Heat from the street
Sen. John McCain used the term "the American street" in a low-key but very strong speech February 8 in Munich. As a result, McCain, not a traditional favorite in Internet commentary, has emerged as something of a hero. European statements that "seem to endorse pacifism in the face of evil and antisemitic recidivism in some quarters, provoke an equal and opposite reaction" in the United States, McCain said. This American street, he continued, strongly supports disarming Iraq, "accepts the necessity of an expansive American role in the world to ensure we never again wake up to another September 11th, [and] is perplexed that nations with whom we have long enjoyed common cause do not share our urgency and sense of threat in time of war." He said a minority of European leaders, by using anti-Americanism to achieve European unity, are acting like the Arab governments that use anti-Americanism to divert their people from problems at home. The endless international inspections that France and Germany call for "are unlikely to work any better than did the Maginot line" in World War II.
McCain talked about the cost of not confronting Hitler and al Qaeda earlier. Munich was the perfect place to deliver a speech on the obvious theme of appeasement and the more subliminal theme of political cowardice. It was a potent talk missed by the mainstream media. You can link to it from GlennReynolds.com.
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