[Austin-ghetto-list] WSJ & Rew Rupublic cited in great NYT op ed
JIM BALDAUF
jfbaldauf@prodigy.net
Sat, 29 Sep 2001 16:17:56 -0500
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This story makes Bush look moderate compared=20
to the WSJ and New Republic and others.
jb
OP-ED=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
The End of the Beginning
By FRANK RICH
The only certainty ahead is that there will be more change.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/opinion/29RICH.html?todaysheadlines
=20
The End of the Beginning
by Frank Rich
(snip)
Such was the hysteria on the right after Sept. 11 that National Review's =
Web edition disseminated a call from the TV commentator Ann Coulter to =
"invade [the hijackers'] countries, kill their leaders and convert them =
to Christianity." Presumably her targets include Saudi Arabia and Egypt, =
the home states of most of the 19 identified hijackers. Then came the =
"open letter" signed by William Bennett, Richard Perle, Gary Bauer and =
editors of The New Republic and The Weekly Standard threatening to brand =
Mr. Bush as a wimp - guilty of "surrender in the war on international =
terrorism" - if he bucked their demand to attack Iraq. Mr. Bush has to =
date blown off these influential armchair generals, coming down in favor =
of the more incremental, less unilateral strategy of an actual general, =
Colin Powell.=20
Mr. Bush has so far turned aside other wish lists from the right as =
well, including The Wall Street Journal editorial page's patriotic call =
for the president to use his high poll ratings in the aftermath of a =
mass murder to push divisive judicial appointments through the Senate. =
Mr. Bush's quick condemnation of Jerry Falwell's and Pat Robertson's =
effort to blame America first, notably its gays and lesbians, for the =
attacks not only forced the TV blowhards to a hasty retreat, but also =
hammered in, perhaps for years to come, how Taliban-like America's own =
homegrown mixture of fundamentalism and politics can be. As the =
president jettisoned these former allies, so he nimbly embraced a former =
b=EAte noire, big government, to pump up the economy and airport safety =
- even to the point of creating a new federal agency, the Office of =
Homeland Security, whose name, though presumably not its mission, has an =
almost Stalinist ring to it.=20
But the fact remains that, as far as the war goes, the Bush =
administration hasn't acted yet. The president's policies are a work in =
progress, subject to further about-faces. All sweeping judgments and =
bestowals of carte blanche on his leadership are laughably premature. =
Only in a foreshortened Hollywood scenario can an unproven leader change =
in an instant, with one speech, into a giant. Washington's rush to =
canonize Mr. Bush - he's already been likened to Lincoln by the =
capital's dean, David Broder - is gaseous complacency of the sort that =
got us where we are today.=20
This is a time for more skepticism, not less, especially from news =
organizations tempted to blur the line between jingoism and journalism. =
Until CBS News and The Associated Press blew the whistle this week, the =
White House's excuse for the president's elusiveness on Sept. 11 - a =
phoned-in threat to Air Force One - was widely reported as fact, not the =
spin it was. The administration, whose efforts to restrict civil =
liberties have even brought Bob Barr and Maxine Waters together in =
opposition, is so eager to stifle dissent in the media that its press =
secretary publicly denounced a smart-aleck as benign as a late-night =
comic - in this case Bill Maher - for a tasteless wisecrack.=20
=20
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<DIV>This story makes Bush look moderate compared </DIV>
<DIV>to the WSJ and New Republic and others.</DIV>
<DIV>jb</DIV>
<DIV><BR>OP-ED =
<BR>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D<BR>The End of the Beginning<BR>By=20
FRANK RICH<BR>The only certainty ahead is that there will be more =
change.<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/opinion/29RICH.html?todaysheadl=
ines">http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/opinion/29RICH.html?todaysheadlin=
es</A><BR><BR> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>The End of the Beginning</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>by Frank Rich</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(snip)</DIV>
<DIV>Such was the hysteria on the right after Sept. 11 that National =
Review's=20
Web edition disseminated a call from the TV commentator Ann Coulter to =
"invade=20
[the hijackers'] countries, kill their leaders and convert them to=20
Christianity." Presumably her targets include Saudi Arabia and Egypt, =
the home=20
states of most of the 19 identified hijackers. Then came the "open =
letter"=20
signed by William Bennett, Richard Perle, Gary Bauer and editors of The =
New=20
Republic and The Weekly Standard threatening to brand Mr. Bush as a wimp =
—=20
guilty of "surrender in the war on international terrorism" — if =
he bucked their=20
demand to attack Iraq. Mr. Bush has to date blown off these influential =
armchair=20
generals, coming down in favor of the more incremental, less unilateral =
strategy=20
of an actual general, Colin Powell. </DIV>
<DIV>
<P>Mr. Bush has so far turned aside other wish lists from the right as =
well,=20
including The Wall Street Journal editorial page's patriotic call for =
the=20
president to use his high poll ratings in the aftermath of a mass murder =
to push=20
divisive judicial appointments through the Senate. Mr. Bush's quick =
condemnation=20
of Jerry Falwell's and Pat Robertson's effort to blame America first, =
notably=20
its gays and lesbians, for the attacks not only forced the TV blowhards =
to a=20
hasty retreat, but also hammered in, perhaps for years to come, how =
Taliban-like=20
America's own homegrown mixture of fundamentalism and politics can be. =
As the=20
president jettisoned these former allies, so he nimbly embraced a former =
b=EAte=20
noire, big government, to pump up the economy and airport safety — =
even to the=20
point of creating a new federal agency, the Office of Homeland Security, =
whose=20
name, though presumably not its mission, has an almost Stalinist ring to =
it.=20
</P>
<P>But the fact remains that, as far as the war goes, the Bush =
administration=20
hasn't acted yet. The president's policies are a work in progress, =
subject to=20
further about-faces. All sweeping judgments and bestowals of carte =
blanche on=20
his leadership are laughably premature. Only in a foreshortened =
Hollywood=20
scenario can an unproven leader change in an instant, with one speech, =
into a=20
giant. Washington's rush to canonize Mr. Bush — he's already been =
likened to=20
Lincoln by the capital's dean, David Broder — is gaseous =
complacency of the sort=20
that got us where we are today. </P>
<P>This is a time for more skepticism, not less, especially from news=20
organizations tempted to blur the line between jingoism and journalism. =
Until=20
CBS News and The Associated Press blew the whistle this week, the White =
House's=20
excuse for the president's elusiveness on Sept. 11 — a phoned-in =
threat to Air=20
Force One — was widely reported as fact, not the spin it was. The=20
administration, whose efforts to restrict civil liberties have even =
brought Bob=20
Barr and Maxine Waters together in opposition, is so eager to stifle =
dissent in=20
the media that its press secretary publicly denounced a smart-aleck as =
benign as=20
a late-night comic — in this case Bill Maher — for a =
tasteless wisecrack. </P>
<P> <BR></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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