
 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 27, 2005
/ 18 Nisan, 5765
Political attention deficit disorder
By
Tony Blankley
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Almost 100 percent of the mental energy in Congress, and at
least 50 percent of the White House mental energy is currently being
expended trying either to destroy or protect John Bolton and Tom DeLay. A
man from Mars would presume that things in America must be shipshape, and
the world had settled into a long and restful peacefulness. Otherwise,
surely, the American public would be looking with reproach and indignation
at their leaders using their often misguided, but considerable, mental
energies to brawl over Washington jobs if there were other matters with a
higher claim on their attention.
But the Martian would be wrong, as they so often are when human
writers draft them into the role of ignoramus ex machina. The American
public is remarkably undemanding of their politicians. Let me amend that
the public certainly expects to be condescended to and given little gifts on
a regular basis. It expects often demands that its misconceptions
about the realities of the world be dutifully parroted back to it by its
elected representatives. But, as long as life is going forward more or less
normally, not only does the public not demand the truth, as one of Jack
Nicholson's character once observed: "It can't handle the truth."
The redeeming aspect of the American public is that it has built
and run this country magnificently, despite the usual contribution of
government. And that when the public's free-range politicians make a
sufficient hash of things as episodically becomes manifest on days like
Dec. 7 and Sept. 11 the American public tends to roll up its collective
sleeves and fix the mess. Then they return to their indulgent ways with
their hopelessly underachieving politicians.
But I have to say that the public has let me down, some. It is
less than four years since the Sept. 11 wake up call the day that the
murderous malice of our enemy was so tragically compounded by years of
Washington inattention and incompetence but after that rude awakening, it
seems both Washington and the public have hit the snooze button.
After Dec. 7, the public expected action and plenty of it.
From that day on until almost the day he died, FDR rarely let a day go by
without vigorously acting on and talking about the threat and how to defeat
it. But after a flurry of energy and bold and courageous actions from the
Bush Administration in the first couple of years, one has the sense that
things have returned to business as usual.
Whatever the president is doing in private (and one hears he is
finally reconceptualizing the nature of the war on terror, which is vital,
if overdue) certainly he is not publicly keeping the nation, or
Washington politicians, focused on the daunting challenges and need for
re-establishing an urgent pace.
It may turn out to be the second tragedy of our time that the
president's opposition has criticized him from the weak side of the war
effort. If a Democrat had been president on Sept. 11, it is a virtual
certainty that the Republican Party (in recent generations the more
aggressive military party) would have kept up a daily barrage for the
president to do more. They would be howling at the fact that only 5 percent
of the cargo containers entering our country's ports are inspected on or
before arrival by American inspectors.
They would be chastising a notional Democratic president for not
building up the size of the active and reserve forces of our military. They
would surely have held hearings demanding that the Pentagon explain how it
would actually invade and occupy, say, Syria, Iran and Pakistan, while also
holding Iraq and Afghanistan and fulfilling all the other worldwide
responsibilities we have assigned to our troops, with the current strength
levels should such actions be judged necessary for our national security.
But as there is a Republican president, his fellow Republicans
have instinctively kept their criticisms muted. More importantly, the
opposition party, the Democrats (in recent generations the party less
concerned with military strength and aggressive defense of the country)
instinctively chose to run the 2004 presidential campaign by criticizing
President Bush's boldness and aggression in fighting the war, rather than
criticizing the inadequacy of his fighting and his defensive preparation
efforts. (Only a Joe Lieberman candidacy would have challenged Mr. Bush from
the strong side of the war effort.)
This unfortunate constellation of political forces has tended to
push Washington policy toward passivity, rather than assertiveness, toward
delay, rather than urgent action. Regretfully, public attitudes have
followed Washington's political divide.
Thus do we find Washington focused on extraneous party matters,
and a public that fails to call its politicians back to their urgent central
duties.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2005, Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|