Sign me up, I'm one of the good guys

I'm not very politically savvy. I'm intimidated by the complexity of the middle east and its history. I don't watch the news very often or keep myself debriefed on what is happening in the world. I think it's because I find it all overwhelming- I never seem to be able to scratch the surface of understanding all the details.

But I know enough to be able to recognize when something (or someone) is going against my values. That is how I felt while listening to the President speak tonight. I listened to the entire speech because I was too dumbfounded to turn it off.

It's always been blatantly obvious to me that Bush and his team are master manipulators. So much so that I often think to myself "Ha! How stupid do they think we are? Did they really think we would fall for that?" Then to my dismay...we do. At least, we have.

The most recent example of this has been his switch from the "stay the course" to "change the course" mantra. After the election, I wondered what would happen once WB no longer had carte blanche. It was reassuring to see the nation send the message that we are through with Iraq. Then it was reassuring to see the panel of experts send WB the same message. I was shocked yet not shocked that WB's response to it has been a subtle change of semantics.

So what's the difference between "Stay the Course! Keep sending more troops!" and "Change the Course! Send more troops!" ??? Please help me understand this. Am I missing something here?

I have to say though, I was relieved to see Bush nervous at both the beginning and ending of his speech. Did you notice the ragged breaths he was taking between sentences? He seemed more sure of himself in the middle. I wonder what all the nervousness was about.

His manipulative fear tactics are insulting. "For the safety of our people, we must succeed in Iraq" Huh? His use of the words "murderers" and "killers" and "enemies". I had to ask myself- who is the enemy, again? I'm confused. The only way he referred to this "enemy" was in the repeated use of the term "The Terrorists". "Success in Iraq will be a blow to The Terrorists". Oh...and yes, he made sure to remind us that there's a major Al-Quaeda hangout in Iraq as well.

I almost laughed in shock as he said "This is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On the one side are those that believe in freedom and moderation and on the other side are extremists who kill the innocent." Wow. Really? Sign me up, then. Who wouldn't be on board with a good vs. evil battle?

And this statement..."if we pull back now, massive killings will take place." Geesh. Well I certainly don't want that to happen. I guess we better carry on, then. So no more massive killings take place.

The most deplorable sentiment of the evening: "We mourn the loss of every American. We owe it to them to build a future worthy of their sacrifice."

Shame on you WB. How dare you use the loss of those young lives as justification to lose more.