What They Want to Hear on Tuesday
What old Europeans want us to say is, "Everything we've done since 9-11 was basically a big mistake done by that monster Bush and his friends, and we wholly repudiate it, and admit we should have obeyed France and Germany all along."
What the U.N. wants us to say is, "We'll come crawling back to you on our knees if you pretend to solve the problem in Iraq the way you pretend to be solving it in Sudan and pretended to in Bosnia and Rwanda. That way people will like us again, except those who are being killed because we're doing nothing, but they won't matter as soon as they stop breathing."
What the Islamists want us to say is, "We wanted to fight you, but you were just too tough, and now we give up trying to fight you; we'll go back to pretending you don't really exist, and that will let you sneak up on us again."
What the Russians and Chinese want us to say is, "America is so shaken by its recent foray into aggressive action that it will not dare do that again for a generation. America once again sent its military into action, then backed out on it, betrayed it, called it a pack of baby-killers, thus demoralizing the U.S. armed forces. So you have a free hand to re-adjust the nations around you and their borders to suit yourselves."
What the Iranians want us to say is, "We are tired of supporting democracy in the Middle East. We find it much more convenient to elect someone who pretends to trust your theocracy and who will make deals with you that only we will keep."
What the people want to hear in Britain and Bulgaria, and Poland, and Italy, and Australia who are battling to unseat their current leaders because those leaders stood beside America when it made a tough call want to hear is, "Never mind, allies. You risked your people's lives for us, but we weren't really serious about this, deep down. Thanks for the help, but we miss our 'other' allies more than we appreciate you. Spain was right."
We know what you want to hear. We know why something like 82 percent of non-Americans want Bush to lose. Do you think that makes it easier for an American to pull the lever for Kerry?
Or, as Gerard Baker, U.S. editor of "The Times" of London, put it:
What the U.N. wants us to say is, "We'll come crawling back to you on our knees if you pretend to solve the problem in Iraq the way you pretend to be solving it in Sudan and pretended to in Bosnia and Rwanda. That way people will like us again, except those who are being killed because we're doing nothing, but they won't matter as soon as they stop breathing."
What the Islamists want us to say is, "We wanted to fight you, but you were just too tough, and now we give up trying to fight you; we'll go back to pretending you don't really exist, and that will let you sneak up on us again."
What the Russians and Chinese want us to say is, "America is so shaken by its recent foray into aggressive action that it will not dare do that again for a generation. America once again sent its military into action, then backed out on it, betrayed it, called it a pack of baby-killers, thus demoralizing the U.S. armed forces. So you have a free hand to re-adjust the nations around you and their borders to suit yourselves."
What the Iranians want us to say is, "We are tired of supporting democracy in the Middle East. We find it much more convenient to elect someone who pretends to trust your theocracy and who will make deals with you that only we will keep."
What the people want to hear in Britain and Bulgaria, and Poland, and Italy, and Australia who are battling to unseat their current leaders because those leaders stood beside America when it made a tough call want to hear is, "Never mind, allies. You risked your people's lives for us, but we weren't really serious about this, deep down. Thanks for the help, but we miss our 'other' allies more than we appreciate you. Spain was right."
We know what you want to hear. We know why something like 82 percent of non-Americans want Bush to lose. Do you think that makes it easier for an American to pull the lever for Kerry?
Or, as Gerard Baker, U.S. editor of "The Times" of London, put it:
[A]bove all, in this oppositional sort of age, when it is often easier to be defined by what one is against rather than what one is for, I have to say it is his enemies who most justify Mr Bush’s re-election. The list of those whose world could be truly rocked on Tuesday is just too long and too rich to be ignored. If you think for a moment about those who would really be upset by a second Bush term, it becomes a lot easier to stomach.... Go on America. Make Their Day.
