6 4A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 22, 2004 OPINION 420 MAYNARD STREET tuaU ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 opinion. michi gandaily. conm tothedaily@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 JORDAN SCHRADER Editor in Chief JASON Z. PESICK Editorial Page Editor Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. NOTABLE QUOTABLE I think he's done a terrible job on the war against terrorism." - Former Bush White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke, in an interview that aired last night on "60 Minutes" with CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl. SAM BUTLER THE SOAPBOX ti h~o' s bin c? 1 -f SCJ - - al Happy anniversary, liar JOEL HOARD OH1 YEAH? n March 20, 2003, I watched the televised beginning of the war in Iraq like many other Americans. The argu- ments in favor of war laid out by President Bush in the months lead- ing up to the invasion made me uncomfortable, and the president was a bit smug for my liking, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It all sounded good in theory. Depose the evil dictator, destroy his weapons of mass destruction, install a working democracy and make the world a safer place for us all. He made it sound so simple and painless. One year later, as it turns out, it's actu- ally complicated and painful. The state of affairs in Iraq is a mess of epic propor- tions, and we have more enemies now than when the whole thing started. I waited curiously to see how Bush would mark his one-year anniversary on Saturday. With the situation as it is, you'd expect at the very least he would spend it in quiet contemplation and perhaps attend a vigil for all the lives lost in Iraq. Or per- haps he would deliver an open and honest speech outlining what went wrong and what he would do to fix it. Or maybe he'd throw a huge party and invite all of his friends. Alas, as it turns out, he opted for a huge party. Bush, still happily oblivious to reality, spent Saturday at a campaign rally in Florida defending his decision to go to war and taking jabs at John Kerry. Thus I decided it would be appropriate for me to lament the president's anniver- sary in the only way I know how: by call- ing him a liar, belittling him and encouraging people to vote for John Kerry. The anniversary celebration kicked off when Laura Bush introduced the president and planted a kiss on his cheek. He joking- ly wiped his face with a handkerchief as he sauntered up to the podium. It would have been cute, if he weren't so evil. Then with the most Orwellian of words, Bush told supporters at the rally, "Septem- ber 11th, 2001, taught a lesson I'll never forget. America must confront threats before they fully materialize." He boasted that he would "defend the security of America, whatever it takes." The smugness and swagger are still there, and that's the saddest part of the affair: He still honestly, in his heart of hearts, believes he made the right decision in invading Iraq. He still believes we can win the war on terror. Almost two years ago, long before the invasion of Iraq, indie comedian David Cross said, "You cannot win a war on ter- rorism. It's like having a war on jealousy. ... It's an absurd notion. At no point in time are we gonna go, 'Woo! Got em all. Everybody loves us again!' ... All we're doing is making new terrorists ... Cause people fucking hate us again." His words ring truer and scarier now than ever. You know your country is in trouble when a foul-mouthed indie comedian has a better understanding of modern-day foreign affairs and can express himself more elo- quently than the president. Still, in the face of rampant anti-Ameri- canism abroad, Bush had the nerve to say "The world is counting on us to lead the cause of freedom and peace," which makes it rather unfortunate then that the president is "going to keep (his) campaign right here in America." One would think that when it comes to determining what the world wants, the world would have a say, but apparently it's best left up to American voters. Bush also took the opportunity to lob a few potshots at his likely opponent in the upcoming election, Sen. John Kerry. He criticized Kerry's claim that several for- eign leaders have offered him their support and said, "The other day, here in Florida, (Kerry) claimed some important endorse- ments. He won't tell us the name of the foreign admirers. That's OK. Either way, I'm not too worried." Kerry's decision to not disclose the names of his "foreign admirers" is a wise one, because Kerry, like many of us, knows that the president would summarily bomb said admirers' countries if that infor- mation got out. Through it all, chants of "U-S-A" and "Four more years" rained down. It scares me that, with all that's happened in the last year, so many are still unable to see through the president's good-old-boy facade to the evil within. And so, in conclusion, I would like to offer a heartfelt "happy anniversary" to President Bush. May your next war be as fulfilling as your first. 