BUT LUCY SAID SHE'D LET ME KICK IT THIS TIME:

W's Iraq sting ends Dems' summer daze (Zev Chafets, Sept. 10, 2003, Jewish World Review)

On Sunday night, President Bush performed his annual homage to boxer Muhammad Ali. When the President retreats to Crawford, Tex., in August, his political opponents start slugging away. By Labor Day, the President appears to be bloody and beaten, just barely hanging on.

And then Bush comes back to Washington, springs into action and punches the arm-weary Democrats right in the nose. In boxing, this is called a rope-a-dope. In politics it is known as recasting the debate.

Last summer, Bush's critics were all over him for pursuing a unilateral Iraq policy. Last September, the President responded with a speech to the UN in which he called for - and got - a Security Council resolution. The resolution was worthless, of course; most UN decisions are. But by getting it, Bush knocked his opponents off balance. By the time they recovered, Gen. Tommy Franks was catching crawfish on the banks of the Tigris.

This summer's theme was the failure of the war. Where are the weapons of mass destruction? How come soldiers are dying? What's the exit strategy?

And then, pow! Bush went on TV and told the country that Iraq is simply a battle in a much larger global war against terrorism. And you don't stop in the middle of a war to start fretting over money and counting casualties.

Everyone who doesn't pathologically hate the President warned the Democrats that this was precisely what was going to happen to them come Labor Day, but it seems they only listen to those who are unbalanced by loathing. It's said that one definition of insanity is to make the same mistake over and over again in the belief that the result will be different next time. When it comes to George W. Bush the Left is crazy.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 10, 2003 10:04 AM