Whose Political Motivations?Are Democrat Charges of Political Motivation, Themselves Politically Motivated?

(updated edit for readablity 080304101132-bit)

I’m a little annoyed with Drudge this morning.

He seems taken with the idea that the info that raised our alert levels over the weekend was in fact a couple years old… Some of it pre-dating the original 9/11 attacks. The implication of his coverage appears to be that this is old stuff and not worthy of our attention, and that therefore this stuff was politically motivated.

He posts headlines from the NYT and WaPo, two of the farthest left-leaning papers in the country, who are doing everything they can to see Kerry in the WH….

“Much of the information that led authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the NY and D.C. areas was 3 or 4 years old… NYT Tuesday Page One Splash To Claim: Intelligence and law enforcement officials ‘had not yet found concrete evidence that a terror plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way’… WASH POST Page One: Alerts Stemmed from Pre-9/11 Acts /// ‘There is nothing right now that we’re hearing that is new,’ said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. ‘Why did we go to this level?… I still don’t know that’… POST: ‘Most of the information was compiled prior to the Sept. 11 attacks and that there are serious doubts about the age of other, undated files’…

Certainly, this is how the leftie Blogs are reading it this morning. I guess they’re getting hungry for something to chew on… and like the rabid dogs they are, they go after anything that moves.

However, let’s try the real world, shall we?

I would point out that the 9/11 attacks, too, were in the planning stages for many years. AQ has set itself in a long, drawn out terror war… one of long-term attrition, long before the US and the remainder of the west recognized it for the threat it is.

Given the mindset of AQ, those plans as have been discovered should be taken more seriously than most 4 year old plans. AQ targets symbols. That’s what terrorism is about. The buildings named in the intel we learned of over the weekend certainly falls directly in line with this thinking.

Contrary to what the Democrats are claiming, we have no way of knowing these targets are now off the table. Matter of fact, if past be prologue, we must assume they’re still targets, and still in danger.

AQ is of the impression time is on their side. They figure to wait a good amount of time between attacks. We know they’re coming, we know what they’re about in terms of targets.  The only question to my mind, is “when”.

You’re going to see, over the next several days, a lot about how this alert raising was politically motivated.  Such charges are themselves politically motivated, and one supposes, are to be expected from a group of people who are backing the likes of Kerry; They have little else to run on, than to attack anything that moves. These political attacks don’t have to make sense, they just have to be noisy. Kerry’s complaints seem to fit right into that scenario.

However, the facts Kerry’s people would like you to forget are that AQ has never regarded terrorism as a short-term occupation. Again; the 9/11 attacks were years in the making. We know that once a target is set, it remains an objective until it’s no longer standing. The only thing to responsible people could do with this info was to act according to the idea that these places are still objectives, simly because we have no indication that these targets are off the table, as it were. This is particularly true, given this guy they captured had these files in his computer as active.

And it should be pointed up; Can you imagine the howling from the Kerry camp had the administration not acted as such? They’d claim Bush wasn’t doing enough…

Bush and his people are figuring, apparently correctly, that the complaints from the Kerry camp are going to continue no matter what is done or not done. This is, after all, an election year. Gaia forbid (snicker) that they should ever say anything a Republican President does is correct at any time, much less during an election cycle.

Oh, speaking of which, our intel suggests that AQ wants to strike again prior to the election, ala Madrid. And we have a list of targets, now. And Bush reacts according to this info.

Sounds like a good plan to me.
It could be called a responsible action.
One could say it’s good leadership.
One might even say Presidential.

Meanwhile, a hopeless challanger for the office of President, along with his party, desperate because their own convention gave them no boost in polling numbers at all, but rather helped the afore-mentioned incumbant, and who are out there hunting for an issue to run on, are claiming that a responsible action by the current administration is politically motivated?  Whoda thunkit?

Pass the salt, please.

Dodd Harris has more…

Update: Dodd adds even more: Look at the people Pakistan picked up just today, based on this ‘old and non-current’ info.

Good Job, Dodd, Keep goin’, man…

(updated edit for readablity 080304101132-bit)

I’m a little annoyed with Drudge this morning.

He seems taken with the idea that the info that raised our alert levels over the weekend was in fact a couple years old… Some of it pre-dating the original 9/11 attacks. The implication of his coverage appears to be that this is old stuff and not worthy of our attention, and that therefore this stuff was politically motivated.

He posts headlines from the NYT and WaPo, two of the farthest left-leaning papers in the country, who are doing everything they can to see Kerry in the WH….

“Much of the information that led authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the NY and D.C. areas was 3 or 4 years old… NYT Tuesday Page One Splash To Claim: Intelligence and law enforcement officials ‘had not yet found concrete evidence that a terror plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way’… WASH POST Page One: Alerts Stemmed from Pre-9/11 Acts /// ‘There is nothing right now that we’re hearing that is new,’ said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. ‘Why did we go to this level?… I still don’t know that’… POST: ‘Most of the information was compiled prior to the Sept. 11 attacks and that there are serious doubts about the age of other, undated files’…

Certainly, this is how the leftie Blogs are reading it this morning. I guess they’re getting hungry for something to chew on… and like the rabid dogs they are, they go after anything that moves.

