A Suggestion to Senator Barak Obama

Senator Barak Obama (Democrat - Illinois) has suggested that the Democratic Party has, at times, lost its way.

In response, I provide my opinion, as a non-Democrat, on where the Democratic Party should be taken. Although it is only opinion, I believe that from my reading of independent blogs, I get the sense that this is the prevailing opinion among them.

First of all, President Bush is doing an admiral job in leading the world in the War on Terrorism. He instantly realized what truly was at stake, and has taken some successfull gambles that has (for the most part) neutralized the enemy outside of where they actually operate. Because President Bush acted so quickly in reaction to the enemy, and because this is merely the start of a protracted engagement with the enemy, President Bush has made some gambles that have not been as instantly successful as first-thought. Unfortunately, he has not always had the best leaders making critical decisions, however, some of that was not truly the fault of the President, but merely the fault of our foreign and domestic intelligence gathering institutions. He, with the help of Republicans and Democrats alike, have realized this problem, and have taken great strides to correct it. By no means is it fixed, and we, as well as our counter-parts, have lots of suggestions on how to implement much needed reforms and changes.

In addition, the Iraq and Afghanistan are by no means failing. They are in fact prospering at an incredible pace. Many people there are truly appreciating freedom for the first time of their lives. This has not come without great costs, and there will be many more sacrifices in the near and distant future, however, it has been a successful start to our War on Terror. We must constantly remind ourselves that democracy is not an event - not something that will happen one night on the 10 o'clock news. Democracy and Freedom is a process, and one that we have merely begun in a part of the world which has never experienced it.

Second of all, we are as much to blame as Republicans in Americas failure to hit-home how important the War on Terror is to the rest of the world and especially to our allies. By not providing the President or our Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condolezza Rice a solid and sold foundation of how important it is to win this war, we have let our allies and other countries take the easy way out by not helping. By sending mixed messages, we leave our allies in doubt. If there is not a shared urgency and agreement at-home, how can we possibly expect the world to coalesce abroad with that same sense of urgency and agreement?

Third, we need to cut our ties with any groups that do not share our view of the importance of this fight. No matter how much they contribute, nor how much noise they make, these groups are blind and naiive to think that the problem in the Middle East is just going to go away. This is the battle field of 1941 today. Iraq and Afghanistan are the Germany and Japan of WWII. They are the fight that needs to be made. And this is the best time for the world to make that fight.

Fourth, the attrocities conducted by American soldiers in Abu Gharib are exactly that: attrocities. They were wrongs and embarassments to our country and our cause. They however should not be the rallying cry of our party. Abu Gharib should not remain the first phrase on the tip of our tongues when speaking of the administration's handling of the war on terror. It does not help our party, nor does it help our cause in the War on Terror. Yes, we need to be vigilant, as well as our Republican counterparts in ensuring that this never happens again. However, when unverified statements are made coming from the enemy themselves, we cannot hold it up to be the truth. We cannot champion the rights of the terrorists over the successful duty of our soldiers.

Fifth, in addition to just being the source of threats to our country, they provide us with an additional platform to promote things that we, as Democrats, Americans, and Free People of the world love. Freedom and Democracy are not just words - they are ideas, possibilities, and potentialities that need to be shared. They need to be brought to those who never thought them to exist. They need to be fostered and protected in the places that are surrounded by those who hate and dictate. It is an opportunity that we, as Democrats, cannot ignore to seize upon, solely because of who provided Democrats with the opportunity. This is what OUR rallying cry can be: stamp-out terrorism and bring democracy. We are the part of egalitae, so we should act like it outside of our borders and constituencies and interest groups.

Sixth and Finally, we need to challenge the President on issues of importance at-home, while standing arm-locked with him abroad. Our goals abroad need to as tightly woven with the President as possible. At home, we have the luxury and expectancy of being the challenger. We should challenge the president on his social platform and goals. We should challenge the President on what he strives to do with the country's judiciary. We should challenge the President to take the current opportunity to cut our reliance on foreign fossil fuels. We should challenge the President to make do with his promise to make education the focus of his presidency, as he stated back in the 2000 election. There are many more things we should challenge the President on, however, none of them involve challenging him on his focus on seeing the free world succeed in the War on Terror.