What I Would Do Differently If I Were Someone Completely Different!

Driving around at lunch today listening to the Rush Limbaugh show. Rush was talking about Democrats and walking a very fine line. See, if Rush comes out and says that Democrats are more or less Terrorists than there would be an uproar. On the other hand, Rush clearly thinks Democrats are more or less Terrorists, or in the same realm as terrorists.

So here's how he finessed the issue today. After making it clear that he wasn't challenging our patriotism, but our reasoning, he commented, "What would you do differently if you were supporting the terrorists?"

Provocative question. When I first heard it, it almost provoked me to jam my fist through my windshield. But let's consider it seriously for a moment.

The flip answer is to contrast what the Terrorists want with what President Bush wants. The terrorists are pretty well convinced that God (or Allah) is on their side. They want to engage the United States in war, because they don't believe that Allah will allow them to lose. So if I were an American believer of this particular Islamist philosophy, I suppose I would strongly support President in his choice to engage the Muslim World in a military struggle.

Of course I would applaud the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison; after all such abuse is only going to bring more recruits to the cause I and Osama bin Ladin believe in (if I were allied with Osama bin Ladin, which in real life I'm not). Why I might even try to minimize it with such statements as, "Who are these guys [detainees at Abu Ghraib]? They're shooting at Americans. They have attempted to kill Americans. You've got to put this stuff in perspective. It has to be put in context."

I suppose if I were in philosophical agreement with Osama bin Ladin I would look upon the candidacy of John Kerry with a certain amount of trepidation. I would think I could count on President Bush to invade Syria or Iran (or possibly both). But John Kerry is a fish of a different scale. I'm not sure I can count on a continual belligerence towards the Middle East with Kerry in the White House. Plus any fool should realize that much of al-Qaeda's funding and support comes from Saudi Arabia, a country with which President Bush has close ties, and one which he is unlikely to get tough with. On the other hand, Kerry, lacking such ties, might be tempted to crack down on Saudi Arabia.

But I suppose that's not really the way I'm supposed to respond to Rush's statement. Instead I'm supposed to think, "My God! What a fool I've been. By trying to get John Kerry in the white house, and by criticizing the mistakes of the Bush Administration, I'm clearly no better than a terrorist. Maybe I'd better call my local FBI office and turn myself in."