Is It Time To Apologize For Crimes Against Iran?

John Hinderaker - Powerline, Claremont Institute, etc. - has some comment today on a Rasmussen poll released yesterday. The poll indicated that "just 11%" of American voters thought the United States should apologize to Iran for " 'crimes' committed against the Islamic country." What caught his attention was the term "just." Was Rasmussen expecting more? Exactly what is on this "crimes" list? Where have we violated law with specific acts against Iran?
I must agree with him that I find it hard to understand how even one out of ten American voters - yes, these people voted - could hold this view. On the other hand I had eleven aunts and uncles, and only one of them, Uncle Bill, was an "outlier," to say the least. Maybe "one in ten/eleven" is a reasonable ratio for chronic fringe behavior among the general population as well.

More seriously, the use of the word "just" could be acceptable given what I perceive is a much higher infection of derangement syndrome still flourishing on the left. Granted, Obama's election is a balm that will sooth many in the syndrome crowd, but their nucleus cannot be penetrated so easily. Nothing short of the end of the U.S. as we know it will satisfy this group. In fact, they continue to hammer Bush-Cheney-Palin as if they were "in power." Soon, projection will set in and their anger will focus on the new power structure as the unrealized expectations accumulate day by day. This is not good for an administration likely to face an array of serious international challenges in the short term.

I see Obama responding in one of two ways. He can be a Harry Truman with some "give 'em hell" reality. Or he can be a Jimmy Carter and his "can't we all just get along?" strategy. Campaign rhetoric would support the former. I cannot see the middle way as a meaningful alternative these days. Either way, the Uncle Bills will be there making life a bit more challenging for them, more entertaining for us. Too bad they can't apologize for such misery making.

[Understand that I can see a Carter strategy working in the appropriate environment, but certainly not today. I'm sorry to be tough on him; he's a fine writer. We have enjoyed several of his books.]