Bush feeling the heat

After it became clear that Scooter Libby would be indicted, the President was greeted with hecklers during a speech on terrorism:

Outside the Norfolk convention hall, a small group of anti-war protesters greeted him by chanting "Bush lies."

Inside, as the president spoke, a man on the second levelinterrupted him, yelling "War is terrorism. War is terrorism. Step downnow Mr President. Torture is terrorism."

Bush continued speaking as the man left the hall.

Mindful of the public anxiety, the president attempted to underscorethe danger the United States faces from terrorists, comparing leadersof al Qaida to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

If President Bush is going to compare the war on terrorism to World War II and the Cold War, then we have a right to compare his leadership style today with the leadership during those two important points in American history.  Franklin Roosevelt fought Hitler pragmatically, and worked closely with the Europeans -- called multilateralism, a policy that the Administration has yet to implement.  Today the Administration is more concerned with renaming everything that is French (freedom fries) than bringing the world onto our side in this fight against terrorism.

During the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy didn't bow to the fringe demands of the hawks that were a minority in his Administration.  Bush, on the other hand, is being influenced in his foreign policy by alleged criminals like Scooter Libby, while Kennedy was able to help the transatlantic alliance put pressure on the Soviets to disarm in Cuba.  Since Bush invaded Iraq, terrorist recruitment has gone up.

So if Bush wants to use history, we're all for it.  The people who actually read their history books know better.