However, let’s try the real world, shall we?

I would point out that the 9/11 attacks, too, were in the planning stages for many years. AQ has set itself in a long, drawn out terror war… one of long-term attrition, long before the US and the remainder of the west recognized it for the threat it is.

Given the mindset of AQ, those plans as have been discovered should be taken more seriously than most 4 year old plans. AQ targets symbols. That’s what terrorism is about. The buildings named in the intel we learned of over the weekend certainly falls directly in line with this thinking.

Contrary to what the Democrats are claiming, we have no way of knowing these targets are now off the table. Matter of fact, if past be prologue, we must assume they’re still targets, and still in danger.

AQ is of the impression time is on their side. They figure to wait a good amount of time between attacks. We know they’re coming, we know what they’re about in terms of targets.  The only question to my mind, is “when”.

You’re going to see, over the next several days, a lot about how this alert raising was politically motivated.  Such charges are themselves politically motivated, and one supposes, are to be expected from a group of people who are backing the likes of Kerry; They have little else to run on, than to attack anything that moves. These political attacks don’t have to make sense, they just have to be noisy. Kerry’s complaints seem to fit right into that scenario.

However, the facts Kerry’s people would like you to forget are that AQ has never regarded terrorism as a short-term occupation. Again; the 9/11 attacks were years in the making. We know that once a target is set, it remains an objective until it’s no longer standing. The only thing to responsible people could do with this info was to act according to the idea that these places are still objectives, simly because we have no indication that these targets are off the table, as it were. This is particularly true, given this guy they captured had these files in his computer as active.

And it should be pointed up; Can you imagine the howling from the Kerry camp had the administration not acted as such? They’d claim Bush wasn’t doing enough…

Bush and his people are figuring, apparently correctly, that the complaints from the Kerry camp are going to continue no matter what is done or not done. This is, after all, an election year. Gaia forbid (snicker) that they should ever say anything a Republican President does is correct at any time, much less during an election cycle.

Oh, speaking of which, our intel suggests that AQ wants to strike again prior to the election, ala Madrid. And we have a list of targets, now. And Bush reacts according to this info.

Sounds like a good plan to me.
It could be called a responsible action.
One could say it’s good leadership.
One might even say Presidential.

Meanwhile, a hopeless challanger for the office of President, along with his party, desperate because their own convention gave them no boost in polling numbers at all, but rather helped the afore-mentioned incumbant, and who are out there hunting for an issue to run on, are claiming that a responsible action by the current administration is politically motivated?  Whoda thunkit?

Pass the salt, please.

Dodd Harris has more…

Update: Dodd adds even more: Look at the people Pakistan picked up just today, based on this ‘old and non-current’ info.

Good Job, Dodd, Keep goin’, man…

Another chuckle came today in the form of a post from blogoSFERICS , who refers to the small jump in polling numbers for John/John, following their convention, as a “Bunny Hop”

Chief Wiggles: Operation Give DESPERATELY needs your help!

update:

With a hat tip to Billy Beck, here’s some added info about what’s going on here.

That appears to be the plan republicans are now pushing for, for a second term of Bush, says the DRUDGE REPORT

I would hope to see support from the libertarians on this one… it’s been a battle cry of theirs for years, now.  I can’t imagine too many Republicans would object, either.

Kerry will… at his peril, I think.

Boortz does it again:

Says Neal:

“By now we all have heard the wonderful, heart-warming story of Licorice The Hamster.  It was Vanessa Kerry’s hamster.  Or maybe it was Alexandra’s hamster.  Who really cares.  The point is, Licorice got knocked into the water — while in his cage, no less — during a Kerry family outing some years ago.  The brave John Kerry fished Licorice from the briny deep and revived Licorice with some hamster CPR.  Nice.  I had hamsters when I was a kid, so I appreciate John Kerry’s efforts.

Now … for the insensitive part.  Isn’t it nice that Massachusetts has at least one U.S. Senator who isn’t afraid to make a water rescue?  What does it say about the Senior Senator from Massachusetts that while his junior colleague would risk life and limb for a 1 ounce rodent, Ted Kennedy wouldn’t lift a finger to rescue a young lady from a car he had just driven into the water!

Can we surmise that if it had been John Kerry instead of Ted Kennedy driving Mary Jo home that night 35 years ago she might be alive today?  Probably so.”

(Yello Lives!)

USELESS TOADY, the anti-Coulter paper was forced to admit yesterday:

“Last week’s Democratic convention boosted voters’ impressions of John Kerry but failed to give him the expected bump in the head-to-head race against President Bush, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds.”

And there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Zell Miller in the WSJ

“Today, it’s the Democratic Party that has mastered the art of division and diversion. To run for president as a Democrat these days you have to go from interest group to interest group, cap in hand, asking for the support of liberal kingmakers. Mr. Kerry is no different. After Hollywood elites profaned the president, he didn’t have the courage to put them in their place. Instead, he validated their remarks, claiming that they represent “the heart and soul of America.”

