William F. Buckley Jr.: Bush vs. U.S.

National Review ^ | 4/1/04 | William F. Buckley Jr.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Clarke issued the call to arms?

Come on!! Ludicrous.

[The G Man]

[cynicom]

I remember when buckley was a conservative. He has been carrying water for the socialists for years.

[Uncle Miltie]

"Mr. Clarke summoned up the terrorist bound for Los Angeles to bomb the airport, but apprehended by authorities owing, Clarke suggested, to the kind of priority given, in the late '90s, to potential terrorist activity."

This is patently false. The New Year's Eve bomber, caught arriving by ferry in Port Angeles, Washington, was identified by an alert grandmotherly immigration worker who exercised racial profiling.

"He just looked hinky to me," said the woman who stopped the attack.

Tell me that Clarke had something to do with the intuitions of a 60-something logger's wife in Port Angeles, and I'll sell you some swamp land.

[international american]

He has become obtuse....darnright strange!

[Eva]

The border crossing guard was just doing what she does all day, asking questions, and running searches on people who give the wrong answers. Heck, I know people who have had their whole car dismantled at the border for giving a wrong answer or going across too often.

[syriacus]

Clarke deserves to be nominated for an Academy Award as best actor.

He doesn't deserve to win, though...Dean wins, hands down.

[elli1]

Buckley wasted a lot of words telling us that the Dem strategy is to ''Blame Bush''--something we already knew.

[beelzepug]

"He just looked hinky to me,"

Of course, when he bailed out of the car and had to be pursued on foot through downtown Port Angeles, it was obvious to authorities that he wasn't your average tourist.

[CyberAnt]

Port Angeles in right on the Canadian border, right?

I remember reading about this story and it's scary. We need more border watchers like that woman!

[victoryatallcosts]

Yep. They made the bomb in a hotel room in Burnaby, not that far from where I live.

It's funny, I always seem to be fairly near to this stuff. When I graduated from high school, in 2001, I used the money I saved working nights at a Safeway to take a trip to Washington, DC and New York City (I went to Washington first, then drove to New York, then drove back to Washington and flew out of there).

The last thing I saw of New York City was the World Trade Centre, as seen from New Jersey. The last thing I saw of Washington, DC was the Pentagon, as seen from a plane taking off from Reagan National Airport. The date: August, 2001.

I sort of thought I'd wasted that money at the time. I don't now.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Just keep us apprised of where you are on any given day, so we can all stay the hell away!

[Texasforever]

I remember when buckley was a conservative. He has been carrying water for the socialists for years.

My gosh folks did you even read the article? He skewered Clarke.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Request someone help me understand what Mr. Buckley means in the following:

... the year 1998 when President Clinton was called upon to implement the Iraq Liberation Act. He did not do so and the surmise was that he could not credibly present himself as a war leader while simultaneously fighting against his own impeachment. An apology here would not seem to be presumptuous. -William F. Buckley Jr.

Is he comparing the standing of Mr. Clinton versus Mr. Clarke? In other words, Clinton could credibly apologize for screwing up in such a way that he got impeached and therefore performed badly as a statesman - missing an opportunity to advance the world's case against Iraq. He would be apologizing for a failure of the United States, for something that he was in charge of, and for something he did. Whereas Clarke's apology was not for anything he did; moreover was not really in charge of.

It seems as though there is more to this connection than I am getting.

[Texasforever]

Yes, Clinton admitted that he couldn't or wouldn't do anything about Iraq because he was in the process of being impeached. Clinton could have and should have apologized for putting the office of the President in such an untenable position.

[Texasforever]

PS. As to Clarke's standing, he had none on which to base an apology on the behalf of any one or any organization other than himself. The fact that he didn't resign in protest is absolute proof that his current actions are all self-serving.

[sport]

I am on President Bush's side.

[Spotsy]

Texas is right, this article condemns Clarke.

Clarke was grandstanding when he apologized on behalf of the government - and Buckley sees the apology for what it was - a political tactic to place blame squarely on the shoulders of Team Bush.

This 9/11 Commission charade is doing so much damage - making our country look weak - and no doubt encouraging the evildoers (that would be the terrorists, in case any Dems are reading this) to believe that our resolve is weakening

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm? I was in Wash D.C. in March 2001. I took a tour with Roger Hedgecock - he called it the "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" - this was trip #7 for the group - #1 for me. I hadn't been to DC since I graduated from high school.