Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Extreme Tourism

In the 1952 Presidential campaign, with a war dragging on thousands of miles away, Dwight Eisenhower announced, “I shall go to Korea,” and it helped him win the election.

Nowadays there are more American politicians in the Middle East than in Iowa or New Hampshire. John McCain is in Iraq with his running mate hopeful, Lindsey Graham, wearing a flak jacket, traveling in armored vehicles, surrounded by troops with snipers on the rooftops, just like any other tourist doing a little shopping and meeting the friendly natives.

Nancy Pelosi and a gaggle of Democrats are in the area, too, and the President is upset about their itinerary. “They left for spring break without finishing their work,” Bush complained today, and he is not thrilled that they are paying a call on President Bashar Assad in Syria.

Will they all come back with souvenirs that say, “I tried to save Iraq, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”?

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