Nevertheless, Sen. Daschle is a typical Democrat in the way he conducts himself when things aren’t quite going his way. Liberal Democrats like to whine and attack Republicans when they are in power in Washington. Now that Republicans have what I will call the Trifecta -- control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Represenatives -- I would look for the baseless attacks and senseless ramblings to intensify in the coming months from other so-called leaders of the Democratic Party (even though former Clinton staffer Robert Reich recently said that there isn’t a Democratic Party anymore. Go figure! Who is the leader of the Democratic Party now, anyway? Is it still Bill Clinton?)!

But let’s go back to Sen. Daschle for just a moment. His sudden criticism of the way President George W. Bush is handling the war on terrorism yesterday is nothing more than sour grapes over an election where the Democrats got their you know what stomped. That is all this is about. Tom Daschle is a sore loser! Where was this talk BEFORE the election, Sen. Daschle?

How dare Tom Daschle question “whether or not we are winning the war on terror.” Sen. Daschle claims that because President Bush has not been able to find Osama bin Laden (who is assumed alive at this point) and that we have not made any progress in capturing key members of al-Qaida, that the Bush administration is losing the war on terrorism.

Once again, Sen. Daschle is imploring another overly used, yet popular Democratic political methodology: scare tactics. Daschle claims that al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden “continue to be as great a threat today as they were one and a half years ago.” He adds, “so by what measure can we claim to be successful so far?”

If the outgoing Senate Majority Leader were here today, here is how I would answer his question: “Sen. Daschle, I’m glad you asked that question. I would love to answer that for you simply so you can understand it like the rest of America already does. You see, President Bush is winning the war on terrorism because the United States has NOT been attacked by al-Qaida since 9-11-01. Period. I’d say that President Bush has accomplished a lot of progress in the war on terrorism by the fact that we have not had any other attacks so far.”

However, I am a realist. I am not foolish enough in my support of President Bush to believe that America definitely WON’T have another attack, but the fact remains that we have averted further terrorist attacks since that tragic day last September. The majority of the American people have consistently given President Bush high approval ratings of his handling of the war on terrorism. And that is what makes Tom Daschle’s blood boil!

The truth is that nobody knows for sure if Osama bin Laden is dead or alive. Frankly, though, I don’t think that matters as much as some people are claiming. The fact is that terrorism is a threat to the national security of the United States.

Whether it is Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein or any other terrorist leader waiting in the wings, all forms of terrorism must be stopped before they happen. Preventing another 9-11 is the primary goal of this war on terrorism. Of course, capturing and apprehending the ones responsible for previous terrorist acts and ones that are attempted are also a part of that equation.

When asked about what he thought of the critical remarks made by Tom Daschle, incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said, “it seems to me like Sen. Daschle’s comments are inappropriate and out of order.”

Among other things.

Sen. Daschle’s crybaby attitude aside, there are a few questions that people may be asking themselves about Presdient Bush and the war on terrorism.

How do we measure whether the war on terrorism has been successful? Is it in the number of arrests made? Is it in how much money we are spending on the effort? Is it preventing another attack on the United States? Or, is capturing Osama bin Laden the only way that President Bush will be perceived as winning the war on terrorism?

It has now been a little over a year since September 11, 2001 and Osama bin Laden has eluded our efforts to find him. Even with the CIA, the questioning of prisoners, the search operations and expensive spy equipment being used to search for him, we have still been left empty handed.

The lastest audiotape that allegedly contains the voice of Osama bin Laden threatening America and its allies is currently being thoroughly analyzed by the Pentagon in an effort to obtain new leads on his location. Even with the latest focus in the war on terrorism on Osama bin Laden, the Department of Defense has made it clear that this war is not about just one man.

Evidence has been gathered against many different terrorist cells in the Middle East region of the world by intelligence officials from many different countries. Much of the research has been conducted on Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden and other members of al-Qaida are supposedly hiding.

Although many al-Qaida leaders have been captured and killed during the war, Osama bin Laden has always found a way to escape. Even with a lofty $25 million reward for information leading to his capture, Osama bin Laden remains a fugitive. There is not enough evidential proof about where Osama bin Laden is at this very moment. If he is still out there, though, we will eventually find him!

And when that day comes, Sen. Tom Daschle will need to publicly apologize to President Bush and to the American people for his disgraceful demeanor after the mid-term elections of 2002.

Yeah, right. Like THAT would ever happen! Lay-hoo Zuh-her!