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McCain to America: Fight something, damn it!

BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2004, NEW YORK -- John McCain is absolutely sure that we're in the midst of fighting a great war. "It's a big thing, this war," he said last night in his address to the Republican National Convention. How big, he's a little vague on, because he's not quite ready to define who or what exactly were at war against. Al-Qaeda? Afghanistan? Islamic fundamentalism? Iraq? Terrorism? All of the above? The answer was sketchy.

Deliberately so. McCain was sent, I think we must conclude, to justify the war in Iraq to the American people. And the best way to do so is to suggest that it was part of some broader conflict thrust upon us on September 11, 2001. It's hard to actually claim a connection directly anymore -- unless you're the Vice President -- so McCain had to summon up all his chutzpah for this New York moment. His manhood clearly confiscated by the President already, McCain made the case.

So -- we are fighting "a malevolent force;" a "scourge;" an "unpardonable enemy;" an "evil that threatens us all." In this "fight between right and wrong, good and evil," "our enemies" threaten "the very essence of our culture." (How dare they try to destroy Britney Spears! Oh, no, he meant liberty.) "There is no avoiding this war," McCain said. "We tried that, and our reluctance cost us dearly." JOHN, I wanted to scream, WHAT WAR DO YOU MEAN??? "This war has many components," he continued, not saying what they are.

Although he seemed at times -- like in that last reference -- to be specifically talking about a war on terror, at another stretch he was clearly talking specifically about Iraq. "It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." (His reference at that point to "a disingenuous filmmaker" was in the prepared speech, not added for the benefit of Moore's presence. The result was probably unfortunate for the GOP, because that clip will probably dominate the news cycle, shoving aside the speeches themselves. )

McCain started his speech by quoting Franklin Delano Roosevelt on our generational "rendezvous with destiny." There is a parallel here that never quite gets acknowledged -- it was the Japanese who attacked us, but we used it as an excuse to declare war on Hitler. McCain argued implicitly Tuesday night that fighting the war on terror without attacking Saddam Hussein would be akin to fighting the axis powers without declaring war on Germany. Most sensible people with the facts available do not agree. But people do like John McCain a whole lot, so maybe if he says it they'll believe it's so.


Issue Date: August 31, 2004
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