Republicans again prove they can't put up or shut up on national security

[More Than A Feeling]

Desperation is an ugly thing. It can lead people to say or do anything to avoid the consequences of their actions. People like the Republican congress and Republican bloggers who risked losing political face over the failure to find WMDs in Iraq. If it takes a strong to admit when they are wrong, it takes a completely insecure person to get nuclear secrets published online so they can have an microscopic chance at vindication.

Whence comes that insecurity? From the fact that the cheerleaders of the war literally have nothing else available to reassure them that they do know what they are talking about. Their perceived strength on national security is, and has always been, based in perception rather than reality. Ron Suskind wasn't reporting news when he published the notorious quote about the Bush administration creating reality for other people to study. He was just revealing the logical conclusion of the perennial political strategy of modern Republicans, "Talk tough, and hope you don't ever have to back it up."

It was inevitable that there would eventually come a Republican who believed his own press releases about his party's national security prowess, and decided to use it, no matter how unlikely the resulting strategy appeared. The latest surveys show that the American people are now beginning to see that tough talk is worth precisely nothing when it causes politicians to do and say outlandish things to prop up their own self-image, even when their efforts outright contradict that self-image.
The American people shouldn't be held hostage to the bruised egos of desperate Republicans.

[Redbear]

1. But Next Terror Attack Is America Back in Sheep Mode?

There is still so much fear out there driving votes. Even many of the people switching are just mad at this particular group. Im afraid they will fall for the same lines from Guiliani or McCain in 2008.

[More Than A Feeling]

2. Actually, another terror attack would be the final proof of

Republican failure, if everyone realizes that the definition of crazy is repeating an action and expecting different results. Bush would receive the lion's share of the blame, this time around.