Why Is It Necessary For The President To Start Every Speach The Same Way?

When the thrust of your policy machine is predicated on fear and fighting a "war on terror," you have no choice but to amplify that fear at every corner. If there is no more fear, you have no means to justify for your actions.

Today, we saw the president start another speech the way he has started numerous speeches - by spanking the Nine Eleven Monkey. It's time for him to stop using that tragic event for political gain.

In the end, the continuous stroking and stoking of the Nine Eleven Monkey is a sign of presidential weakness. If he was actually doing good, he would be able to discuss the actions he has taken and not have to preface every policy decision with a such a reminder:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thanks for the warm welcome. Welcome to the White House. Mr. Vice President, Secretary Rice, Attorney General Gonzales, Ambassador Negroponte, General Hayden, members of the United States Congress, families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks on our nation, and my fellow citizens: Thanks for coming.

On the morning of September the 11th, 2001, our nation awoke to a nightmare attack. Nineteen men, armed with box cutters, took control of airplanes and turned them into missiles. They used them to kill nearly 3,000 innocent people. We watched the Twin Towers collapse before our eyes -- and it became instantly clear that we'd entered a new world, and a dangerous new war.

Anybody have a handy copy of "My pet goat" out there? I need to catch up on some reading.

Any one else care to take a stab at answering the question in the title of this post? Please, by all means, leave a comment and discuss.