DAYS

SPEAKING OF ORWELL...
This week, as mentioned in the above post, there's been a lot of focus on Ron Suskind's New York Times Magazine profile of George W. Bush. Last week, however, it was Kerry's turn in the pages of the NYT Magazine. From that lengthy piece most of us only heard the part about Kerry wishing to return to the days when terrorism was regarded like other "nuisances" such as gambling and prostitution, primarily because the Republican spin machine seized on the comment, twisted it and shouted it from the rooftops. In a piece titled, "Addicted to 9/11," Thomas Friedman offered up a thoughtful analysis of Kerry's statement and of the Republican reaction:

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I hear the president and vice president slamming John Kerry for saying that he hopes America can eventually get back to a place where “terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance.” The idea that President Bush and Mr. Cheney would declare such a statement to be proof that Mr. Kerry is unfit to lead actually says more about them than Mr. Kerry. Excuse me, I don’t know about you, but I dream of going back to the days when terrorism was just a nuisance in our lives.

Friedman's piece is most likely being derided by right-wing critics as unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky, pre-Sept. 11th thinking, but what's wrong with longing for a day when we aren't motivated solely by fear, the greatest weapon in this administration's vast arsenal of dirty tricks?

A fellow blogger over at Articulate Babble breaks down the Bush administration's Orwellian leanings here. 1984? Looks like Mr. Orwell, who is looking more the genius every day, was off by only about 20 years.