Be very afraid

That's what George W. Bush tells us at every opportunity. For once he may be right, we should be very afraid. Not of al-Quida or Iran but of George W. Bush and the rest of the Cheney cabal. While they may not fly planes into skyscrapers they do use the tyrant's weapon of choice to erode our constitution and threaten all that the United States stands for. Eugene Robinson explains in Using Our Fear.

Once upon a time we had a great wartime president who told Americans they had nothing to fear but fear itself. Now we have George W. Bush, who uses fear as a tool of executive power and as a political weapon against his opponents.

Franklin D. Roosevelt tried his best to allay his nation's fears in the midst of an epic struggle against fascism. Bush, as he leads the country in a war whose nature he is constantly redefining, keeps fear alive because it has been so useful. His political grand vizier, Karl Rove, was perfectly transparent the other day when he emerged from wherever he's been hiding the past few months -- consulting omens, reading entrails -- and gave the Republican National Committee its positioning statement for the fall elections: Vote for us or die.

Democrats "have a pre-9/11 worldview" of national security that is "deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong," Rove said. The clear subtext was that Americans would court mortal danger by electing Democrats. Go forth and scare the bejesus out of them, Rove was telling his party, because the more frightened they are, the better our chances.

To cultivate fear for partisan gain is never a political tactic to be proud of, but Rove's prescription of naked fearmongering is just plain reprehensible when the nation faces a shifting array of genuine, serious threats. This is a moment for ethical politicians -- and, yes, these days that seems like an oxymoron -- to speak honestly about what dangers have receded, what new dangers have emerged, and how the imperatives of liberty and security can be balanced.

The threat to the United States and it's people is not hiding in a cave in Afghanistan but living in the White House. The true enemies of the American people are the administration of George W. Bush, the Bush cultists in congress and the American press that is nothing but a partner of the White House press office.

So you should be very afraid but not of the external enemies but the enemy within.