Sunday, November 18, 2007

Grassroots Hillary: We can all learn something from Baghdad Bob


We all know who this guy is, it's Baghdad Bob. We all laughed at him because he continued to portray a message that everything was fine in Iraq, while it was clear that U.S. troops were just a few miles away. But I think we can all learn an important lesson from this honorable man.

His real name is Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf and he was the Chief Information Minister for Saddam Hussein's regime during the U.S. invasion in 2003. It was his job to keep morale high in Iraq, despite the inevitable circumstances that were right around the corner. Everyone ridiculed him and he became somewhat of a joke to many of those back in the U.S. At the same time he was on television claiming that U.S. troops had not entered Baghdad, we saw live video that showed they had.

The fact that he was wrong about what was occurring aside, what he displayed was true courage, loyalty, and patriotism in action. He was risking his life giving these press conferences, and I believe he knew the risks he was taking. He risked his life to calm the citizens of Iraq, to instill optimism, and ensure the people that the government was still looking after them.

He didn't have to do this. Nobody was putting a gun to his head. Saddam Hussein was long gone, hiding in a bunker somewhere. Top members of the government were fleeing by the masses. Yet one man stayed. To fulfill his duty to his country. In the face of grim horizons, he believed there was still a chance.

We can learn a lot about the way courage and optimism allows us to keep on going when everyone else wants to bring you down. It's just like the media smears and attacks by the opposition to the Hillary Campaign that we face today. We must stand strong in our convictions and not allow them to scare us into giving up.

Unfortunately for Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, he happened to be incorrect in his assessments and communications. In the case of the Hillary Campaign though, we actually have a very real opportunity to take this country back and be proud to be an American again. The opposition is shallow in their rhetoric, shallow in their convictions, and driven by all that corrupts America today. They are like a tower of playing cards, easily demolished with something as little as a gentle breeze. Let us not be intimidated by the opposition's facades of strength, but be encouraged by them revealing their weaknesses, demonstrated by the desperate smear tactics we've become familiar with all too well.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

I sincerely hope that Pres HIllary makes Baghdad Bob her white house spokesman. he would certainly fit in well with her administration, bringing truth to a president who needs all the truth she can afford, being the flip=flopper she is. Live long and prosper.