“History will judge us, my friend”

Apparently, Senator from Virginia and turncoat Reaganite, opportunist extraordinaire Jim Webb, possibly the largest cranium in the US Senate, faced off with Momma’s boy Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press yesterday. I dunno, I haven’t watched Russert’s Democrat-lovefest since he had useless-ass John Kerry on the show to talk about different the world would be if we’d only had foresight to elect Kerry two years earlier instead of someone who could do the job without advice from Jabba the Kennedy.

Anyway, according to the Associated Press writer Calvin Woodward, Webb found it particularly easy to be the cool one for a change when his opponent is linguine-spined Lindsey Graham;

“Just wash your hands of Iraq,” an animated Graham said to the war critics, including the Democrat seated to his immediate right. “History will judge us, my friend.”

“It’s been a hard month, Lindsey,” Webb commiserated, wearing a tight smile. “You need to calm down, my friend.”

“Lindsey’s had a hard month,” Webb repeated.

“It ain’t about Lindsey having a hard month,” Graham snapped.

“History will judge us, my friend”. Just like History has judged the anti-Vietnam crowd of being wrong in the thirty-plus years since the end of that war. The dominos did fall in Southeast Asia, just like it was predicted – but it only cost a couple of million asian lives. As long as it’s only brown people, it doesn’t matter that much to the Democrats like Webb, I suppose.

Of course Associated Press couldn’t help but throw in a reference to Webb’s Vietnam service (while at the same time ignoring the fact that Graham is currently in the Army Reserves). And Graham, to his credit, confronted Webb on his observations and decision-making from his Ivory Tower;

“Have you been to Iraq?” Graham demanded.

“I’ve covered two wars as a correspondent,” Webb said. “I have been to Afghanistan as a journalist.”

Graham: “Have you been to Iraq and talked to the soldiers?”

Webb: “You know, you’ve never been to Iraq, Lindsey.”

The Republican pointed out he’s been there seven times.

“You know,” Webb said dismissively, “you can see the dog and pony shows. That’s what congressman do.

Dismissively. As if there was nothing to see in Iraq, that relying on the AP is probably a better idea than going to see for Webb’s self. Especially since Webb can’t seem to believe his lyin’ eyes anyway.

Graham tried to ease the tension. It didn’t work.

“Let’s—something we can agree on,” he said, placing his hand on Webb’s arm. “We both admire the men and the women in uniform. ”

“Don’t put political words in their mouth,” Webb interrupted.

The exchange ended with Graham praising the troops: “God bless them and let’s make sure they can win because they can.”

And Webb getting the final, combative word:

“I’ll let them judge what you said.”

The implication, of course, is that Webb speaks for the troops better than Graham. Webb references polls and history as if he reads either. History has always judged anti-war activists hashly. From the Civil War-era draft riots, through today’s misguided misfits of the anti-war, History has proven time-and-again that war is a necessary evil, and that avoiding war only leads to greater, more destructive wars.

The anti-war movement, and apparently the naive and unread James Webb, is simply an opportunistic movement to elect otherwise unelectable candidates to office. Someone as ignorant of history, and unwilling to seek his own answers to complex problems as Webb appears, never would have been elected to his office by a responsible constituency.

Category: Antiwar crowd, Foreign Policy, Historical, Media, Politics, Terror War