Brilliant, Democratic candidate Barack Obama maybe should  study  plain folk’s common sense. And, guess what, “Some dichos have classical or biblical roots”

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has accused George W. Bush of an “extraordinary politicization” of foreign policy, after the US leader implied Democrats want to appease terrorists.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Wilson)

Fr. Richard Neuhaus writes in the December issue of “First Things,” in his column titled The Public Square:”Remember the Kosovo War of 1996-1999. It turns out that, in the Albanian-dominated areas of the Balkans that had been conquered by the Ottoman Empire, there were, going back to the 17th century, thousands of Catholic Christians who nominally “converted” to Islam but continued to practice their faith surreptitiously.  Now these crypto-Catholics, as they are called, are out in the open and building and rebuilding, the churches in their villages.  For a long time, people visited priests secretly, and their baptisms were recorded in closely guarded registries, since there were several penalties for Muslims receiving Christian sacraments.  This resurgence of Christianity is probably not what Sandy Berger, the national security adviser at the time, had in mind when, on May 7, 1996, he spoke to the American Muslim Council, assuring them that PresidentClinton’s policy in Kosovo was in support of building “a bridge between the United States and the Muslim world.”  In the same speech, he said that international terrorism “is a problem many Americans mistakenly link to Islam.”  I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Berger is still baffled by how many Americans continue to make that mistake.  As recently reported, Mr. Berger, having put behind him the legal difficulties occasioned by his stealing classified documents, is foreign policy adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton.”

 It was  probably an omen or a sign ( from high above), that the Iraquis won the Asia Soccer League this weekend and, after hearing  newly appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown forcefully support President Bush and his policies, it sends a clear message to the doubters, purveyors of doom and gloom, and defeatists that frolick in the Democrats’ backyards…

And shame to the media that supports and echoes what these  self-interested representatives of the people say.  History will surely judge them, but in the meantime,  they jeopardize the work that must be finished. 

For President Bush, Prime Minister “Gordon Brown understands that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the security of our own countries; that failure in Iraq would embolden extremist movements throughout the Middle East; that failure in Iraq would basically say to people sitting on the fence around the region that al Qaeda is powerful enough to drive great countries like Great Britain and America out of Iraq before the mission is done. He understands that violence could spill out across the region, that a country like Iran would become emboldened.”

Obviously, the Prime Minister who belongs to an ideologically different political party from the President’s, gets it.  As he said, “We know we are in a common struggle, and we know we have to work together, and we know we’ve got to use all means to deal with it”, and added in closing, that “ these are values that he rightly says are universal. They’re the belief in the dignity of the individual, the freedom and liberty that we can bring to the world, and a belief that everyone — everyone — should have the chance of opportunity,…”one would think liberals in Congress who supposedly share the Labor Party’s socialistic  message, would be supportive,  if only, for the democratic aspirations of a struggling people.

Kudos for the Iraquis and  Thank you,President Bush.

In yesterday’s editorial in the Washington Post, The Phony Debate…”The decision of Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) to deny rather than nourish a bipartisan agreement is, of course, irresponsible. But so was Mr. Reid’s answer when he was asked by the Los Angeles Times how the United States should manage the explosion of violence that the U.S. intelligence community agrees would follow a rapid pullout. “That’s a hypothetical. I’m not going to get into it,” the paper quoted the Democratic leader as saying.”…..