Skip ahead to page content

federal_budget_and_spending.jpg

James Swanson versus Al Gore

September 28, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward

You’ve heard of Bush v. Gore. Now it’s Swanson v. Gore.

Last week, I told you that Heritage fellow James Swanson’s new book, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase For Lincoln’s Killer, was nominated for a Quill Book Award. Swanson’s New York Times bestseller is competing for the prestigious award with An Inconvenient Truth, a scaremongering book on global warming by former Vice President Al Gore. The winner of the award will be named on NBC television on October 11.

Your vote can help Swanson’s book win the Book of the Year Award. But you have to act fast, since voting ends Saturday.

Here’s how you can vote to help James Swanson beat Al Gore:

  • Log on to QuillsVote.com and click on “Begin Voting Now.”
  • In the category listing at the top of the voting page, click on “Book of the Year” and scroll down until you find Manhunt by James Swanson (NOTE: vote for the one described as History/Current Events/Politics, NOT the audio version!). Click on the “Vote” button at the bottom of the page.
  • Click on “History/Current Events/Politics” in the category list and vote again for Manhunt by James Swanson.

Remember, you have one vote in each category. So let’s be sure we coordinate our efforts and vote for the print edition of Manhunt on the “Book of the Year” page AND in the “History/Current Events/Poltics” category. Swanson’s best chance of winning is actually in the “History/Current Event/Politics” category, where Al Gore is his main competition.

America must win in Iraq

After the liberal media leaked parts of a classified intelligence report over the weekend, the Bush administration declassified non-sensitive portions of the report in an attempt to refute the distortions. Liberals immediately jumped on one out-of-context sentence that noted the conflict in Iraq “has become the cause célèbre for jihadists.”

Well, duh. “This conclusion should not surprise anyone,” Heritage national security experts Peter Brookes and Jim Phillips explain. “Of course, the jihadists are going to use any excuse to promote their evil agenda. They also have invoked the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the deployment of U.S. troops to protect Saudi Arabia, the Crusades, Islam’s eviction from southern Spain in the Middle Ages, Danish cartoons, and the Pope’s recent comments to advance their deadly cause.”

Brookes and Phillips point out two far more important arguments in the document—arguments ignored by the mainstream media and the original leaker. The National Intelligence Estimate argues that “perceived jihadist success [in Iraq] would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.” It further holds that “Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.”

This means that a defeat for America in Iraq will inspire more terrorists to take up arms. But if America prevails, it will be a major blow to radical Islamic terror groups like al Qaeda.

Brookes and Phillips conclude that “if the outcome of the war in Iraq will help to determine the number of terrorists who threaten the United States and its interests in the future, then the Administration is correct in arguing that Iraq is a crucial front in the war against terrorism.”

One liberal’s take on Heritage

Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), a member of the “Blue Dog” coalition of more moderate House liberals, has been attacked by a political opponent for being a member of The Heritage Foundation, “the largest conservative right wing think tank in Washington, D.C.” Candidate Ginny Welsch goes on to complain about Heritage’s successes, noting that “Rush Limbaugh, John Ashcroft and even the Democratic Policy Committee” have said Heritage is influential with policymakers.

As it happens, Rep. Cooper is not a Heritage member, though of course we would welcome his support. He did attend a Heritage briefing for new members of Congress a few years back, and it seems this is the source of Welsch’s confusion. These briefings are open to all freshmen in Congress, regardless of party affiliation, and are part of Heritage’s effort to keep Capitol Hill abreast of the latest conservative ideas and common-sense policy proposals.

In other news

Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.