Boldness Rather Than Timidity 2.0

Perhaps Deroy Murdock has been reading BumperStickerPolitix. He has an excellent post at National Review Online that sounds the same meme as my earlier post encouraging the Bush administration to Boldness Rather than Timidity.

Murdock challenges the White House to first get its communications freak on. " . . . For starters, President Bush must address his biggest strategic problem: his and his administration's stunning wholesale inability to communicate.
Why, for example, has President Bush been unable to deliver clear, detailed, and coherent speeches to explain that Guantanamo is not his personal torture chamber, but a vital facility to isolate and interrogate suspected Islamo-fascists mass murderers? He should pick ten major thugs at Gitmo. Use Power Point to present their mug shots. Clarify how they fell into U.S. custody. Specify intelligence data that interrogators have extracted from them, including any attacks such data have foiled. Some twelve detainees released from Guantanamo have resumed terrorist operations, including shooting at American GIs. Tell us more. . . "

Indeed, do tell. There are many many compelling stories that should be told about the war on terror and not doing so is clearly diminishes support for the effort. These stories are also needed as a powerful counterweight to counter those intent on undermining the war effort, whether in Iraq or at GITMO or the recent leak regarding "black prisons" where various maniacs are being dealt with.

I also happen to believe that more forceful presentations could have been made regarding the Presidents domestic policy agenda including education, and Social Security reforms. Instead we are left with the politically bold Social Security reform proposal in an ash heap on the floor. The President was rolled too easily on this one.

Murdock makes also the point that if need be, heads should role if staff are not up to task.

" . . .White House Press Secretary Scott McMilquetoast, I mean McClellan, exudes timidity. His briefings instill neither confidence nor inspiration. The president should name McClellan ambassador to a nice, non-controversial Caribbean island . . . "

Murdock also has the same suggestion for Chief of Staff Andrew Card and perahps Murdock is right when he says that if ". . . Andrew Card cannot get through to the president. . . the commander-in-chief would be better served by someone who does not fear him. . . "

Read the whole thing, I think Murdock is onto something here.

-SpinDaddy