Commander in Chief Test

RUSH: All right. Let's go to this little pop quiz, a little historical pop quiz called the Commander-in-Chief Test. We're going to test your metal here, ladies and gentlemen, while at the same time, testing your knowledge of history -- and I want to stress here that every detail in every question is accurate, historically, because you know, as Washington pastimes go, Monday-morning quarterbacking intelligence matters is overtaking second guessing even the Washington Redskins. So now, time for the rest of to us test our commander-in-chief decision skills. The Commander-in-Chief Test lets you be the history maker. No fair consulting your high skrool history book or calling up Oliver Stone or other experts.

First question: You're George Washington in 1776. You've lost every battle. The revolution seems a bust. Your spies tell you that the British officers are wintering in Trenton. You think that means that the Germans are going to get falling-down drunk on Christmas Eve and sleep it off the next morning. However, they are the world's best soldiers and they'll beat you if they're awake, sober or not. Also the Delaware River is full of ice, and your guys have no food or shoes. Many New Jerseyites are Tories who might rat you out. Do you roll the dice to change the course of the war, figuring the Germans don't like fighting on Christmas, or do you wait for springtime rather than risk what little is left of the Continental Army?

Now, I realize many of you, some from Rio Linda may not know of the story, and you may not know what George Washington decided to do, but when the question is posed this way -- and we know what he did -- there's a reason we're going through these questions, ladies and gentlemen. I just want to stress: the answer to none of these is "Call the United Nations." The answer to none of these questions is, "Call the United Nations."

Second Question: If you're Abe Lincoln in 1863, General Lee has crossed into the North, but no one knows where he's going. The Union Army has been beaten in most every battle so far, and if you lose on your own ground, the Union is likely lost to the South. Do you keep the Army away from Lee until he gets tired and heads back South, or do you send General Meade out looking for Lee even if they find that rascal in some cross-roads town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg? What do you do? What would Senator Kerry have done?

Third Question: You are the duty officer in Honolulu, December 7, 1941. Two soldiers manning the newly invented radar call to report a lot of blips on the screen. Headquarters had already advised you to expect a flight of American bombers from California that morning. So do you sound the alarm to the fleet? Do you scramble the fighter planes and hope Rear Admiral Kimmel and General Short don't yell at you if you're wrong, or tell the radar guys their shift is ending anyway and not to worry about it? If you're John Kerry manning the radar, what do you do?

Fourth Question: You are Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939. You've received a letter from the famous quirky physicist Albert Einstein recommending building an atomic bomb in order to beat the Nazis to the punch. Not really knowing what an atomic bomb is and not yet at war, do you ask Congress to study the matter and ask your intelligence operation to confirm if the Nazis are building one of these weapons themselves, or do you order secret development with money skimmed from other projects and hidden through phony congressional appropriations? Do you do the Manhattan Project? (tapping desk) What do you do if you are John Kerry? Remember now, you can't call the UN. At this point, it's the defunct League of Nations anyway.

Fifth Question: You are Admiral Nimitz in 1942. Navy intelligence intercepted coded messages they reveal shows Japanese plans to steal the American island of Midway, but they also tell you Japanese could be planning attacks elsewhere. You know that banking on Midway would leave the door open elsewhere. Do you risk your aircraft carriers that escaped the Pearl Harbor attack perhaps leaving no U.S. Fleet in the Pacific, or do you try catching the Imperial Fleet with the kimono open and reverse the course of the war at Midway? What do you do if you're John Kerry? (Remember now, you can't call the United Nations. You can't call the French.)

Sixth Question: You are Dwight Eisenhower in June of 1944. Your weatherman tells you he sees a break in the bad weather and a narrow window for your landing forces to get on the beaches of Normandy. You hope, but you can't confirm that allied disinformation has convinced Hitler the real invasion will be north. Do you risk a quarter million troops and the possibility of a stalemate in Europe, or do you say, "Let's go," rather than wait another month or two for D Day? (Remember, you can't call the United Nations.) What do you do if you're John Kerry? Remember, there's no turning back.

Seventh Question: You're also Eisenhower in December 1944. Intelligence says the Germans are on the run. They're low on gasoline and ammo. The men deserve a break, and many officers want to leave for Christmas in Paris. How can the Germans possibly break through that dense forest? and knowing what we know from test question one, the Germans don't like to fight on Christmas. Do you ignore the intelligence and figure that Hitler will try to catch you with your pants down and inflict on the American Army its worst-ever disaster? What do you do faced with the Battle of the Bulge if you are John Kerry? (Remember, you can't call the United Nations.)

