Brilliance, Foolhardiness, and Criminals

This week we lost elder statesman Daniel Patrick Moynihan, erstwhile Democratic Senator from the great State of New York.

Moynihan was that rare thing, a true intellectual in the United States Congress. When he announced his retirement, I was quite worried about the prospects for his replacement. Fortunately the citizens of New York made the correct choice: Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Think what you will about Ms. Clinton, as she was portrayed in the media during her husband's Presidency; she has been an excellent Senator. In fact, she exceeds Mr. Moynihan's performance in the area of face-to-face meetings with her Upstate and Western New York constituents. I moved out of the Finger Lakes area (and New York State entirely) just months before the election of 2000, but still pay close attention to what I consider the "local" news. She has truly worked hard to deliver for her people.

In contrast, I recall a genuinely despicable one-term House Representative named Fred Eckert from the early Reagan years. He was brought in with the Reagan Revolution (oh, the bad memories that brings back!), and was of course a rabid conservative Republican. He was quoted as telling constituents, who asked him to help them on certain issues, that he was elected "to support my President's policies, and that's what I am going to do." He openly admitted that he was a rubber stamp. How proud he seemed to be to have no individual opinion on any issues! Sadly, he was only the most obvious of many more Representatives and Senators who followed over the proceeding 23 years.

As I noted, Eckert lasted only one two-year term. Failing to serve your constituency can do that to you. Lesson: the President is not your constituency. The people who cast their votes to install you in office are.

Back to the memories of classic statesmen of real quality: Frank Horton (R-New York). If I recall correctly, Louise Slaughter (D-New York) now holds his seat. She didn't win it from him; he retired. The Honorable Representative Horton missed out on choice committee appointments over and over again, because he was a man of conscience. He refused to be cowed into voting the party line; try that today, and you're Jim Jeffords. Horton didn't see any need to flee his party. He was a Republican, and not ashamed of it; if the rest of his party were headed in another direction, well, they were in error and would hopefully see the light eventually. As I said, a man of conscience.

I had the pleasure and honor of shaking Representative Horton's hand once, during my short, undistinguished term as a Boy Scout. He was visiting our small troop (Otetiana Council Troop #250) to present us with an American Flag that had flown over the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. He also handed out Skill Awards and Merit Badges while he was there. Fortunately for me, the only Skill Award I ever earned just happened to be due for presentation that night. He handed it to me, I took it in my right hand; he gestured to shake my hand. I was a bit nervous, and having the award in my right hand already, held out my left hand. Without missing a beat he dropped his right hand and held out his left. We somewhat awkwardly shook left hands, grinning from ear to ear. That was 28 years ago, but I still remember it clearly. He made no comment about my wrong-hand handshake, just congratulated me on my award.

At the top I mentioned "foolhardiness." Who could I be talking about but Crazy Legs Rumsfeld? Dubya's too dim to be taken seriously on the world stage. Cheney is too perspicacious. Rummy is the dangerous one.

Here you have a man who never so much as shined an Army boot, thinking he can run a war and - get this - tee off potential allies by warning them not to get involved. He refuses to listen to the leaders of the land forces, believing that airborne weapons will take care of everything important, and the grunts on the ground will just have to roll in and hand out water and MREs to the grateful, liberated millions.

And our Commander-in-Thief, the "AWOL made good," gets looks of awe from VFW groups when he throws them platitudes and makes faces like the frat boy that he is. I had to walk out on his "speech" today. It was sickening. He's not a president, he's a stand-up comedian - except the audience he's playing to believes everything he says.

Why do they ignore his AWOL status? Why doesn't that stick in their collective craw like a fish bone? Isn't that worse than a college deferral? After all, in time of war, an AWOL could face a firing squad. Rarely enforced, but the last I knew the article was there (just ask Private Slovik). A college deferral's worst fear is failing out, which would leave him eligible for the draft.

Besides, the real Commander-in-Chief just has to be Cheney. Why else would he be pulled out of "hiding" for the war? If security concerns are so much greater now (they must be) then there are only two rationales for the public display of his presence in policy meetings:

1) He really is the brain behind the administration, and must be present when quick thinking is necessary, or
2) His presence is a public confidence tool: "See, Cheney is there; the Chimp is not doing the thinking on his own."

Some final thoughts:

No smoking guns have been found yet. No munitions plants, no large caches of chemical or biological weapons. The war is young, of course; it will probably last until June at the very least, most likely until the Autumn or possibly next Winter. My guess is that no smoking gun will ever be found - at least nothing that will prove the Administration's claims that Saddam was a threat to the United States. This will not daunt Bush; as he always does, he will have a new explanation for his actions after the fact. "The Iraqi people are free from their dictatorial regime." Quote me.

No matter how much disdain I heap upon George "Warhead" Bush, Donald "Crazy Legs" Rumsfeld, Paul "No Nickname Yet" Wolfowitz, and Dick "Dick" Cheney, remember these things:
- I support our troops. They did not choose this war; they are valiant, skilled and brave. I pray that they do their duty well and live to tell the tales.
- We are in Iraq. We are involved in this war. To pull out now would be a much bigger mistake than going in was. I don't believe that Saddam was a danger to us before this; but if we pulled out, without finishing what we started, he would definitely be a danger to us. Big game hunters know that you don't piss off a Cape Buffalo. A wounded animal is the most dangerous creature you will ever encounter. Don't take a first shot unless you are prepared for a killing shot. And, if you don't have the guts to take losses, you shouldn't even be hunting.
- Finally, maybe it's because I grew up in a so-called mob town, but somebody's gotta put a muzzle on Rumsfeld. This guy's gonna bring the house down with his lips flapping all over the airwaves. You got a problem with Syria? Handle it quietly. You don't air your dirty laundry for the world to see, unless you want Iraq in 2003 to be like Serbia in 1914. You accuse them, they deny it, you threaten, they call their protectors, their protectors call you, you puff out your chest like the bully you are, and let me tell you brother: ain't no bloody nose gonna happen here. You have a bunker. Your soldiers don't. The American public doesn't. And, Rummy, you question everything about the land forces: cut this, cut that, these things don't fit "the vision of the new mobile force," "that's Cold War thinking;" so you leave us underarmed and can blame it on Clinton when those of us in the Defense industry know the truth. You're killing good programs, and trying to kill others. These things don't happen overnight. But you wouldn't know that, would you, you draft-dodging pencil-pusher. When we have Baghdad under siege, you'll wish you had those Crusaders. BOOOOooommm!!!! (I love that little mushroom cloud coming out of the muzzle)

Ouch! Sorry about the rant. The sentiment is valid, but the name-calling belongs on conservative radio (ewwww!!!). I still think he was wrong to kill the Crusader. Maybe we didn't need as many of them as originally ordered, but long-range artillery is a hell of a thing.

And, remember, "Friends don't let friends vote Republican!"