play for fighting terrorists and preventing future terrorist attacks on American soil. On October 25, Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton said, “Democrats are offering the American people a new direction with a strategy for victory in Iraq that includes a phased redeployment of our troops to better fight the war on terror.” That’s an interesting plan, Stacie. Running away from our enemy is certainly an unconventional strategy for fighting the global war against Islamic terrorists, but is probably not one conducive to winning. You may remember September 11, 2001. On that day, Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. on our soil. Just a guess, but Generals MacArthur, Eisenhower and Patton might not have agreed with your strategy either.

Liberal armchair presidents do not, of course, have access to President Bush’s daily intelligence estimates or regular conversations with General Casey, Ambassador Khalizad, Prime Minister al-Maliki, Secretary Rumsfeld or Secretary Rice. Yet they continue everyday to spew their partisan poison against the president and our brave troops fighting in Iraq and around the world to keep us safe. When our military killed al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Democratic Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) said, “This is just to cover Bush's ass so he doesn't have to answer” for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers. Iraq is still a mess – get out.” There’s that Monday morning Democrat strategy again. Namely, just walk away from the war in Iraq and the terrorists won’t bother us again.

Thankfully, Democrats seeking control of Congress and, in two years, the presidency, have no reservations about telling American voters their plans for fighting the global war against Islamic terrorism. Their plan is to not fight the terrorists at all. The past five years has shown that appeasement toward terrorists and those likely to join their ranks only invites increased terrorist activity. Ceding the reins of the congressional majority to the Democrats will send a message of weakness to our enemies and impose a swift death sentence on American civilians.

The global war on terrorism is not the only issue on which the liberal armchair presidents attempt to confuse American voters and convince them to vote for Democratic candidates. They spin false rhetoric about our steadily growing economy and the tax rate reductions that spurred our historic economic growth. The armchair presidents could find a fly in the soup on Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Washington Post opinion columnist Sebastain Mallaby wrote on September 4, “Economic growth no longer seems to help the majority of workers; the proceeds flow to the top fifth or so of the workforce, and the top within the top has done especially handsomely.”

Mr. Mallaby and others conveniently overlook the fact that more than 50 percent of workers have some level of investment directly impacted by the economy. They also fail to point out that a record low unemployment rate of 4.6 percent is more than half the rate of most European countries. That means approximately six million American workers still have jobs.

Rhetorical distractions over the global war on terrorism and our economy are meant to scare voters from electing Republicans or to discourage them from voting altogether. This election is not a referendum on our feelings about President Bush or even the questionable Republican leadership in Congress. This election is an affirmation of our commitment to winning the global war on terrorism, protecting our national security and ensuring that our nation’s economy continues to prosper.

Winning coaches do not let the armchair quarterbacks pick their starters or define their game plan. Smart voters should not let the armchair presidents pick their representatives in Congress.