I Must Have Missed That

I Must Have Missed That
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano

With all of the hoopla surrounding Governor Bush's appearance at Bob Jones University during the South Carolina primaries, it's obvious I must have missed something important. I didn't realize Governor Bush's appearance there had anything to do with his victory. Considering the fact that Senator John McCain performed abysmally in front of Larry King, receiving the only disgusted "boos" of the night from the audience, and considering the fact that Governor Bush handled himself aptly, looking Presidential and composed, I was obviously under the mistaken impression the debate helped sway the polls.

I also didn't realize that I, as a Roman Catholic, was supposed to be on the Governor's "hit list." Considering the fact that I have lived for several years in Texas and voted for Governor Bush, I never felt the alleged anti-Catholic bias now being touted by the media. I didn't realize my Catholicism somehow excluded me from the ranks of Conservative Christians; according to the media, my being conservative, believing in Christ as my savior, and practicing Catholicism somehow doesn't gel. After watching the media embrace race-baiters such as Farrakhan and Sharpton, who incite followers to hatred with religious rhetoric, I didn't realize that others were not allowed to practice their own brand of religion, whether outsiders approved of it or not.

I didn't realize the First Amendment was dead.

I also must have missed the sweeping reformation of the Clinton/Gore administration, which allows them to take the "high road" against anyone. I must have missed at least some of the apologies flowing from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, including:

Vice President Gore's apology for asserting that Republicans were born with an extra chromosome (i.e., that they were suffering from Downs Syndrome). I also missed the apology for his willingness to speak at a Jewish Synagogue, where the women and children were forced to stand on the street while the men went inside.
President Clinton's dual apology for asserting, not once, but twice, that the Irish were "like drunks" who didn't know when to leave the bar, or that Americans weren't smart enough to properly define the words "is," "sex," and "alone."
The Administration's apology for asserting that Americans held a strong anti-Asian bias when the Chinagate scandal broke.
James Carville's apology for asserting that young women of modest means must all be cheap whores, because what else can you expect "when you drag $100 through a trailer park"?
Hillary Clinton's apologies for asserting that Christ was "homeless" and for failing to correct Sharpton when he insisted that Christ's parents were "unmarried." In effect, they called Christ a bastard.
Bruce Lindsey's apology for advising the media that Monica Lewinsky was an obsessed "stalker."
Janet Reno's apology for incinerating the people at Waco.
Dick Gephardt's apology for when he spoke to the Council of Conservative Citizens. Heaven knows the media and the Administration crucified Bob Barr when he spoke to the same group.
The Administration's apology for attempting to destroy the lives and reputations of Billy Dale, Robert Hensen, Notra Trulock, Johnny Huang, Charles LeBella, Assistant Chief U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston, Edward J. McCallum (Director of DOE's Office of Safeguards and Security), former FBI Agent Gary Aldrich, et al. This list doesn't even touch the female victims: Linda Tripp, Juanita Broaddrick, Genifer Flowers, and Dolly Kyle Browning, amongst others.

I also must have missed the mainstream media's apology for refusing to recognize that Bob Jones University also invited Dr. Alan Keyes to speak. Dr. Keyes is a black, conservative Roman Catholic who married a beautiful woman from India. With BJU's strong anti-Catholic bias and their warnings against inter-racial marriage, this must have been a fluke. Their warm reception of Dr. Keyes and their embrace of his strong message of moral renewal must have taken place in an alternate universe altogether.

Last, but certainly not least, I must have missed Senator McCain's apology for not claiming the high moral ground when he visited Bob Jones University. Oh, wait, he wasn't invited. Still, he apparently would have gone, based upon his answer during the recent debate. Nevertheless, he still cannot claim the high ground, after thumbing his nose at conservative Republicans and openly inviting Democrats to skew the primary results in a self-promotion scheme.

It seems to me there is a whole lot of apologizing the needs to be done -- but Governor Bush is not the man who needs to do it.