If I were Bush's speech writer
Imagine, just imagine, if Bush goes on prime time and says (remember, you're imagining, so no unintended smirk):
"In 1983 our great president, Ronald Reagan, withdrew our marines, who had been invited in as peacekeepers, from Lebanon because Hezbollah, funded by Iran, destroyed their barracks, killing 241 of America's finest citizens, who were there to keep peace in a faraway land. Years later President Reagan said running was the biggest mistake of his presidency. Since they kidnapped our innocent embassy workers almost 30 years ago, the mullahs who have run a totalitarian and brutal regime have been the world's biggest sponsors of terrorism, against not only the United States, but against almost every country in the civilized world. Now, its despotic rulers, who oppress what was one of the ancient world's greatest civilizations -- and one that restored the people of Israel to their homeland after a massacre by the evil Assyrians -- have clearly stated their ultimate goal: to eliminate Israel once and for all. Whether or not you believe Israel is God's chosen people does not matter. What matters is that Israel is the first democracy in the middle east. It only wants to live in peace with its neighbors after centuries of oppression and genocide against the Jewish people, a people who have given the world much to be desired. The fate of Israel is the fate of the free world. I say to the people of Iran, have faith. You are like the people of Poland, who are free today because they rallied behind a simple electrician named Lech Walesa, who founded Solidarity and stood up to the evils of communism. Have faith in freedom, as did the dissidents in the Soviet gulags, who rejoiced every time they learned that Ronald Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire. Our own struggle, here in America, did not happen overnight. Our revolution, over 200 years ago, took years, and then it took more years to form the government that has given us the freedom we cherish today. It is not easy, but we do it. We don't give in, because giving in is easy. We struggle, for freedom, because struggling for the freedom to worship, to think, to speak, to make friendships with your former enemies, is hard. We do these things *because* they are hard. Because we must all say to ourselves, if I don't, who will? And so tonight, as Israel struggles for its life as it never has before, I say to the dictators of Iran: "this shit stops now. Either the Israeli soldiers are released, Hamas and Hezbollah are dismantled, you and Syria pull out of Lebanon completely, and you give up your nuclear program, or we will fuck you up. I have put our B-52s and strike fighters on 24 hours notice to begin bombing. Before the next Sabbath, whether it be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian, every military installation in Iran will be destroyed and every Iranian will be free to tell a mullah to rot in hell, if he hasn't already." May God bless freedom and people who worship the chance to make a better life for themselves and their families.
"In 1983 our great president, Ronald Reagan, withdrew our marines, who had been invited in as peacekeepers, from Lebanon because Hezbollah, funded by Iran, destroyed their barracks, killing 241 of America's finest citizens, who were there to keep peace in a faraway land. Years later President Reagan said running was the biggest mistake of his presidency. Since they kidnapped our innocent embassy workers almost 30 years ago, the mullahs who have run a totalitarian and brutal regime have been the world's biggest sponsors of terrorism, against not only the United States, but against almost every country in the civilized world. Now, its despotic rulers, who oppress what was one of the ancient world's greatest civilizations -- and one that restored the people of Israel to their homeland after a massacre by the evil Assyrians -- have clearly stated their ultimate goal: to eliminate Israel once and for all. Whether or not you believe Israel is God's chosen people does not matter. What matters is that Israel is the first democracy in the middle east. It only wants to live in peace with its neighbors after centuries of oppression and genocide against the Jewish people, a people who have given the world much to be desired. The fate of Israel is the fate of the free world. I say to the people of Iran, have faith. You are like the people of Poland, who are free today because they rallied behind a simple electrician named Lech Walesa, who founded Solidarity and stood up to the evils of communism. Have faith in freedom, as did the dissidents in the Soviet gulags, who rejoiced every time they learned that Ronald Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire. Our own struggle, here in America, did not happen overnight. Our revolution, over 200 years ago, took years, and then it took more years to form the government that has given us the freedom we cherish today. It is not easy, but we do it. We don't give in, because giving in is easy. We struggle, for freedom, because struggling for the freedom to worship, to think, to speak, to make friendships with your former enemies, is hard. We do these things *because* they are hard. Because we must all say to ourselves, if I don't, who will? And so tonight, as Israel struggles for its life as it never has before, I say to the dictators of Iran: "this shit stops now. Either the Israeli soldiers are released, Hamas and Hezbollah are dismantled, you and Syria pull out of Lebanon completely, and you give up your nuclear program, or we will fuck you up. I have put our B-52s and strike fighters on 24 hours notice to begin bombing. Before the next Sabbath, whether it be Muslim, Jewish, or Christian, every military installation in Iran will be destroyed and every Iranian will be free to tell a mullah to rot in hell, if he hasn't already." May God bless freedom and people who worship the chance to make a better life for themselves and their families.