…
Worst of all, Sens. Kerry and Edwards have not kept faith with the men and women who are fighting the war on terror–most of whom come from small towns and middle-class families all over America. While Mr. Bush has stood by our troops every step of the way, Messrs. Kerry and Edwards voted to send our troops to war and then voted against the money to give them supplies and equipment–not to mention better benefits for their families. And recently Mr. Kerry even said he’s proud of that vote. Proud to abandon our troops when they’re out in the field? I can hear Harry Truman cussing from his grave.

RTWT. It’s worth it.

Kerry’s own words allow me to issue the shortest BitsBit I’ve ever realeased, in ten years of doing these columns.

Prepare for the multi-media experience.

KARE-TV in Minneapolis, St. Paul is reporting:

“St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly broke Democratic Party ranks on Sunday to announce his support for President Bush’s re-election.

‘George Bush and I do not agree on a lot of issues,’ Kelly said in a statement. ‘But in turbulent times, what the American people need more than anything is continuity of government, even with some imperfect policies.’

Kelly, who said he’s remaining a Democrat, said the economy is going in the right direction. ‘There’s no reason to believe a change of course will produce better or quicker results,’ he said.

And the mayor said the United States will bring the troops home from Iraq a lot sooner if ‘we don’t try to bring in a whole new leadership team to run the show. We must stay the course.’ ”

My compliments to the Mayor.
He’s done both his city, and the country a service.

AP says

In an unprecedented action, the government named these specific buildings in densely populated areas as potential targets:

_Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank buildings in Washington.

_Prudential financial in northern New Jersey

AP says:

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. security alert level in Washington will be raised to ‘high’ from ‘elevated,’ CNN reported Sunday.
The raising of the alert level in the U.S. capital will be announced shortly by Department of Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, the network said. “

That’s on the book as being at 2pm today. More as I find.

John Kerry has been on both sides of Iraq. And rather than go on writing, I think I’ll let Mr. Kerry show you in his own words.

WMP Version
RealPlayer Version

Captain Ed notes this morning that the reason they were at Wendy’s was a photo-op, and nothing more.
Says Ed:

“Those of us who covered John Kerry’s stumble with the Marines at Wendy’s on Friday missed a more significant story, one which highlights the phoniness behind the Kerry/Edwards “men of the people” act. ”

The report picks up from there:

“While Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, and their families were having a “lite” lunch at Wendy’s in the Town of Newburgh Friday, drumming up local support right after the national convention in Boston, their real lunches were waiting on their bus.
…
The gourmet meals to go included shrimp vindallo, grilled diver sea scallops, prosciutto, wrapped stuffed chicken, and steak salad. The meals came to about $200.”

Ed comes back with:

“I have nothing against Shrimp Vandallo or scallops, or even spending $200 on a lunch from time to time. But making a big show of eating at Wendy’s because it’s an Edwards family tradition, making it a photo op for the campaign, all the while knowing you have a $200 lunch waiting for you … that demonstrates a level of artifice that is not only shameful, but dreadfully clumsy. If nothing else, it shows that Kerry can’t even fake populism effectively.”

Well, you’re right as far as you go Ed, but I think you miss an important point.

The original story that Michelle Malkin linked from the NYPost points out that all the Marines in question serve at nearby Stewart AFB.

Think about it, if you’re running in Kerry’s mindset, what better way to play that up that a photo op with Kerry chatting it up with Military types, in a casual situation? What better way to do that than to park your butt at a Wendy’s just outside the base?

Looks like we’ve caught Kerry in another truth twisting session, gang…

Captain Ed notes this morning that the reason they were at Wendy’s was a photo-op, and nothing more.
Says Ed:

“Those of us who covered John Kerry’s stumble with the Marines at Wendy’s on Friday missed a more significant story, one which highlights the phoniness behind the Kerry/Edwards “men of the people” act. ”

The report picks up from there:

“While Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, and their families were having a “lite” lunch at Wendy’s in the Town of Newburgh Friday, drumming up local support right after the national convention in Boston, their real lunches were waiting on their bus.
…
The gourmet meals to go included shrimp vindallo, grilled diver sea scallops, prosciutto, wrapped stuffed chicken, and steak salad. The meals came to about $200.”

Ed comes back with:

“I have nothing against Shrimp Vandallo or scallops, or even spending $200 on a lunch from time to time. But making a big show of eating at Wendy’s because it’s an Edwards family tradition, making it a photo op for the campaign, all the while knowing you have a $200 lunch waiting for you … that demonstrates a level of artifice that is not only shameful, but dreadfully clumsy. If nothing else, it shows that Kerry can’t even fake populism effectively.”

Well, you’re right as far as you go Ed, but I think you miss an important point.

The original story that Michelle Malkin linked from the NYPost points out that all the Marines in question serve at nearby Stewart AFB.

Think about it, if you’re running in Kerry’s mindset, what better way to play that up that a photo op with Kerry chatting it up with Military types, in a casual situation? What better way to do that than to park your butt at a Wendy’s just outside the base?

Looks like we’ve caught Kerry in another truth twisting session, gang…