Bush's false choices

By Ellen Goodman | December 23, 2005

SO IT COMES DOWN to September 11, 2001. Again. The president has drawn a great dividing line through the country, separating his supporters from his critics. Again.

This time, those who see a presidency run amok are not just labeled ''defeatists." They are considered amnesiacs.

This time, those who oppose torture are diagnosed with short-term memory loss. Those who are outraged at domestic snooping are people who have forgotten to be afraid.

The president's ''humble" speech from the Oval Office contained the inevitable line: ''September the 11th, 2001, required us to take every emerging threat to our country seriously." His decidedly unhumble wrestling with the media on the subject of domestic spying had no less than 10 references to ''this new threat [that] required us to think and act differently."

Meanwhile, what was Vice President Cheney's response when asked if he was concerned that 100 people had died in US custody? What actually worried him was that ''as we get farther and farther away from 9/11 . . . there seems to be less concern about doing what's necessary in order to defend the country."

more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/23/bushs_false_choices/