Allow me to wax rhapsodic momentarily for this is truly the most beautiful time of year around here. The days are short, the mornings brisk, the colors of the leaves still brilliant. The drive to work is colored by the dawn, the hard purples and earthtones of the mountains giving way to the whites of snowcapped peaks and the soft grays, pinks and blues of the sky. It really is beautiful, so much nicer than summertime and of course to drive home to a house lit up for the holidays, makes me think that for a moment, I'm in a Thomas Kincaid painting.

In any event, seems like the President has given a rousing speech at Whitehall. This shouldn't surprise. President Bush has consistently demonstrated for 2.5 years now the ability to rise to the occasion and deliver important speeches when called upon. The rest of the time he may play the part of the laconic cowpoke and he may even enjoy a malapropism or outright mispronunciation but funny how he always seems to get it right in the clutch. (The left's apoplexy over the President's pronunciation of nuclear as nucular always amuses me. It's enough to make me want to pronounce it that way as well.) Sadly, Euros who are indulging in one of their perpetual episodes of infighting don't seem to understand or care about the import of the President's speech at Whitehall.

Already the stateside press, (no enablers of a Republican President) are hailing this speech as one which will stand the test of time. While I have yet to read the speech in it's entirety, from the snippets I've heard there are certainly memorable lines in there. Blasphemer that I am, more and more I can draw parallels between President Bush and Prime Minister Churchill during England's dark days in 1940-1941. Once again the President, expected by many to go to England and grovel for European assistance in the ongoing war, has instead come out swinging. While duplicitous, conniving frenchmen may sniff haughtily and effeminate leftist Brits may sneer, what they will never understand is the simple appeal that Bush holds for most Americans. Most Americans do not suffer from post-Colonial withdrawals and consequently we are not beset with the pretensions that so many Europeans suffer from. The need to constantly atone for perceived wrongs is something Catholics can appreciate as self-flagellation. However in the Euro psyche it translates to atonement for anything America does which might offend a former colony. The Euros must view us as a wayward teen who they constantly have to apologize to polite company for. What the Euros forget is that we already have the keys to the car and there's a new sheriff in town. Oooops there I go talking like George Bush. The beauty of having your own blog.

As I write this, reports coming out of Turkey indicate that Al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for bombing the British Consulate in Istanbul. I wonder, will this act of terror solidify British resolve now as it would have in 1940? Or has the fundamental makeup of English character been altered by the socialist experiment of the last 50 years. I choose to believe that the Brits resolve will only be hardened by this outrage. Perhaps now the President can reissue a call to the civilized West to unite in this fight, lest the threat of Islamofascism stop the spread of freedom and democracy. Here is a suggestion for a new campaign poster for just such a proclamation...



Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2004
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family