Time of War

From President Bush's radio address this weekend:

Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

Wow, I hadn't quite thought about it up until I read this, but it is indeed quite an achievement. Let me take the opportunity to congratulate, from among the following list, those countries that have had elections since 2003:

Albania, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan.

Yes, it's the Coalition of the Willing. Oh, and Afghanistan too - a real achievement, truly.

All snarkiness aside, two things come to mind: First, perhaps this is not best called "a time of war," for many of the reasons that "War on Terror" is not the best name. I think that the United States is currently not at war with any nation state, with the possible exception of North Korea after the armistice of 1953. Second, that Bush's words would have more resonance if he had asked for some sacrifice from the US population, except, of course, for those in the Military. (Gas tax? Conservation? Any tax? Nope...)

Who's writing the President's speeches these days? Michael Gerson, his best speechwriter, left in the summer of 2006...