Editorial Opinion

Bush merits the highest praise: ‘He kept us safe’ by Bob Hoig, Publisher Midlands Business Journal We greeted George W. Bush early in his term as a man of action in the mold of Henry V. We wished him and our military well in their determination to crush the murderous, unhinged dictator Saddam Hussein – not turn away, not punt his nuclear threatening down the road, but crush him. For leading that job well done, George Bush merits a salute from all Americans. Bush’s highest praise, however, could come in this post-9/11 world with the four little words: “He kept us safe.” Henry kept England safe from the ambitions of the French centuries ago. President Bush – with little help from leaders of other nations, save Britain’s Tony Blair, and none at all from the most loathsome constituencies within the Democratic Party – halted Saddam’s nuclear ambitions and his dreams of world domination via oil control. As conservatives in matters of national survival, this newspaper comes down on the side of safety, George W. Bush’s side. If terrorist operatives must be questioned harshly, so be it. If terrorists caught on battlefields must be confined until their masters stop the terror, so be it. If communications involving terrorists need intercepting to stop buildings from falling and cities from being incinerated, so be it. Better that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney choose to live with radical and left-wing viciousness than that Americans, or any human beings, die in a new 9/11. Those old enough to remember the pre-World War II days of the 1930s, or intelligent enough to draw conclusions from the history books, know how easy the West could have stopped Nazi Germany had any major leader chosen to do so. More than 50 million people would have been alive to usher in 1946, and unknowable numbers of their descendants would be alive today, if only the leaders of England, France or the United States had been up to the challenge plainly before them. We have written on this subject. Readers wanting details can refer to our Web site, www.mbj.com, Editorials section, item No. 3. Sadly, all that George Bush’s resolve to stop aggression earned him was the rabid “Hate Bush Syndrome” of the left. It might, however, provide a useful caution for the incoming President Barack Obama. Any attempt to stop aggression not blessed by militant “peace” or radical leftist movements can very quickly produce a knee-jerk surrender across the Democrat Party spectrum. To dispirit American leadership and our military, the radical left attacks first, followed by the most left elements of the Democrat Party, followed by the Democrat leadership and eventually by most of the party. It happened in Vietnam. It happened in Iraq. It will happen in Afghanistan. It will happen with Iran, either before or after the mullahs acquire nuclear weapons. Assuming peace at any price is not Obama’s program, he should be on guard. Meantime, for leadership and willingness to shoulder a burden of personal attack that would have defeated most men, George W. Bush deserves America’s admiration and respect. He has ours! January 2009

MBJ Publications Inc. • 1324 S. 119th St. • Omaha, NE 68144 • Phone: (402) 330-1760 • Fax: (402) 758-9315