"When good news is awful news," by Wes Pruden, is a must-read in its entirety. However, I'll do you a favor and pull out the most demoralizing and infuriating quote regarding the war in Iraq and the reaction of some of our elected (!) officials:
'Nevertheless and grudging or not, things are reported to be better than they used to be, and seem to be getting a little better every day. It's enough to make a partisan Democrat weep. Some are. Nancy Boyda of Kansas, a freshman in the House, was so unnerved by good news from the front that she stalked out of a committee hearing when a retired general described developments in Iraq as encouraging. Good news like that, she said, only "further divides the country." Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the Democratic majority House whip, was even more revealing: If things improve in Iraq, that would be "a real problem for us [Democrats]." '
No, Mr. Clyburn, you are wrong. Iraq improving is not a problem for any one. Period. It is a good thing for Iraqis, a good thing for our troops and a good thing for Americans. Your myopic view of our country, your ability to only see it in terms of blue and red (that is, the election map), has caused you to lose sight of what is truly of value. Freedom. Life. Liberty. Before our troops, the average Iraqi had none of those. Now there is at least hope - another value that was in short supply in the Saddam years.
As for Ms. Boyda, I can only hope that her constituents throw her out of office. Not because she is a democrat, but because she is, to be kinder than how I really feel about her, not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.
