Posted on 09/21/2001 4:50:38 AM PDT by kattracks
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:00:50 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
September 21, 2001 -- THE greatest presidential address of our time was given last night by a man that many (including this writer) once mindlessly and pompously derided for his halting style of speech.
No more. Not ever.
Not when George W. Bush has just joined the ranks of FDR and JFK and Ronald Wilson Reagan in elevating a nation through the power of his discourse and the passion of his conviction.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
He hasn't really changed that much, has he? I don't think so - I just think people are waking up...
God Bless him.
Hitlery in action.
"Either you're with us, or with the terrorists", declared the President tonight.
No mushy middle, no muddled murkiness, no fuddle-duddle.
You're either friend or foe -- you can't be both.
Unequivocally, this speech was, far and away, the very best I've heard this President deliver.
A masterly performance, a veritable tour de force, through and through.
The 'whys', the 'hows', the 'whats' were more than adequately answered tonight.
The mission of Operation Infinite Justice should be glaringly apparent to all.
In his prime-time address before an emergency joint session of Congress, the President enunciated our values and principles with thundering force, with ringing clarity, with commanding authority -- and steely resolve.
Bush exuded confidence, self-assurance and poise -- he stood as a virtual 'Rock of Gibralter' against uncertainty and tumult.
But, more importantly, Bush radiated a quality of leadership the most lucratively paid political consultants can never produce: Authenticity.
His persona emanated a bona-fide genuineness and honesty seldom seen in politicians today.
Unquestionably, President George W. Bush bonded fully with the American people tonight, in ways few Presidents in our history could even dream of.
With soaring prose, the President explicated not only who the enemy is, but why, and the reason America -- indeed, the entirety of the civilized world -- can not afford to dilly-dally in the face of such unspeakable evil.
No talk of the "root causes" of terrorism, however. No attempt to "explain" or "understand" Osama Bin Laden; none of the numbingly stupid geopolitical psychobabble pervasive among academia and the media elite.
From the well of the People's House, the very citadel of our democracy; before the eyes and ears of a nation transfixed by harrowing events unprecedented in her history, the Leader of the Free World bellowed a rallying 'call-to-arms'; at once boldly summoning his countrymen to greatness and sacrifice.
With uninhibited candor, the President delineated the inexorable costs as well as the benefits. Victory will not come cheap -- but triumph we must and we shall.
To a nation accustomed to 'quick-fixes', Bush also sought to dampen wild or irrational expectations, however.
Success will not come overnight; many roadblocks lie along our way. The war against terrorism is a long-term commitment, not an instant cathartic exercise.
"The course of this conflict is not known", said the President. "Yet", he continued, "its outcome is certain".
In this, the most profound crisis our nation has faced in many generations, the occasion called for reassurance, and Bush delivered.
The nation -- at this difficult crossroads -- needed a visionary, and Bush delivered.
America hungered for leadership, and Bush delivered.
Our country thirsted for strength, and Bush delivered.
It yearned for firmness, resolve -- but, most of all, for hope -- and Bush delivered.
In spades.
Reflecting back upon Bush's first eight months as our President, I'm struck by the many peculiar parallels with President Reagan's maiden months in office a generation ago.
Both Presidents inherited economies already in -- or at the brink of -- recession.
Both were bequeathed myriad festering foreign policy failures by each's respective precedessors.
And, most perplexing, both were suddenly pummelled with tragedy of colossal dimensions -- early on.
Granted, the Gipper's was more of a personal nature (having survived a would-be assassin's bullet). Nevertheless, both episodes irrefutably plunged the nation into a veritable state of crisis -- of national emergency.
For many, many arduous long hours, a traumatized citizenry waited with bated breath for word on Reagan's fate. No one could even be sure who was running the country, or if the constitution's 25th amendment provisions had been invoked.
Thankfully, Reagan miraculously survived, the country soon returned to normal.
In contrast, the terrorist strikes of Black September 2001 have lunged the nation into a state of war.
Bush said he "will not forget the wound to our country, and those who inflicted it".
But he put our enemies on notice by adding: "I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for the freedom and security for the American people".
With that commitment, with that passionate resolve, little wonder why this President has earned the overwhelming confidence of the American people, who gave him millions of standing ovations tonight.
Remember: We shall Prevail.
God bless our President, God bless our troops, and God Bless the United States of America!
My two cents..
"JohnHuang2"
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