Finally, President George Bush took a swing at the enemy within the United States Congress. The beleaguered President gave a belated speech which attacked his critics who continue to rewrite the history of the war on terrorism.

Giving his speech on a holiday that honors the men and women who've served or are serving their country seemed a perfect opportunity to fire the first volley at the deranged leftists in the US Senate, House of Representatives and leaders of the Democrat National Committee. The President fell short of mentioning the mainstream news media and its role as propaganda arm of the DNC and MoveOn.Org types.

At the close of Bush's obviously heartfelt tribute to American war veterans, he took a shot at the "Democrats and antiwar critics" who deliver the "wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will."

"It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite history of how that war began," Bush said. "The stakes in the global war on terror are too high. The national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges."

Immediately following Bush's speech, reporters scampered back to their comrades in the Democrat Party such as Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the most vitriolic Bush critics. The Senator, whose own presidential aspirations were dashed in a place called Chappaquiddick, claimed that the President was using the memorial holiday "as a campaign-like attempt to rebuild his own credibility."

Senator John Kerry, who lost to Bush in 2004, complained that Bush dishonored veterans by using the holiday for political purposes. Of course, not one member of the news media mentioned Kerry's role in demonizing American military personnel in Vietnam. In fact, many election observers believe it was the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth who cost Kerry his seat in the Oval Office. It's widely known that the junior Senator from Massachusetts once compared American servicemen to Genghis Khan, a brutal and savage historical figure.

Kerry also blasted Bush, accusing him of creating "fictionalized" intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq invasion. Kerry is very much acquainted with fictionalization. He fictionalized being in Cambodia illegally. He fictionalized seeing atrocities which he later admitted he only heard about from others in Vietnam.

President Bush's poll numbers show his favorability down to 38%. Although, the mainstream media believe his poor numbers are a result of the Iraq war, some pundits believe he lost ground with conservatives and some moderates because of missteps in not addressing the issues of border security and immigration, as well as his failure to nominate a conservative judge to the Supreme Court. The original nomination of Harriet Miers ended in disaster and President Bush had to re-nominate a new person, this time a true conservative jurist.

Then there is the CIA Leakgate probe that triggered a new round of questions in both parties about the White House's manipulation of prewar intelligence. Unconventional weapons were never found, and Democrats made allegations that the intelligence that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa were based on forged documents. Of course, the news media know all about forged documents and deceptive reporting. They've done it with impunity for years until the internet, talk radio, and Fox News Channel arrived to offer other sides to important stories.

The Leakgate case is an excellent example of "the emperor has no clothes" dynamic in the news media. The CIA agent is not covert. The agent's husband bragged about his CIA wife to a decorated US Army general in 2002. The special prosecutor had to rely on perjury and obstruction of justice charges to rationalize spending two years on an investigation into what he knew was not a crime.

This writer doesn't agree with all the policies and positions of George W. Bush, however it's not at issue that Bush is an honest and trusting man. Unfortunately, he does not practice the sage advice to be "as meek as a dove, but cunning as a snake." It's sad to watch him stand alone trying to revive trust in him by Americans.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Republicans, a majority in both houses, cower as the Democrats bellow their lies, half-truths and distortions. Their eyes on next year's congressional elections, they've have started breaking ranks with the weakened White House. The GOP, for better or worse, have always relied on conservatives to carry their water for them. They'd rather just keep their mouths shut and make their backroom deals.

While Bush may have started shooting back, don't expect the Republicans to follow suit. The party is being commandeered by the so-called moderates or RINOs -- Republicans In Name Only. Their new leader is Senator John McCain, the New York Times' favorite Republican.

Poll after poll after poll shows that America's sons and daughters in the military support their Commander-in-Chief. But American civilians prefer to believe over-fed, pompous and dishonest politicians and news editors. Something to think about on Veterans Day.

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Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police.