AS most of my readers know, we’re presently in a saber-rattling bout with the North Korean regime over their desire to construct nuclear weapons. For those who were unaware, the story can be found here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_nkorea

For what it’s worth, I don’t disagree with President Obama here. We cannot allow an unstable man like Kim Jong-Il to obtain nuclear weapons capability. This would be a danger to democracy and liberty everywhere, particularly in Japan, America, and, most notably, South Korea.

In other news, Senators McCain and Lieberman have introduced a resolution demanding that America—and, of course, the president—take a harder line in defense of the people of Iran, who are calling for a free and fair election for their president. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently claimed a landslide victory in the Iranian presidential elections. Of course, he never bothered to count the votes. The story is below:

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48753851-senators-lieberman-mccain-on-iran-resolution#

All of this sounds awfully familiar. Where could we have possibly heard that Iran and North Korea would become a severe problem and an amalgamated threat to freedom before the close of the decade?

“Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.  Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th.  But we know their true nature.  North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.

Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.

Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror.  The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade.  This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens -- leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children.  This is a regime that agreed to international inspections -- then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.

States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.”

Oh, that’s right. This came from President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, otherwise known as the “Axis of Evil” speech. Bush was criticized as a “warmonger” and was absolutely lambasted in the liberal media for saying the above. He was charged with foreign policy ineptitude in the court of public opinion, and the Left said that he was full of nonsense.

Now, here we are, seven years later, and those same people on both the Left and the Right are left saying everything except the one concise phrase that sums up the whole situation: “Oops. I guess Bush was right.”

Readers, a couple weeks ago, I posted a blarticle that begged the question, “Why is it that we only notice that someone was right after it’s already too late?” Here, America did just that. Former President Bush said something that nobody wanted to hear, something that nobody wanted to admit, and something that nobody wanted to face. And he turned out to be right on the money.

It is literally saddening to me, but I’m certain that within a span of a couple of months, President Obama will give his own version of the “Axis of Evil” speech. It will be watered down. There will be little or no mention of weapons of mass destruction. The language will likely not use charged words like “evil” or “axis;” that is Republican language. But the overall message will be the same: North Korea and Iran are threats to liberty and to democracy. The world will not be safe with these regimes in power. And President Obama will be hailed as a visionary for his speech. He will be called “bold,” and “incisive.” And the media will drown him in wet, sloppy kisses.

But all the while, thinking Americans will be left with three immortal words on their lips. Three words that will pain many Americans and humiliate many more.

“Bush was right.”

“I told you so!”

“You did not!”

“Yes, I did!”

“It never happened.”

“Yes, it DIIIIIDDD!! It did, it did, it did!!”

Believe it or not, this exchange did not take place between two under-five-year-old siblings in front of my cash register. It is taking place between the staff of two of America’s best-known politicians.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/09/rove-calls-biden-liar-bush-aides-challenge-vps-boasts/

Vice President Joseph Biden claimed, on two occasions, to have privately (or semi-privately) spoken with former President George W. Bush during Bush’s tenure in the White House and was, shall we say, candid about his feelings on the Iraq War and general policy.

Meanwhile, former Bush aides are claiming that the two occasions never took place.

My big question: so friggin’ what?

I look at the exchanges, and I chuckle. I know that former President Bush is a good sport, and he has a good sense of humor (if not always the quickest tongue). I also know that Vice President Biden is blunt, clever, and (based on what I know of his career) more-than-less genuine. The two exchanges strike me as completely plausible. I would believe that the two men might, indeed, have met based on Biden’s experience in the Senate and Bush’s good nature.

If the exchanges didn’t happen, then the Vice President exaggerated a story or two to make a point. Big deal. Who among us hasn’t done that? Granted, it may seem a bit unprofessional for the Vice President of the United States to employ this particular storytelling technique, but, like any politician, statements given by him must be taken with a grain of salt.

Now, my regular readers may notice a disproportionate amount of slack cut towards Vice President Biden even going back to the VP debates during the campaign. That’s because, simply put: I like Joe Biden. I will readily admit that, although I may completely disagree with him on numerous issues, I am able to follow his logic and generally respect his opinion. The Vice President remains one of my favorite currently-serving Democrats. That’s my little disclaimer.

I can’t claim to speak for former President Bush, but I can’t help but think that he finds this whole thing absurd. In the grand scheme of things: who gives a damn who said what, when? This feud needs to end. It was stupid for it to ever begin. If the Vice President invented a story, then he was merely making a point and keeping audiences interested. If it actually happened, former Bush staffers are having a bad reaction to the idea that they didn’t know every little detail of what happened over the course of an eight-year period.

Guys, it’s time to move on and get to governing. Let’s let this media-exaggerated feud die while I still respect both of you.  

With tomorrow’s historic events just about ready to jump the gate, and the end of the 43^rd presidency just as close, I feel an odd mix of reflective sadness and dare I say…hope.

I will miss President Bush. While this will not surprise any of my regular readers, much of America doesn’t quite understand that emotion. I believe, with all my heart, that President Bush is a patriot and a great American. And I believe that he did his absolute best to act in what he believed to be the best interests of America’s citizens and America’s posterity. While I may not have always agreed with the President, I have always given him moral support and the benefit of the doubt.

We have all seen outright hateful bumper stickers, buttons, t-shirts, etc. that attack the 43^rd President. And, I’ll admit, I came dangerously close to adopting a similar stance towards President-Elect Obama.

I was not alone. Many disenfranchised Republicans are reverting to a base sense of vitriol that has permeated too much of America for the past several years. We, as a Party, and as Americans, must rise above this sort of knee-jerk reaction.

I did not vote for the President-Elect. Nor do I plan on voting for his reelection in 2012. However, I will resist the temptation to harbor specific animosity towards President Obama straight out of the box. I know that I am above that.

America has nothing to fear but the politics of hate.

Hatred gets us nowhere. And, I suppose, until 2012, I am now a de-facto ‘Republican for Obama.” As should we all be, if we plan on surviving as a Party and as a Nation.

I am not afraid to pledge my moral support, if not my political support, to the incoming President. Remember, readers, Barack Obama is now the President of the United States, and that means the ENTIRE United States. Whether or not you voted for him. I may disagree with him vehemently on a massive cadre of issues, but I will grant him all of the following, and I expect all Republicans and Conservatives to do the same:

1)   I will give the 44^th President the benefit of the doubt. Even when I disagree—and that’s bound to happen frequently—I will trust that he believes that he is acting in America’s best interests.

2)   I will not engage in any active show of contempt or disloyalty to America’s new Commander-in-Chief. Republicans must take a cue from the British. We must now act as “Loyal Opposition,” never as enemies or antagonists.

3)   I will maintain respect for the Office of the President of the United States, and for the man charged by the electorate with executing that office.

4)   I will never allow loyalty to my new President or my new Republican-minority Government to dissuade me from what I believe is right. I am a conservative, and I will always act as such.

5)   I will, in my heart, wish only the best for President Obama. I will not wish him ill.

For now, friends, we should all temporarily take up the “Republicans for Obama” mantle. I wish the new President all the luck in the world… until the 2012 election, that is.