Editorial in Philadelphia Inquirer...
Nothing to fear but Karl Rove himself
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
Karl Rove said in a speech on Jan. 20 that this year's midterm election will be about security. So you know it will be about fear.
It'd be nice to be able to take President Bush's chief political adviser at his word. Consider where we stand 52 months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Hurricane Katrina has shown that the government could not effectively manage a catastrophe whose place and time it knew "in advance." The same storm revealed that first responders are still unable to communicate because their radios are incompatible, "four years" after the inability of emergency agencies to speak with one another emerged as one of the signature failings of 9/11.
Meanwhile, questions remain about the efficacy of airport security. And just last month, members of the 9/11 commission, five Republicans and five Democrats who were tasked with investigating the tragedy, gave the government failing grades in its response to the terror threat.
So yes, a national conversation about security could hardly be more timely. But it would be naive to think that's what Rove meant when he addressed the Republican National Committee in Washington.
Experience tells us that with this crew, "security" is just a code word for fear. So this election will hinge on making people think terrorists are going to get 'em if they don't vote Republican. In a sense, you can't blame Rove. With apologies to Garrett Morris, fear "been beddy beddy good" to the White House. That's why Sept. 11 has become Team Bush's fallback position, its default reply to every hard question
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13745333.htm(I've never before posted here...sorry for any mistakes.)