At the Florida Democratic Convention, Democrats have gone on the attack over
President Bush’s record in the past two years, in preparation for the 2002 midterm
elections. The Democrats have even
begun to question President Bush’s foreign policy choices in the Middle East.
Normally I’d say that the Democrats have it wrong – but on this one I can’t. As
much as it pains me to say so, they’ve got a hell of a point. Bush is
waffling on the Middle East, and the Democrats know it. Here’s what Sen.
Lieberman had to say:
"I’m sorry to say, and I say it respectfully, the Bush
administration has recently muddled our moral clarity," Lieberman said.
"The Bush administration has publicly and persistently pressured Israel
not to do exactly what we have rightly done to fight the terrorists who attacked
us on Sept. 11."
"In pursuing this policy, the president risks losing the
moral high ground and compromising our own war on terrorism."
Lieberman is right – we are risking the high moral ground. President Bush
should listen to the Democrats on this one, and realize that Israel is a state
which has every moral right to protect itself. Even without moral considerations,
President Bush’s political future rests on him making the right choices in this
critical phase in the war on terror.
