RE-WRITING HISTORY

David Frum is re-writing history:

Now the battle [for Falluja] has begun. What is to come we cannot know. But we can know this: Fully aware of the stakes, American voters massively rejected the candidate who promised to put an end to battles like Fallujah–and massively voted in the candidate who pledged to do whatever was necessary to win these battles.

Now, it’s perfectly fair to say that the key to Bush’s victory was his unambiguous support of military strength to fight terrorism. But it doesn’t seem fair to me to describe Kerry’s position as the abdication of military might in Iraq. Kerry backed Bush’s future plan for Iraq; in fact, Bush’s plan owed much to Kerry’s. And the solution in Iraq is never and can never be purely military. If Frum believes that, he is asking for a come-uppance. What if we win the battle for Falluja and lose the war for democratic legitimacy in Iraq? The balance between military force and political skill is a delicate one and critical to success in Iraq. Kerry and Bush placed differing emphases on each part of the equation. Yep, most Americans backed Bush. But Frum seems to be arguing that no such balance is necessary.

DERBYSHIRE AWARD NOMINEE: “God gave this President and this President’s Party one more chance … God heard the fervent prayers of millions of values voters to keep His hand on America one more time despite our national sins of denying the right to life, despite ignoring the Biblical injunction against acts which are ‘an abomination unto the Lord’ and despite the blatant attempt to remove God from the public square.” – Paul Weyrich, Republican operative. Only one vote counted, apparently. And it was divine.