The Baffling Logic of Barak Obama

by Victor Davis Hanson

NRO’s The Corner

When President Obama virtually ceases all new federal oil and gas leasing on public property, why would he then brag that despite his efforts, private companies on private land increased U.S. oil and gas production to new highs? Continue reading “The Baffling Logic of Barak Obama”

Bush’s Warranted Rehabilitation Will Come

by Victor Davis Hanson

NRO’s The Corner

George W. Bush’s September 14, 2001, so-called “bullhorn” speech, that he gave with his arm around fireman Bob Beckwith at Ground Zero (“I can hear you! Continue reading “Bush’s Warranted Rehabilitation Will Come”

The Ripples of 9/11

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

After the radical Islamist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the foiled effort to ram a fourth jet into the Capitol in Washington, no one envisioned that there would follow eleven years without another major attack. Since September 11, 2001, over 45 terrorist plots have been uncovered and foiled in the United States; al Qaeda, as a terrorist threat, seems regionalized and without the ability to inflict mayhem on a similarly large scale on the Western world; bin Laden is no more; and the Arab Islamic world itself is divided and torn by the conflicting currents of theocracy, democracy, and dictatorship. Continue reading “The Ripples of 9/11”

Presidential Narcissism

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Former president Bill Clinton just appeared in a reelection television commercial for President Barack Obama. At one point, Clinton weighs in on the potential consequences of Obama’s decision to go ahead with the planned assassination of Osama bin Laden. Continue reading “Presidential Narcissism”

It Was the Power, Stupid!

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

I. Power — Always Was and Always Will Be

In my dumber days, between 2001-2008, I used to wonder why the Left relentlessly hammered the war on terror (e.g., renditions, tribunals, predators, preventative detention, Patriot Act, intercepts, wiretaps, Guantanamo Bay) when these measures had not only proven quite useful in preventing another 9/11-like attack, but had been sanctioned by both the Congress and the courts. In those ancient times, I was not as cynical as I am now. Continue reading “It Was the Power, Stupid!”

Strangers in a Stranger Land

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

Trostky-ization

In ancient Rome, when the emperor or an especially distasteful elite died, his image on stone and in bronze was removed. And by decree there arose adamnatio memoriae, a holistic effort to erase away his entire prior existence. Continue reading “Strangers in a Stranger Land”

The Un-Obama

by Victor Davis Hanson

Tribune Media Services

Barack Obama’s favorability in the polls fell when he acted like himself — overexposed, hard-left in his press conferences, and boastful about legislative achievements like Obamacare and a stimulus of more than $1 trillion. Continue reading “The Un-Obama”

Obama’s Postmodern Vision

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

There has been for months a popular parlor game of tallying instances in which President Obama seems to have either ignored or simply bypassed federal law. Continue reading “Obama’s Postmodern Vision”

Myth and Reality After 9/11

by Victor Davis Hanson

Tribune Media Services

Why did radical Islamic terrorists kill almost 3,000 Americans a decade ago? Continue reading “Myth and Reality After 9/11”

Post-9/11 -Isms and -Ologies: A Look Back at a Decade

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

The Never-ending Day

Like millions of Americans, I did not sleep much on the night of September 11. Continue reading “Post-9/11 -Isms and -Ologies: A Look Back at a Decade”