Thanks to the media!

Howard Fineman probably didn't mean this as a criticism of his profession, but it is:

Today, the whole world is hostage—not only to Iran’s fanaticism but, ironically, to America’s diminished power, and the president’s diminished standing, in the aftermath of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Personally, I don't think our power or our president is diminished so much as our people, by the constant second-guessing, negativity, pronouncements of failure from people who never did anything riskier than sharpening a pencil. Our military might is unprecedented, but our culture is sinking into a morass, while the class of scribblers who claim to tell us the news are doing all they can to make it worse. And what for? They don't like the president the people chose. He's not urbane and well-spoken. He's true to his wife. And he embarrasses them with his old fashioned sense of patriotism, and his talk about (ugh!) freedom, democracy and delivering of an oppressed people from a thirty year nightmare. How gauche!

Now, people like Fineman are realizing that we're facing the possibility of a terrorist state with nukes, and all he can do is whine about America's "diminished power." Maybe Jimmy Carter didn't deserve that Nobel after all. I wish we could just hand the problem to France and the rest of the EU, who were more interested in profiting from Saddam's depredations than standing up for peace and honor. A united West might have a chance of facing Iran down, but they are calculating that the rest of the world hates us so much that they'll side with the oil producers. How about the big names at Time, Newsweek and the major dailies being assigned to the Teheran beat?

Fineman writes: "A nuclear-weaponized Iran is every sane person’s worst nightmare," but then proceeds to blame Bush for the fact that the nation isn't behind him. Guess what, Howard. There's a reason for the saying that politics ends at the water's edge. You can't tear down the president for year after year and expect the public to jump up and salute when you realize that you need him. You've assisted in the forgetfulness of what 9/11 meant to this nation, and painting our soldiers and marines as feckless screwups. Now you're facing the beast and you're wondering why he has become so bold. I suggest you read Major Mike's response, and give our warriors a little credit.