Around the time President Obama was delivering his speech "A New Beginning with Muslims" in Cairo, Governor Sarah Palin was making introductory remarks for main speaker Michael Reagan to an audience in Anchorage. Though Obama's oration was approximately 17 times longer than Palin's and focused on Middle East foreign policy, Palin's informal comments contained more understanding of the nature of Islamic extremism and the forces that motivate it than Obama's entire homily.
In one speech, Obama managed to apologize for:
o The Cold War, "in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations"-as opposed to the aspirations they fruitfully pursued under a leader like Saddam Hussein
o Western "colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims"-as opposed to the rights they have under a leader like former colony Syria's President Bashar al-Assad
o Not having enough "mutual respect"-as opposed to the fawning respect Islamists shower on women, Jews, Christians, gays, and Westerners
o Not saying "openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors"-as opposed to the constant warmongering that glides so effortlessly off of Obama's tongue
o Believing in "any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another"-rather than viewing those who uphold liberty the same as those who stone women for being gang raped
o Having nuclear weapons and putting other countries at great risk-like when the Soviets whupped our butts in the Cold War and turned the rest of the world Communist
o Defining our relationships with terrorist-sponsoring regimes by our "differences"-we say tomato, they say tomahto; we say Israel has a right to exist, they say dropkick Israel into the sea
o Having the gall to use our military-Obama quotes Thomas Jefferson: "The less we use our power the greater it will be"; note to Obama: not using it at all does not mean we are therefore infinitely powerful
In the meantime, Palin said, "Those of us so proud to be Americans acknowledge that no, we're not a perfect nation, but never, never do we have to apologize for being proud of our country. When [Reagan] fought socialism and any sort of tyranny that he knew would ruin us, he stood strong on his knowing that the framework for positive change was freedom. America is the greatest nation on earth, because our foundation is freedom." Sometimes simpler is better-ya know?
Obama scolded us for:
o Viewing Islamic countries as hostile to American ideals-he added that the dancing in the streets after 9/11 was actually their version of Cinqo de Mayo; "Once de Septiembre," I think we'd call it here
o Citing verses in the Koran that incite violence against nonbelievers-as opposed to the ones that talk about Bambi and blue jays
o Seeing Iraq as a "patron" rather than a "partner"-because Iraq was on the brink of ousting Hussein and establishing parliamentary elections just as we sent our foot soldiers into Baghdad and got in the way!
o Believing that some forms of government are superior to others-though admittedly, I haven't noticed too many ethnocracies or kleptocracies flourishing lately
o Believing we should have a say in "which nations hold nuclear weapons"-because Nicolas Sarkozy could turn out to be as crazy as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; who knows?
Meanwhile Palin snapped, "Screw political correctness. Be loud and strong. [Don't] shy away from the tough issues. Reagan's ideas were the right ideas, and all we have to do is look back at his national security record to know that. Remember how refreshing it was with his outrageous directness that Americans loved and praised and deserved? His vision for the Cold War? We win, they lose. Why, today, do we feel we have to pussyfoot around our troublesome foes, the terrorists who still seek to kill Americans and destroy our allies? Terrorists are still dead set against us and are set on destroying Israel. It is war over there so it will not be war over here, and it had better still be our mission that we win, they lose! Some in the press want to put anybody who dares speak up back in their place. Those are the folks that want to tell me, want to tell you, to siddown and shuddup. We will not do so." Drill, baby, drill!
Over on camel terrain, Obama lectured us with a straight face that America and Islam share principles of "tolerance and the dignity of all human beings"; that "throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality"; and that "Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance"; all of which is kinder than what Al-Jazeera regularly has to say about the religion in their nightly broadcast.
Up in moose country, Palin mused, "What we're being fed today, it seems, is a steady diet of select, misrepresented news. Why is it, considering how fast the world is spinning, and world-changing events that go on all over the globe, that it's the same, big three, supposedly competing networks that have the same news content every night, and virtually the same exact viewpoint being spewed night after night after night?" Go Aces!
Given the choice between (1) off-the-cuff remarks in an Anchorage auditorium by a hockey mom and former VP candidate who understands that rejection of liberty precludes our enemies' being on the same moral plane as us; that courage in recognizing and labeling evil is needed to fight it; and that tossing around flowery language won't reform an opposition who refuses to change; and (2) a scrupulously photographed, eloquently written (by someone else) bag of what could generously be called bromides, clichés, and chestnuts if they weren't so blatantly wrongheaded-I know which I'd choose.
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