0 Hoard can be reached atj.ho@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR American and campus Jews will vote for Democrats in 2004 TO THE DAILY: Having read Jonathan Goldberg's response (Jewish voters are not ignorant, will vote to support Israel in 2004, 03/19/04) to Jason Pesick's column (Jewish voting pat- terns: Tradition!, 03/18/04), I find that both of the authors are short on nuance and understanding of the American Jewish vote. I tend to agree with Goldberg that Jewish voters are not ignorant of the Arab- Israeli conflict and that strong support of Israel is important to almost every Jewish voter. That is why most Jews support the Democratic Party, which has been strongly pro-Israel since Israel's birth. The Republi- can Party is only a recent supporter of Israel, often allying itself with oil interests through the 1970s and thus the Arab oil kingdoms. If both candidates adequately satisfy that threshold, Jewish voters overwhelming support candidates who champion progres- sive stances on economic and social issues. Jewish voters are lucky to have such a candidate this year in Sen. John Kerry. No Republican since 1916 has gar- nered 45 percent of the Jewish vote, and over the last 11 elections, most Republican candidates haven't even gotten 20 percent. If anyone in the Bush campaign believes President Bush can equal this feat, he is either foolish or stupid, and if Goldberg were better informed, he would not repeat such a prediction. Having been heavily involved in Gold- berg's organization as well as the entire Jew- ish community at the University, I would confidently predict that an overwhelming majority of campus Jews will cast their votes for Democrats this fall. Recent polls on the subject, historic voting patterns and social science analysis all point to Kerry carrying the national Jewish vote with ease. No social science research has validated Republican claims of a shift of Jewish voters to the Republican Party. As long as the Republican Party fails to practice the Jewish value of tikkun olam, creating justice in the world, Jewish voters will continue to give 70 to 80 percent of their vote to the party that does, tha Tlnt-ir Pa cle, author Victoria Edwards refers to Rachel Corrie as a "human rights worker." This is patently false. Core was complicit in carrying out ter- rorist attacks against innocent Israeli civil- ians and children. We have all seen the all-too-familiar photo of an enraged Corrie burning a picture of an American flag among impressionable Palestinian youth. It seems bizarre that someone who supposedly stands for human rights would be promoting and instigating violence against America and Israel among young Palestinians. Corrie was a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a blatantly anti-Semitic organization which works to protect terrorist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In March, 2003, the ISM attempted to shield a leading member of Islamic Jihad, Shadi Sukia, from the IDF by hiding him in its Jenin office. The ISM coordinator, Susan Barcley, refused to let the IDF in, and subse- quently she was arrested along with the hid- ing terrorist. There is also no mention of the reasons why Corrie was standing in front of the bulldozer in the first place. She was not attempting to protect innocent citizens. The town she was in was Rafah, which is well known for its tunnel networks used by ter- rorists to smuggle arms in from Egypt. Cor- rie was standing in the way of a bulldozer that was demolishing havens for terrorists who smuggled weapons to kill innocent civilians and children. It is tragic when anyone dies, and Corrie's death certainly deserves mourning. However, it is important that members of this campus realize that Corrie was not a peace activist; she promoted terror and violence toward Israeli civilians and children. JEFF GLOGOWER Alum Davis a poor choice for commencement speaker TO THE DAILY: Last week, University President Mary Sue Coleman announced the keynote speaker for this May's commencement. "David E. Davis Jr., founder of Automobile Magazine and arguably the foremost writer in automotive journalism" was selected to deliver the address to an estimated crowd Coleman was quoted as saying, "I think it is really important for our graduates to see how one person can have a big say." "Through his (auto) critiques, he has really had an impact on a big industry ... in Michi- gan," she added. What Coleman fails to realize is that the University is not a technical institute or a professional auto school somewhere in the boondocks of Michigan. If I were a student at such a school, a selection like Davis may be acceptable. The University is a world-class institution with an Ivy League reputation. It maintains the advan- tage, both academically and financially, to attract speakers who are distinguished on a global scale and who truly influence our future. With the University's U.S. Supreme Court victory, an upcoming presidential election and an ongoing war in Iraq, the school's choice in Davis is odd at best. While other schools will be treated to such captivating and moving speakers as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Bill Cosby, the president of the United States or a Supreme Court justice, the University, how- ever, will once again not. While Davis's achievements and life story are surely notable, the selection of such a speaker with so little experience in public speaking by such a highly esteemed university is not only distressing for seniors, many of whom have paid thousands of dollars in tuition, but an embarrassment to the school. ADAM PATERNO LSA senior LETTERS POLICY The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all of its readers. Letters from Universi- ty students, faculty, staff and administrators will be given priority over others. Letters should include thehwriter's name, college and school year or other University affiliation. The Daily will not print any letter contain- ing statements that cannot be verified. Letters should be kept to approximately 300 words. The Michigan Daily reserves the right to edit for length, clarity and accuracy. Longer "viewpoints" may be arranged with an editor. Letters will be run according to order received and the amount of space available. Letters should be sent over e-mail to tothedaily@michigandaily.com or mailed to the Dailv ar 420 Mavnard Sr. Edirors cn be 0 0 -a~ * a -II -1 ->