I thought President Bush’s address to the nation last night was pretty well magnificent. And now, the obligatory whine which must be appended: I wish he’d been talking this way all along. Which is not to say he hasn’t given great speeches on the subject of the war, but just that there’s been a lack of specificity, a reluctance to name the enemy (“radical Islam”), and a hesitancy to tie everything together boldly and explicitly — in particular when giving this kind of prime time address. All those elements were present in last night’s speech — for instance in this paragraph:

Since the horror of 9/11, we’ve learned a great deal about the enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy — but not without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam — a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, and the calling of our generation.

He’s right. And regardless of what happens in Bush’s final two years, this war is going to go on. The only question, I think, is whether we’ll retreat in the short-term and thereby give the enemy a boost that will ensure a much bloodier war later — or whether we’ll continue grasping the nettle and pressing the advantages we now have.

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