The President's speech last night was a tonic, but I must say I fault him for not giving it earlier --before Murtha & his ilk had opportunity to raise the voice of defeatism to a fever-pitch.
I also regret his not defending the Patriot Act explicitly, rather than hoping that if the speech is well-received, the Senate will do the right thing. Do these guys in the Senate not remember Zaccarias Moussawi --the so-called 20th hijacker? The FBI was onto him prior to 9/11, and perhaps the attack would have been thwarted had the P.A. been in effect then. The name José Padilla mean anything to anyone? The Buffalo al-Qaeda ring? How do we think these and many other plots were foiled, if not for the Patriot Act, which the Senate is going to let die in two weeks?
Here's remedial help for myth-busting about the Patriot Act. (No one is interested in the shameful number of Danielle Steele novels you've checked out of the library.) Here's how the FBI thinks the sunset of P.A. will affect its ability to protect you.
