by Tom Toburn

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Utah today, declared in his strongest defense yet of President Bush’s policies, that “detractors are unaware of the fears we face from these crazy guys, these (terrorists and terrorist leaders) are dangerous fascists, not puppy dogs! I’m not even convinced that some detractors (referring to Democrats running for seats against Republicans in Congress) realize that they are anti-American. These are members of the ‘always blame America first’ crowd, who wants us to give up our nuclear weapons, and give them to al Qaeda, and to let them bomb us. Why would (Democrats) support this notion? I do not know. Have (Democrats) always been anti-American? Maybe. Have these critics (Democrats) always wanted to just give terrorists food and shelter and leave them unpunished for their crimes? Probably. But that may be for later generations and later administrations to fully understand.”

In response, Senate Minority leader Harry Reid limply offered, “Who the fuck is he talking about? Has he been visiting mental patient wards, or is he trying to reflect the views of opponents in some real place real people know about?” But polls continue to show a plurality of voters support Bush’s vision of a revitalized Middle East when asked if they prefer this to more deadly terror attacks in the future.