Who does Dick Cheney think he's fooling?

Recently, our illustrious Vice President made statements to indicate that by picking Bush-Cheney during the November election, America is less likely to become a victim of a terrorist act again. Does our Vice-President think Americans are so stupid as to submit to the politics of fear mongering? Who does Dick Cheney think he's fooling? To be fair, the specific quote made by Cheney occurred at a town hall appearance in Des Moines on Tuesday, where he stated that it was essential that Americans make the right choice in the Nov. 2 president election "because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again." Is that a guarantee, Mr. Vice-President? Taking his statement at face value, it would make less, not more, sense to vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket! Or perhaps Americans are stupid enough to forget that the airplanes that totaled the twin towers occurred on his watch?

Sadly, the Bush-Cheney campaign has latched onto the 9/11 tragedy like a toddler sucking on a pacifier. Lo' be unto you if pull Dick Cheney’s binky! This is clearly the ultimate form of desperation. I just don't understand why they don't "get it." No one blames our current (or past) President for what happened on 9/11--okay, so some people do. But the fact of the matter is that pointing fingers gets us no closer to the preventative measures that need to be in place to avoid a repeat incident. I find it disgusting, however, that our current President chooses to continue to use the tragedy like so many companies use ad-placement in movies. The families who lost loved ones that day deserve better. The families who lost loved ones in Iraq deserve better. Our country deserves better. And interest groups are not helping matters.

The on-going discussion of the Swift boat incident and unfulfilled National Guard obligations only detract from the fact that neither the media nor the candidates are focusing on issues. These on-going insults to the intelligence of the American people should piss you off. Don't issues count during election runs anymore? I suppose what we need is good ol' fashioned drive by to wake us up. Remember when Gang violence was only an Urban problem? C'mon. You remember. It wasn't reeeeally a problem for America until it started infiltrating predominantly White suburban communities. Up until that point, authorities treated the symptoms, and not the problem. Make no mistake, "Terrorism" is no different.

As long as bombings and atrocities happened in other people's backyard--translation: somewhere in Europe, Africa, or Asia--it wasn't much for us to be concerned about. What a difference a day makes following the destruction of two sky scrapers. [Fast forward to present day and the mixed mission]: Since the "War on Terror" has begun, the lives of more than one thousand military men and women have been lost, several civilians have literally lost their heads, we have neither found nor eliminated any weapons of mass destruction, we have come no closer to finding Osama Bin Laden, the price of a barrel of sweet crude oil is floating in the $40-range, and by all counts, we have no exit strategy. Graphic? Disgusted? Good. Recall that we're once again removed from the ugliness. It all happens "over there." Sure, we do well to fall back on the humanitarian aspect of improving the lives of the Iraqi people, but somehow the notion of a whole new generation of extremists who are enraged at Americans occupying their country is none too comforting. Regardless of who gets elected in November, the legacy we leave (to our children) will be largely reflective of the legacy we leave to a post-occupation Iraq. Remember that!

Otherwise, you could simply believe our Vice-President's rhetoric--afterall, his is clearly the much simpler view:

• Step One: Don't vote for Kerry, less you increase the risk of another terrorist act. And don't consider that the terrorist act occurred while I was in office--that was Clinton's fault!
• Step Two: Don't recognize terrorism as terrorism--while you were sleeping, some nut blew up a ukranian church in Connecticut.

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Even the best writers couldn't make this stuff up...it's just too easy... So what are you going to do about it?

Peace,
+THINKER