Absorbing A Terrorist Attack

You are going to hear a lot of spin about this comment of the President to Bob Woodward.

“We can absorb a terrorist attack. We’ll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger.”

The White House will try to tell you that this comment is about the strength of the American people, about our resiliency. But…

Word choices matter. Hey, we all know that another attack is a possibility, maybe even a probability. We know this. I don’t blame the President for being candid about this, even to try and prepare us for it. But…

Absorb. Think about that word. I think we can survive another terrorist attack. I think we can overcome another terrorist attack. We can endure another terrorist attack. I believe we will be undaunted even in the face of another terrorist attack. But absorb?

For me, absorb means that you take a blow without caring much about it. You take a blow and move on. You take a blow and you do not retaliate. You absorb it.

The White House will spend the next few days trying to convince us otherwise, but this is what absorb means to me. If and when we are hit again, Obama will do nothing. He will absorb it and move on. He wants us to do the same.

The point? Our reaction to 9/11 made things worse. President Obama will rise above. Even in the face of attack, President Obama will remember who the true enemy is. Us.