Staying Off Course

September 14, 2007

Yeah, the guy who was his college fraternity's social chairman and who evaded the draft (meaning he didn't want to go where the fighting was) -- like so many other priveleged young men -- stands before us asking for our "patience," and telling the world that Iraq needs our "enduring presence." He stood, like a pious country preacher, tongue in cheek -- like a plug of tobacco -- and a snake's glitter in his eye. First, "patience" means me agreeing to put up more of this nation's blood and treasure. I don't think so. Second, maybe you didn't feel it, but when he talked about our enduring presence I felt a chill sweep across the Muslim world. It is a world awash in the many dollars we give them for oil. We will pay more for that oil and a greater percentage of what we pay will go to their "patriots" who are in Iraq, Iran, Afganistan, the United States, Germany and a dozen other countries. Hey! Did you hear the price on a barrel of oil just hit $ 80.00, a new high! And what I did not hear is he did not talk about the law we have sponsored before the Iraq legislature giving Big Oil ownership of two-thirds of Iraq's oil fields. (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela all have control of their own oil drilling and extraction.) The "War in Iraq" is just another name for "armed robbery." I'm going green. Finally, many in our Congress say it would be "dishonorable" to leave now. As a voter, I have to assume that all of the above is just too complex for our Representatives and Senators to understand or that they are increasingly experiencing cold sweat, and neither is relevant to the young soldier or Marine in Iraq who will die today and tomorrow. As a voter I do not want craven cowards. We can do better.