President Bush's Speech

I'm finally watching the video of the speech. This is neither a concise summary, nor is it a recap of reactions, but a I did want to make one observation about one of the foreign policy points being made (since I can pause and write).

"So we have fought the terrorists across the earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake."

It is terribly unpopular to state this, but our pride and power are absolutely essential to protecting the lives of American citizens. One of the oldest reasons to fight is known as "the will to power." With neither pride nor power, the will to power is impossible to maintain, and without it, you transition from a country to a ripe target. Imagine three scenarios, a mugging of an old lady, (no power) the mugging of very muscular-looking pacifist (no pride), and the mugging of an armed Delta Force commando. You get the picture. So even if doesn't play well in middle America, I at least hope that you, my esteemed reader, can file this tidbit away for future consideration.