Voter Amnesia

When it comes to national security issues, the Democrats must hope voters have short-term memory loss. Now that North Korea has nuclear weapons, Democrats say that we need a Strategic Defense Initiative "that works."

Wait a minute. Isn't it the Democrats who ridiculed President Reagan's SDI as a "Star Wars" pipe dream? Isn't it the Democrats who have opposed funding Bush's SDI initiatives, even for basic research? (And how can we have an SDI "that works" if we can't even pursue basic research?)

Isn't it the Democrats who, after September 11, said SDI was a boondoggle because our enemies were using jets and didn't have missiles? And isn't it Democrats who sent the feckless and gullible Jimmy Carter last decade to bribe North Korea not to pursue its nuclear ambitions? (Memo to Carter and Clinton: The North Koreans took your bribes and pursued the program anyway.)

These are the Democrats who are now poised to take over the House and Senate. These are the Democrats who may pursue impeachment charges because "Bush lied" over Iraq. These are the Democrats who expect us to trust them with our national security. These are the Democrats who think we have forgotten their sorry politicization of national security.

And the sad truth is, they may be right.