Eighth Question: You are Harry Truman in August of 1945. FDR's atomic bomb recommended by Einstein is tested successfully, and you have two more of bombs ready to use. The scientists who build the bomb are opposing its use. Intelligence reports suggest the Japanese are starving and on their last legs ready to talk turkey. American bombers are already turning many Japanese cities into cinders. Do you secretly advise the Japanese they can surrender now before you drop the bomb, or do you drop the bomb and ask questions later? What do you do if you're John Kerry?

Ninth Question: You are JFK, the original JFK in the fall of 1962. The intelligence community gives you aerial photos they believe show Soviet missile installations built in Cuber, but they do not know how close they are to being operational, whether they're armed with nuclear warhead or whether the crews and workers are Soviets. Do you go on TV and threaten mass evacuation, set up a naval quarantine risking World War III, or do you work behind the scenes at the UN, get more information and try to convince the Soviets they've done the wrong thing? (We know what John Kerry would do. It's not what the real JFK did.)

Tenth Question: You are President Bush in early 2003, just months after September 11 and anthrax. The Clinton administration had incited Osama bin Laden citing ties to Saddam Hussein and had bombed a suspected bioweapons in Sudan with ties to Iraq. (It turned out to be an aspirin factory, but you don't know that.) Intelligence suggests that terrorists met with others in Prague. UN weapons inspectors are being frustrated in Iraq. British intelligence says Saddam was trying to buy uranium in Africa. (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8) Saddam invaded Kuwait a decade before. He had used chemical weapons on his own people. (see articles below) One of the perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing had taken refuge in Baghdad. Families of Palestinian suicide bombers were paid by Iraq. The CIA Director originally appointed by Clinton tells you it's "a slam-dunk" that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction. The French are opposed to war with Iraq, saying their intelligence service believe Iraq still has weapons of mass destruction. Russian President Putin opposed to war with Iraq tells you Russian intelligence believes Iraq has plans for terror assaults in the US. Most of the CIA contacts in Iraq are murdered. Do you wait to get more spies in the country to confirm the other intelligence, or do you go to Congress for a resolution supporting the use of force and then use the force and then use the force? What would you do if you are John Kerry?

I wish to read this question to you again, ladies and gentlemen. Because after this, there will be a bonus essay question to conclude our pop quiz, as you pretend to be commander-in-chief. (Repeats Tenth Question) Wait for the Michael Moore movie, or take action? And our...

Special Bonus Essay Question: President (plug in the name of your choice here) in February 2005. The CIA and South Korean and Japanese intelligence agree that radio traffic and satellite photos of North Korea, where no one has human spy assets, is facing a famine, and that it has massed troops to invade South Korea in a few days, after smuggling a nuclear bomb into a major Japanese city to blackmail Japan and the U.S. Into giving them, North Korea, a free hand. What do you do? Remember, you can't call the UN. Well, you could call the UN In this case. What do you do?

Let me reset the table: President Whoever, plug in the name of your choice, February 2005. CIA, South Korea, Japanese intelligence agree, radio traffic and satellite photos of North Korea where nobody has human spy assets is facing a famine. It has massed troops to invade South Korea in a few days after smuggling a nuclear bomb into a major Japanese city to blackmail Japan and the US into giving them a free hand. What, as commander in chief, do you do? (pause) You can't call Michael Moore.

First question...'I know what kids go through when they are carrying a pitch fork in a dangerous place and they can't tell friend from foe'...We need a president who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden...therefore we must wait till spring
Second Question...As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence...therefore I keep my army away
Third Question...I need evidence of 'a threat that was real and imminent'...so radar boys, go home..
Fourth Question...have Al Gore look into it...he is working on this internet thing...
Fifth Question...As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence...therefore I keep my aircraft carriers safe
Sixth Question...President Kerry takles head-on the charge that he is a flip-flopper. It is a matter of detecting nuance. "Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities – and I do," he said. "Because some issues just aren't all that simple."...So he'll have to say 'Let's go'!...right after saying, 'Let's wait'
Seventh Question...'We're the optimists.'...so he will ignor the intelligence, right before going with it
Eighth Question...'I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as president. I will never hesitate to use force when it is required'...Secret talks with Japan seem to be in order
Ninth Question...not really a question...
Tenth Question...again, 'As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence'...therefore we need more time, more spies...
Special Bonus Essay Question...I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as president. I will never hesitate to use force when it is required...South Korea is not this country, so Buh-Bye!

how'd I do?

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