My colleague, and one of my favorite human beings, Debra Burlingame, wrote to me yesterday:
"Have started new project with Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol:Keep America Safe.com"
Then she mentioned how the left was going nuts. Indeed, Maureen Dowd, of The New York Times, had nothing but mean spirited things to say about the new endeavor in her opinion column yesterday. On Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol Dowd wrote:
The blonde 43-year-old lawyer, a mother of five hailed by her fans as “a red state rock star,” teamed up this week with Bill Kristol to start a new group called “Keep America Safe.” Kristol, of course, was the chief proponent of the wacky notion that Dan Quayle, and later Sarah Palin, could Keep America Safe, which somewhat undermines the urgency and gravity of the group’s moniker.
I am fascinated that Dowd left out criticism of Burlingame. Naturally, Dowd did her homework and knows Burlingame is the third person involved. But Burlingame is hard, if not impossible, to attack because she goes straight after the truth not the sell. In her stories in The Wall Street Journal — whether she's writing about Gitmo or Jihadist's bogus lawsuits, or 9/11 — Burlingame's conviction is crystal clear. There's no agenda other than asking readers to face certain facts from which they can deduce their truth. Readers relate to that.
Burlingame's ability to speak to both left and right is an imperative for keeping America safe, not just as a tag line but as a reality.
(drawing by Terry Shoffner for The Wall Street Journal)
