Word: support
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...Rebirth of the Middle" [Nov. 16]: Ramesh Ponnuru mentions Dede Scozzafava's support of gay marriage and reproductive choice as evidence that she not only is not a moderate Republican but also is to the left of many Democrats. Couldn't her support of those two issues be proof of libertarianism? The Libertarian Party believes there are particular places that the government does not belong, and anything connected to a citizen's sex life is among those places. My Republican and libertarian friends alike are for the freedom of Americans to make their own life choices...
...received a major boost with the November elections. Sarah Palin's offer to help in Virginia and New Jersey was declined by gubernatorial winners Robert McDonnell and Chris Christie, and her avowed congressional candidate, Doug Hoffman, lost in a previously unlosable Republican district. It is, after all, hard to support a person who doesn't know if Africa is a continent or a country. More good news like this, and I might rejoin the party I abandoned...
...mere fact that Obama has reached a decision on Afghanistan, coupled with the speech's West Point backdrop and the President's oratorical gifts, will probably boost public support for the war effort in the short run. But it is unlikely to convince most Americans that a war that has already lasted more than eight years is worth fighting indefinitely. Even if Obama sets a target date for leaving Afghanistan, he'll still be asking the public to sign on to a major escalation that will see many more Americans killed and wounded, and will cost hundreds of billions more...
...Downplaying the moral component of the American project in Afghanistan may be smart if Obama's goal is to show he's not Bush. But it won't ultimately help win more support for his strategy - and it will ensure that his speech scores with pundits but not with the American people. The most memorable and effective wartime presidential speeches have blended hardheaded statements of resolve with appeals to higher purpose. At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln vowed that the Union would complete "the great task remaining before us" yet made it clear that the goal was not just to defeat...
...tyranny pales in comparison to that of the Third Reich. But while it's too simplistic to focus solely on the moral imperatives of the Afghan campaign, it would be just as shortsighted for Obama to ignore them altogether. History shows that Americans are far more willing to support a war that they believe is worthy of their ideals. If Obama hopes to rally the American people behind his strategy, his speech needs to convince them that the war in Afghanistan meets that test...