Fred Thompson, the newest addition to the Republican stable of presidential candidates, usually makes more horse sense when he's reading from a "Law and Order" script than when he's spouting memorized Republican talking points.
After the Osama bin Laden tape surfaced, Thompson was quoted as saying that bin Laden is "more symbolism than anything else."
Well, Freddie, me boy, you may be the genius of the year, and solved the long standing riddle of why George Bush abruptly halted the "dead or alive" hunt for bin Laden.
According to reports, we had bin Laden in our sights and it would not have taken a Dead-eye Dick or Annie Oakley to get the man.
But no! Bush was in a race to veer off the bin Laden course in Tora Bora, to switch and bait us into Iraq and conquering Saddam Hussein.
UN inspectors were ordered out of Iraq, Colon Powell went before the United Nations armed with a bottle full of lies, soldiers were pulled out of Afghanistan and we invaded Iraq.
In a thrice Bush had us up to our arses in alligators and in a mired swamp turned quagmire that would soon become a whirlpool of quicksand sucking up our blood, spirit and money.
Some people wondered out loud: Why?
Most did not wonder and took the self-proclaimed War President at his word that this was the way to go. The few dissenting whispers were drowned out by incessant sabre rattling and chanting of Saddam is linked to 9/11 and "if we don't git 'em in Iraq, we'll be fightin' 'em here."
"But, bin Laden was behind the 9/11 attacks," we tried to shout over the ever increasing crescendo of War on Iraq! War on Iraq! War on Iraq!
So, here we are today, bogged down in Iraq while bin Laden remains free and is sending us video tapes made in an undisclosed location, and we're still saying: Why?
Why did George Bush let bin Laden escape? Why hasn't he been caught?
Then in walks good ol' boy Freddie on his first day of campaigning in his pursuit of the presidency and unwittingly gave us the answer: "Osama bin Laden is more symbolism than anything else."
Osama bin Laden is George Bush's own private martyr, or symbol. The "evil Muslem fundamentalist" martyr is in a symbiotic relationship with the "malevolent Christian fundamentalist" martyr.
Each has set himself up as a martyr to his cause, yet neither is willing to go into a real battle and die for that cause.
Bin Laden hides in caves; Bush hides in airplanes 50,000 feet above the Earth, or behind walls protected by the military and Secret Service.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
