The angry and cynical sore losers on the left here in America, and their America-hating homies worldwide, will, of course, just not be placated. I knew that before President Bush even walked onto the floor of the House chamber. I mean, just the fact that such a person as George W. Bush exists is enough to send these people into paroxysms of unhinged, irrational rage. But if one is to be honest, one must acknowledge that the President is trying to reach out to our friends in the world community. It's just not in the servile, appeasing, and lackadaisical talk-a-lot-but-do-nothing way they'd like to see. Much of the world, and the left here at home, appears to resent the fact that our president is proactive about confronting our enemies. Put simply, President Bush understand what free nations are facing at this moment in history, and he is entreating our allies with something along the lines of: Come on people, there are some seriously troubling, iniquitous, and menacing forces gathering in the world right now and we all need to make a concerted and resolved effort to confront them now while we can! And of course, that's seen as arrogant American cowboy&trade politics.

Well, too bad. It's time for everyone to grow up, dispense with the overemotional reflexivity, and face the fact that America has real enemies who are going to be dedicated to our destruction no matter who is in the White House, or what policies they adopt. The Islamothug regime in Iran kidnapped American civilians when Carter was in office and 9/11 was planned while Clinton was in office. These hit men for Allah are on a holy mission that is not contingent on where the balance of power lies between right and left in America. George Bush sees that and wants to deal with it. And if someone like me, who never voted Republican and does not belong to any political party, can get behind this committed straight shooter of a leader when it comes to defending freedom, I don't see why others can't—well, at least grudgingly, if you're not a stark, raving leftist loon.

I personally don't care who is in the White House if they're going to do the job right. My trusty organic logic/calculation executor has come up with this conclusion: Without a strong and effective foreign policy, a domestic policy will cease to matter. We need both, but the former enables the latter. A nation that is willing to emply demonstrably inadequate, failed leftist policies against the phenomenon of a violent, expansionist, supremacist ideology that is utterly immune to the niceties of liberal democracy, is inviting more 9/11s, more Theo van Goghs, and more Madrid train bombings upon its citizens. The enemies of free societies, who these days are mostly Islamic as it turns out, must be hunted down ruthlessly, squeezed for intelligence, and locked up if captured, or liquidated if they cannot be captured. This is the only policy that has worked for Israel when its enemies refuse to rein in their murderers. Disincentive. This isn't crime we're dealing with, it's war. This is something our president understands, and it transcends right or left politics. Or at least it should if you care about preserving the sanctity of life and our hard-won liberty in the face of those who love death and totalitarianism.

While I was a bit dismayed by the President's cheerful demeanor about shelling out yet more money to the PA, and his apparent optimism about the supposedly forthcoming transformation of an entrenched Palestinian Arab culture of death into vibrant democracy, I think I understand where he's coming from. I think Ariel Sharon understands too. This is realpolitik. We'll see how far Arafat II advances his Israel-hating society six months from now, as he continues to treat the child-murdering lowlifes of Hamas and other Arab/Islamic terrorists as respectable diplomats and ambassadors. Heck, we'll probably see in one month from now.

Overall, though, I think the President demonstrated admirable aplomb in laying out some clear and reasonable points of foreign policy during last night's address, and one really can't say that he was at all arrogant about in presenting them (unless you're an embittered ideologue—then he was a Zionazi neocon fascist™). Here are some of my favorite highlights:

Saudi Arabia: The Qur'an may have been an acceptable governing document in the seventh century (yes, kuffar, the Qur'an is the law of the land in the KSA), but the civilized world has now moved on to real human rights protected by law, progress, and decency. Why not join us?

The government of Saudi Arabia can demonstrate its leadership in the region by expanding the role of its people in determining their future.

Egypt: Even though you take billions in USAID each year for not attacking Israel, while your state-run media routinely reviles and demonizes America and Americans, we'd still like to give you the benefit of the doubt. Have you perhaps considered dispensing with the one candidate presidential elections and rubber stamp parliament? Just a thought.

And the great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East.

Syria: You're on notice.

To promote peace in the broader Middle East, we must confront regimes that continue to harbor terrorists and pursue weapons of mass murder. Syria still allows its territory, and parts of Lebanon, to be used by terrorists who seek to destroy every chance of peace in the region.

