A NATION OF OSTRICHES?

Thomas Sowell realistically looks at the prospect that Democrats may take the majority in the House in the upcoming elections. Rather than offer credible alternatives or a coherent program, he argues, the Democrats are simply second-guessing, denigrating,and undermining Republicans even as the country deals with some of the most threatening challenges in its history from two irresponsible and undeterrable regimes.

He concludes:

That fate hangs grimly in the balance as two irresponsible regimes in North Korea and Iran seek to gain nuclear weapons. Neither leader of these regimes can be deterred by threats of nuclear retaliation, as the Soviet Union was deterred.
Both are like Hitler, who was willing to see his own people decimated and his own country reduced to rubble rather than quit when it was obvious to all that he could not win. If you can imagine Hitler with a few nuclear weapons to use to vent his all-consuming hatreds in a lost cause, you can see what a nuclear North Korea or a nuclear Iran would mean for America and the world.

It is obscene that our media should be obsessed with some jerk in Congress who wrote dirty e-mails to Congressional pages -- and was forced out of Congress for it -- when this nation faces dangers of this magnitude.

It would be worse than obscene for some voters to cut off their nose to spite their face by either staying home on election day or actually voting a blank check from America for a party with a decades-long history of irresponsibility on national defense.

Even today, Democrats are arguing for more talks with North Korea and Iran, as if talk is going to stop such regimes from going nuclear, any more than talks with Hitler in the 1930s deterred him.

This is no longer about hawks and doves. It is about ostriches who bury their heads in the sand -- and about those voters who are prepared to give a blank check to ostriches.

Sowell does not say that Republicans deserve to win. Indeed, he argues pretty much that any voter anger toward the current majority is justified, since they betrayed the voters that elected them and have not resolutely implemented the agenda they once promised.

Today, there is much to be grim about if you are a person who thinks that the continued appeasement of regimes like North Korea; and the refusal to stand up against Islamic fundamentalism are strategies that are likely to get us many of us killed in the not too distant future.

George Bush started doing what needed to be done in both areas. After decades of appeasement and ostrich-like behavior, he has boldly changed America's stance in dealing with these growing threats. For that he has been excoriated, demonized and unceasingly attacked.

But there is really only one reason to critique Bush, in my opinion. And that is because, while he clearly sees what needs to be done, even he has not had the strength or ability to break out of the politically correct mindset that keeps this country time and again from acting decisively or making difficult choices. At every turn, Bush has pulled his punches, limited American capabiltiy and been conciliatory when strength and determination was called for. He has tried to coax the opposition in this country into taking their heads out of the sand only to be rebuffed again and again. I suspect he has given up and is now willing to let things slide until the end of his term.

And that is precisely what he must not do if he is serious about protecting this country. Yet, it is precisely what the Democrats demand that he do.

Not only has he been rebuffed by the opposition by trying to be conciliatory, his attempts to bring them onboard have only strengthened their psychological denial and made them more ferociously attack him. Democrats are convinced that Bush is the real enemy; hence their only strategy for dealing with the world's problems is to get rid of Bush and all will be well.

If they win in November, they will be in for a very big surprise. The problems of the world will not magically go away by pretending they do not exist. They won't even go away if the MSM decides not to report them (though they will undoubtedly try in their neverending attempts to make Democrats look good).

I wonder if America will ever again have a leader who is able to stand up and do what is right to protect and defend this country--or if the will, fortitude, and attention span of this country has deteriorated to such an extent that any such leader would be instantly vilified and harassed by the ostrich herd?

We certainly do not need an Ostrich-in-Chief to lead us into more denial and keep us from acknowledging or dealing with the real threats our country and the world faces.

This election in November is all about whether we will keep our heads in the sand and vote for the ostriches, or if we as a people will finally get serious and deal with the reality that threatens us.

I am still hopeful we will pull our heads out of the sand in time to tackle reality. As I have written before, it may be true that the Republicans deserve to lose; but it is even more true that the Democrats do not deserve to win.

Not unless we want to become an entire nation of ostriches.