The Sunshine Empire

I’ve been derelict in my duties to this blog the last couple of days for a variety of reasons. On Saturday I nearly froze to death, in Florida, as my dad and I worked to build the walls of a house for Habitat for Humanity in St. Augustine. During the Sunday political shows the big event was Vice President Biden going head to head on different shows with former Vice President Dick Cheney. I found the interview with Cheney telling because ABC actually used Biden’s attacks on Cheney earlier on Meet The Press right to the former VP. Cheney I’m sure is playing hatchet man for George W. Bush while he plays the nice and uninterested former President. His arguments rang hollow when faced with his agreement on the Afghan surge, and his administration’s mirandizing of Richard Reid for the same thing the Christmas underwear bomber did. But his full throated agreement with the Obama surge was telling of the curious place most conservatives find themselves.

As President Obama noted in his question time with the GOP weeks ago, the Republicans have so demonized him that they risk looking weak themselves if they ever agree or compromise with him. When Obama finally made the moves to triple the force in Afghanistan, Republicans begrudgingly voiced their agreement. Although they noted they didn’t like the way he gave the speech in which he did exactly what they wanted. Much like them sitting on their hands as he discussed all the taxes he lowered, Republicans dead set against him have to seem slightly bothered by the very things they state they are dedicated to. But watching CNN this morning they were reporting that the large offensive in Helmand province is having success in forcing the Taliban out. The Taliban’s #2 was arrested in Karachi, and Obama’s push in Helmand combined with the drone attacks that Republican Presidential nominee John McCain was against is forcing a pincer move on the enemy. This strategy seems to be forcing the Taliban into Pakistani cities and has them on the run. Without these moves we’d still be in the crumbling situation the Bush administration left.

The radical right is repeating the dangerous political distractions that they reveled in during the ’90′s. Much like Cheney did, once this dangerous mess caused by Bush is cleaned up, Republicans will use their reflexive logic to give George W. Bush credit. It will be like they crashed and totaled the car, then take credit for thinking to grab the CD case before it was towed.