August 7, 2004

Joe Biden for President?

There is a very interesting observation at Michael J. Totten's blog: bq. It’s too bad someone like Sen. Joe Biden didn't run in the Democratic primary. (It would have helped even more had he won it, but that's another discussion.) Michael then proceeds to quote from a New Republic article that quotes a speech Biden gave and comparing it with Kerry's puff-piece: bq. Biden started by correctly naming America's enemy. Unlike Kerry, who mentioned "terrorists," "antiterrorist operations," and "a global war on terror," Biden never mentioned the "T" word. Instead, he spoke of the "death struggle between freedom and radical fundamentalism." The difference is more than semantic. Terrorism, as commentators have pointed out, is a tactic. Sri Lankan suicide bombers who blow themselves up in the name of Tamil independence are terrorists--but we are not at war with them. If militants in Iraq shoot only at American soldiers and not at civilians, they are not technically terrorists--but they are our enemies nonetheless. Radical Islam is an ideology, and calling it the enemy implies that America is fighting a war not just of national interest, but of ideas. "Radical fundamentalism," Biden said, "will fall to the terrible, swift power of our ideas as well as our swords." It is a bit lengthy but well worth reading. I am not particularly fond of G.W. Bush but I fall into the anybody-but-Kerry camp. He would be a disaster for our country. Posted by DaveH at August 7, 2004 7:12 PM