Hurray! We caught the crotch bomber.
When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab failed to blow up Flight 253, it was a victory for the West. High fives all around! We caught a would-be terrorist red-handed! Our security measures are working. Our enemies are forced to use bogus, unreliable methods when they try to bomb us. In fact, if our security were tighter, Abdulmutallab might never have even tried his attack, and we wouldn't have captured him. But now, thanks to our slightly loose security, we have a live source of information on the people who threaten us. When Hamas captures an Israeli soldier, they're happy about it. Why can't we be happy? We got the crotch bomber! Hurray! Take that, bad people!
But instead of chortling and raising a glass, we wring our hands and points fingers. Sure, we got lucky, but it wasn't all luck. Sure, we can do better, but why do we have to be so glum when we actually won this time? The conservatives won't celebrate because the liberals run the government. The liberals won't celebrate because they're motivated by a sense of how bad things are. The media won't celebrate because fear sells better than success. But that doesn't stop us. Hip hip hurray!
But instead of chortling and raising a glass, we wring our hands and points fingers. Sure, we got lucky, but it wasn't all luck. Sure, we can do better, but why do we have to be so glum when we actually won this time? The conservatives won't celebrate because the liberals run the government. The liberals won't celebrate because they're motivated by a sense of how bad things are. The media won't celebrate because fear sells better than success. But that doesn't stop us. Hip hip hurray!