Showdown On Two Fronts

by Christopher G. Adamo

At the writing of this article, bombs have yet to start falling on Baghdad, and the fate of Federal Appeals Court nominee Miguel Estrada is yet undecided. During the next few weeks, the course of both situations will be resolved in some manner or another, and thus the Bush Presidency will be indelibly defined in the eyes of the American people. Similarities abound between the two situations, both in their significance to the future of this country, and in the sequence of past mistakes that brought America and this administration to the current state of events.

Miguel Estrada's nomination hangs in its present precarious balance specifically because of past Republican acquiescence regarding the make-up of the judiciary. During the previous administration, Republican Senators could have regularly rejected most of the wacky, anti-constitutional judicial activists nominated by Bill Clinton merely by asserting that they were upholding the integrity of the Constitution. Instead they capitulated, opting for the cowardly alternative of claiming that a president “ought to have his choice of nominees in the courts.”

Having thus abandoned the moral high ground, Republicans left it open for liberal/Democrat occupation. Now it is those on the left who falsely claim to be protecting our constitutional freedoms, though their focus is on abortion, same sex “marriage”, and the implementation of a “politically correct” society. Clearly, they have no intention of allowing the confirmation of judges who don't ascribe to this ideology. So the next few weeks will determine not only whether or not Estrada is confirmed, but also whether or not any of President Bush's pro-Constitution nominees have a prayer.

For his part, President Bush is in a "win/win" situation, if he chooses to play the necessary “hardball” when dealing with the opposition. Though partisan Democrats may successfully stall this particular nomination, Mr. Bush can go the distance in support of Estrada, thereby forcing his opponents to pay an enormous political price for their underhanded tactics. Anything less from the President will constitute a signal to the Democrats that they are, in fact, in complete control of the judicial nomination/confirmation process, and thus the future of the country.

In regards to foreign policy, the President once again finds himself in a position of having to clean up the messes made by his subordinates and his predecessors, including his own father. The unfinished business of containing Iraq, which was stalled at a crucial juncture eleven years ago because of undue deference shown to the United Nations by the senior President Bush, now approaches critical mass. George W. Bush has made it clear that the potential for terrorist acts, including Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction, constitutes an unacceptable threat to the security and future of the United States.

Unfortunately, Mr. Bush's own Secretary of State, Colin Powell, is among those who have been undermining his efforts since shortly after the attacks of 9-11, by once again entangling U.S. objectives with the self-serving interests of the United Nations. Since that time, the President struggled to convince that body of the need for decisive action against Iraq, in the interests of national and international security. Now, through the reprehensible posturing of France, Germany, and to a lesser extent, Russia, UN coalition building appears to be completely stagnant, while support for America dwindles. Admittedly, Powell can be credited with a recent, outstanding effort to convince the UN Security Council of the need to act militarily against Hussein. However, his action was, at best, an effort to undo the damage inflicted by his previous position.

Barring a complete capitulation by Saddam Hussein (And what maniacal tyrant in history has ever done thus?), few options exist. If President Bush backs away from his predetermined course of action, he will forfeit any claim to credibility that he ever held. Otherwise, despite continuing opposition from the French and Germans, the United States will nonetheless initiate military action in the Persian Gulf. Doing so in the absence of UN support will effectively render that organization as less than a “paper tiger”, and eventually lead to its dissolution.

Ultimately, George W. Bush alone holds the keys to success on both fronts. Whether in regard to foreign or domestic affairs, the same resolve and steadfastness, in the face of blistering criticism, can turn apparent political pitfalls into victories for him and for the nation. The President can either overcome the present impasses, or be forever characterized by them.

Growing up during the turbulent decades of the ‘60's and ‘70's, Christopher  Adamo saw, to his dismay, the nation's moral foundations being destroyed  before his very eyes. But even then he was a staunch Conservative at heart,  and rejected outright the tenets of America's counterculture revolution.

 After a hitch in the Air Force, where he specialized in airborne  electro- optical systems, he pursued a career in the field of aerospace,  working for major defense contractors in California, Florida, and Colorado. But his career plans abruptly changed during the industry-wide downsizing that followed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Presently he is working in the field of industrial instrumentation in the state of Wyoming. Concurrently, he has become involved in that state's political process, attending state GOP conventions as a delegate, and serving as a member of the Wyoming Republican Central Committee. He has also aided in the candidacies of local legislators and state senators, as well as a U.S. Senator and Congresswoman.

From 1993 to 1996, he edited and wrote for “The Wyoming Christian”, the state newsletter for Christian Coalition of Wyoming. During that period, he developed an acute awareness of the harm being done to Conservatism by liberal activists within the Republican Party as well as the Democrats. This remains a favorite theme of his articles, which now appear as a regular feature on GOPUSA.