The most dangerous President?
: Howard Dean is flailing like a loser. Here’s his latest slap at the President:
From Iraq to homeland security to public health, President Bush’s “reckless” habit of placing “ideology over facts” has resulted in “the most dangerous administration in my lifetime,” Democrat Howard Dean charged over the past two days.
The “most dangerous administration” in his lifetime?
This guy is so over-the-top that he makes Democrats have to defend George Bush.
The “most dangerous”?
OK, let’s gander at the Presidents since 1948, the year of Dean’s birth:
: Harry Truman. Dropped the first atomic bombs. Overaw the Korean War. I’d call that dangerous.
: Dwight Eisenhower. Military man. Many find that dangerous on its face.
: John F. Kennedy. Damned near bluffed his way into a couple of nuclear confrontations. Dangerous.
: Lyndon Johnson. Well, my generation thought he was mighty dangerous. He was going to send us to our deaths in Vietnam.
: Richard Nixon. In my book, the most dangerous. Tried to bring down the presidency.
: Gerald Ford. Dangerous mainly to himself.
: Jimmy Carter. Not dangerous. Not terribly effective, but not dangerous (except to interest rates).
: Ronald Reagan. Well, I won’t start a holy war on this one. Suffice it to say that some think he’s a saint but others think he’s the opposite — and I’d bet those people would prefer Bush to Reagan (I would).
: George H.W. Bush. The Republican Carter: Not dangerous, not effective.
: Bill Clinton. Well, I liked him.
Go ahead: Play the Howard Dean Game with others and I’ll bet that few if any over voting age who’ve washed in the last week who will come to the same conclusion Dean did. I’ll bet that most will vote for Nixon.
It sounds as if Dean is trying to revive the ’60s (and turn Bush into Nixon). But these aren’t the ’60s. What’s uppermost on our minds today is not a war we declared — no matter how much you wish that were the case, Howard — but, instead, the war that was declared against us, by terrorists. This is more like World War II. If this were 1940 and a Republican called Franklin Roosevelt “dangerous,” would you tolerate that or think it disloyal?
Criticize the President and the administration all you want, Dean, by all means, have at it.
But don’t ever forget that the real danger is out there among the people who want to bomb our White House, not stay in it. If you can’t remember that, Doc, then I won’t feel safe with you in that White House. If you get elected, come November, I’ll be paraphrasing you: “the capture of Saddam election of Howard has not made America safer.”
: UPDATE: Josh Marshall says the Dean is also “playing the defection card and that crosses the line.”
: UPDATE: Roger Simon says he’s flailing because he’s terrified of Hillary. Yup. I keep saying that: Hillary to the rescue.
