Useless Speculation: What if 9/11 Never Happened?
There was something I learned a long time ago about history, do not start down the path of ‘what if.” Engaging in ‘what if’ is like sitting on a tree limb and sawing off the very same limb. No matter how much speculation is involved, the limb is still missing and the one who sawed off the limb is still in pain and is on the ground. Such speculation is a waste of time, unless you are an ‘off the deep end’ liberal. Then such conjecture is more wishful thinking than true speculation.
John Heilemann is one such individual whose constant daydreaming about what could have been somehow makes it way onto the cluttered pages of New York Magazine. He writes how 9/11 was such a watershed event for this country, how Osama bin Laden was at war with us for ten years before the momentous terrorist attacks, how President Bush was changed by the attacks, and then raises the issue of Iraq, deficit spending, blah, blah, blah. Andrew Sullivan is next and is just a delusional.
As with Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam, history is sure to designate Iraq as the defining feature of Bush’s presidency. But unlike with LBJ—who, if it weren’t for the conflict in Southeast Asia, would be remembered for civil rights and the Great Society—it’s difficult to conceive of what Bush’s legacy would be in the absence of 9/11 and its fallout. Rampant profligacy? Record deficits? Slavish fealty to the rich? Quite possibly, all three. Or perhaps, as historian Douglas Brinkley offers, Bush would have defined his administration by taking up the challenge presented by another disaster, Hurricane Katrina: “Rather than standing on the rubble at ground zero with his bullhorn,” Brinkley says, “Bush would best be known for standing on some waterlogged roof in the Ninth Ward.” Or perhaps he would have gone down to defeat in 2004, a 9/11-free election centering on domestic affairs, in which the Democratic candidate, therefore, wouldn’t have been John Kerry but John Edwards or Dick Gephardt—or Al Gore.
I can feel the spit and venom from here. Down, boy. Good doggy. Come on, John, get a grip. Rampant spending, record deficits, catering to the rich and the disaster during Katrina; where do I start? Just remember two things. First, the President is not the only one who spends the taxpayers money. There are such things as earmarks in which Congress loads all kinds of pork onto spending bills. In fact as we speak, there is spending bill before Congress which is loaded with pork. Wizbang has the scoop.
Congress is considering a bill — the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations measure — that presently contains 1,867 earmarks worth more than a half-billion tax dollars and averaging nearly $268,000 each. This happens to many bill which come before Congress. So the President is not the only one spending the money.
Second, is the problem of the record deficits. John, we are at war! This country was going through a recession. President Bush’s tax cut alleviated much of the sting. Then 9/11 occurred bringing the economy of the US down even further into a recession. And once again, we are at war. Of course there is a deficit, but record deficit? Don’t think so.
Third, is the problem of catering to the rich. Spoken like a true liberal. I am not rich, but even I know that taking money from people who earn it and giving it to the poor encourages both the rich and the poor to work less. If we worked more on giving the poor a hand up instead of a handout, the economy would grow even faster. So who pays the taxes in this country? According to the Tax Foundation, in 2003 the top 50% of wage earners paid 96.54 % of all taxes paid into government coffers. The top 5% paid over 54% of the taxes. And the bottom 50% paid less than 3.5% of the taxes. How can giving tax breaks cater to the rich when they are the ones who are funding the government in the first place? It seems to me that almost 50% of the population pay nothing for government services. Who is catering to whom?
And lastly is catastrophe at New Orleans. When the flooding at New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina was a failure at all levels of government, the largest failures were at the state and city levels. Governor Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin were truly inept at leading during a crisis. Remember the flooded school buses, Mayor Nagin?
The only one who brings up the deficits, spending, New Orleans, and such nonsense are the Bush hating liberals. And they don’t just hate President Bush. They hate Republicans, conservatives, Christians, and the military. These are people who love to hate. Just because they think ill of the President does not mean history will remember him this way.
All in all, the idea of saying ‘what if’ is problematic at best. 9/11 did happen and it changed America. The attacks were a wakeup call for the United States who had been under siege since the early 90s. The problem, we did not recognize the fact that we were already at war. George Bush did not have the best of starts as a President, but he rose to the occasion. And because of his leadership, America rose to the challenge. Engaging in such discussions of ‘what if’ only distracts America from what is really important, winning the war on terror.
Posts
