When are we NOT under attack?

Okay, more distractions.

Via Political Wire, I read this quote from Dan Pfeiffer, White House Communications Director, about Dick Cheney’s preposterous comments earlier in the day (basically: “why does Obama hate America? Doesn’t he know we’re at war?”)

To put it simply: this President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President.

Am I the only one who finds this to be an incredibly stupid response?

Let me really boil it down. In essence he said: This Administration is interested in action, not in rhetoric which emphasizes danger in order to create divisions. And Cheney should be ashamed of himself for accusing us of this in a time of WAR.

Pot? Kettle?

I know, I know, he’s trying to say that the administration doesn’t exaggerate the threats – which isn’t precisely what he then proceeds to do. But still…c’mon.

Anyways, if I were going to rank my top 100 issues that the government should concern itself with, terrorism *might* make the list. Obviously, it’s something they’ve got to deal with it, but it’s really a tremendously small problem. The people who die from terrorists attack are dead, and that’s a tragedy, obviously. But I don’t really grasp why their deaths are more tragic than those who die from global warming, or lack of health care, or homelessness, or dirty needles, or drunk driving, or AIDS, or any other preventable issue.

Given this, I was really proud of the Obama administration when they just quietly went along with their business and didn’t act like the whole world was ending because a small and relatively incompetent organization was trying to attack us. This country’s obsession with terrorism is depressing and stupid, and I liked the idea of an administration that wasn’t going to lose its mind.

And then, the media narrative became “OMG why aren’t they worried about TERRORISM!!!!11” and they totally caved. Lame.