I posted this in reply to a wing-nut who posted this as a comment on DemfromCT's diary today (the amusing Pundit Roundup). Some kind people asked me to release my reply as a diary. So here goes. Here is what Mr. Wingnut had to say and my reply is below the fold:
I never knew there were so many gullible white folks in the USA until I saw those lined up at the Obama trough of bull-shit. This man sounds exactly like all the con-men I interviewed during thirty years of Law Enforcment. No where on the Planet has there ever been such specious, nebulous nonsense spewed with so many willing to suck it up. Just who is this Crap Spewer? You can't answer, nor can any of his followers. I think he is a Trojan Horse ... I know he has emotional and spiritual ties to the Middle East and there are many reasons that he should be the target of a full FBI investigation. He will not protect this Country with his convoluted ideas of appeasing terrorists. Like GWB, or not, this Country has not been attacked since 9/11 and I, for one, don't give a damn as to how that was accomplished. National Security, not the economy is the most important issue in this election. Any economy is worthless if you can't go to a mall for fear of being blown-up.
9/11 was a one-off. Osama et al were actually very surprised that they pulled it off. The planning involved was absolutely remarkable, and required a system that allowed people to sign up for flight classes where they could tell the instructor that they didn't need training on how to land. There is a danger in making the truly exceptional the new normal. 9/11 is a really lousy basis for public policy. As shocking and heart-rending as it was, terrorists are simply not capable, never were capable, of inflicting existential harm on America. But what does create true long-lasting harm is to make our fears the basis for our policies. So the challenge for you, and for people like you, is to stop letting your fear of the unknown rule your brain.
There has been no further attack on the US since 9/11 partly because we are more alert but also because Al Qaeda simply doesn't have the organizational depth to carry out major attacks. And in evidence of this, just imagine a simple scenario where six suicide bombers blow themselves up in security lines at the busiest six airports in the country. Air transport would be shut down immediately. The economy would tank even worse than it is. And that is just six people with backpacks full of cooked-up household chemicals that have already been tested in Europe with some success. If they can't even do that, then it's fair to say that, 9/11 to one side, there has been no attack because there was never going to be one. Terrorism is something of a threat but not more so than organized crime, and we use the police to keep that under control. We don't go off invading Sicily.
But you also have to ask yourself this question. If Bush and his Party have been such effective leaders, in charge of the Congress and White House for most of the last 8 years, why is it do you think that so many bad things have happened? We have spent $2 trillion on a war that has now taken longer than World War 2. If Bush had told you back in 2003 that he wanted to spend that kind of money in Iraq, would you seriously have told him it was a great idea? Do you have kids? If so, they will be paying for it. Then we have the mortgage mess. You want less regulation? This is what it looks like. You like $4 gas? Remember when you were told that invading Iraq would give us much cheaper oil? That worked well, didn't it? The list goes on and on, my friend. What is about bridges falling down that you like so much? We are not spending anywhere near enough simply on repairing infrastructure. Driven on a freeway lately? They are falling apart. How's that working for you?
So when you talk about snake oil, you should look at the last 8 years. Bush and his friends have robbed you blind, man. They laugh at people like you. They think you are a sucker because you swallow all their fake patriotism while you take a beating economically. Hey, maybe you like living in a country whose economy is crumbling, whose citizens live shorter lives than Europeans, where square miles of housing are vacant but the executives of the mortgage peddling Companies get bonuses, but most people don't. And it's those simple, stubborn facts that ought to be more persuasive to you than empty slogans from Bush and his buddies.