You have passed, and we are applying, the Syrian Accountability Act, and we expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open the door to freedom.

Iran: You're on notice.

Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror, pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

I've got to tell you, kuffar, I never really liked a president until George W. Bush came along. I can look back in retrospect and feel awe and respect for Ronald Reagan, but I was a leftist agitprop-spewing Dead-head back then. I like Bush. Not as my buddy or even so much as the man (although I do respect and admire him as a man), but as a clear-minded, strong, and resolute leader who espouses and backs up values that resonate with me and many of my fellow Americans. Those values are primarily (although not limited to): belief in the formidable power of freedom, the conviction to call evil by its name, the ability and willingness to protect freedom, and the refusal to compromise any of these timeless principles for temporal gain. You can call him an arrogant cowboy, and call me a "chickenhawk" or a "Bushie," or whatever leftist groupspeak term is fashionable these days, because I support him—I don't care. He's an able leader who is successfully performing the job I elected him to do. I'd feel the same if he was a Democrat. Just get the job done right, and make sure that America stays America.

Back to the State of the Union: Finally, this moment... My goodness, when the grieving mother, whose son died in Fallujah bringing freedom to those who have never known it, hugged and handed his dogtags to the Iraqi women's rights leader, whose father was assassinated by Saddam Hussein's goons, as they both wept... Moments like these seem to follow this President around wherever he goes. Whether planned or not, they are all genuine and simple expressions of honest understanding between everyday people who share a love for freedom and who know pain, joy, and hope. And these are the moments that the human spirit will always be thirsty for.

Janet Norwood, right, of Pfugerville, Texas whose son was killed in Iraq last year, hugs Safia Taleb al-Suhail, leader of the Iraqi Women's Political Council, during the State of the Union address Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2005, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Americans recognize that spirit of liberty, because we share it. In any nation, casting your vote is an act of civic responsibility. For millions of Iraqis, it was also an act of personal courage, and they have earned the respect of us all.

One of Iraq's leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail. She says of her country, "We were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein. That was the real occupation. Thank you to the American people who paid the cost, but most of all to the soldiers."

Eleven years ago, Safia's father was assassinated by Saddam's intelligence service. Three days ago in Baghdad, Safia was finally able to vote for the leaders of her country. And we are honored that she is with us tonight.

And we have said farewell to some very good men and women, who died for our freedom and whose memory this nation will honor forever. One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, who was killed during the assault on Fallujah. His mom, Janet, sent me a letter and told me how much Byron loved being a Marine and how proud he was to be on the front line against terror. She wrote, "When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him, like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said, 'You've done your job, Mom. Now it is my turn to protect you.'"

Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom's defenders and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood's mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.

In these four years, Americans have seen the unfolding of large events. We have known times of sorrow and hours of uncertainty and days of victory. In all this history, even when we have disagreed, we have seen threads of purpose that unite us. The attack on freedom in our world has reaffirmed our confidence in freedom's power to change the world. We are all part of a great venture: to extend the promise of freedom in our country, to renew the values that sustain our liberty, and to spread the peace that freedom brings.

What a shame it is when spiteful antagonists feel the irrepressible need to drag these wonderful and historic moments for freedom down into the foul morass of bitter partisanship. How sad it is when Americans forget the exhilarating, almost outrageous sense of optimism and ambition that is born of freedom—a transcendent, uplifting hope which is woven into our heritage and written in the hearts of our soldiers, our heroes, our finest leaders, and our family and friends. Why is it that we forget that the shades of grey which define the differences between the members of a free society are as nothing when compared to the stark black and white that defines free and totalitarian societies? This is a time when we need to stand together, unified against the danger that threatens us all.

To all Americans—on our shores or beyond, wherever you come from—liberty and justice are still our standard. We will take all the help we can get when it comes to bringing these two simple rights anywhere in the world to those who seek it, but if need be, we'll also do it alone, however long it takes. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan well understood this sacred responsibility of a free and just people, and so does George W. Bush. What a pity that all of his reactionary detractors don't or won't.

Copyright ©2005 Patrick D. O'Brien: may not be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for brief quotes) without express permission of author

originally posted at Clarity & Resolve