Outrageous Outrage of the Day
Right wing bloggers and Fox News are freaking out (they always do it in unison) about a quote from President Obama in Bob Woodward’s new book “Obama’s Wars:”
‘We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever … we absorbed it and we are stronger.’ “
These continuing outrageous outrages are tediously predictable, but again, there’s absolutely nothing outrageous or offensive about the statement.
Obama’s point is clear: terrorist attacks, horrific though they may be, cannot and will not destroy America. And that seems pretty darned obvious — and accurate — to me.
In the Cold War, America really did face an existential threat; the Soviet Union possessed enough nuclear weapons to turn the entire planet into a charred ruin, many times over. Now that was a valid reason to be afraid.
Al Qaeda and their fellow travelers, on the other hand, may be able to commit mass murder, but they do not have the capability to pose a serious threat to America’s existence.
The right wing fear merchants are yelping about this statement because it hurts business when the President gives the rubes a reality check.