It’s summertime, and between baseball, Indiana Jones and vacation plans we sometimes lose sight of the fact that there are millions of Islamic extremists who want to turn Washington D.C. into the wasteland depicted in this image posted yesterday by Al Qaeda terrorists to an Islamic website.
That’s one of the things that scares me about Barack Obama, who was a mediocre state legislator just two years ago. I’m not sure he understands this. And it’s clear from his naive comments about meeting with dictators that he does not understand this simple truth of foreign policy in the Cold War era — you cannot reason with terrorists and tyrants. At some point, we have to acknowledge that maybe all these gaffes he’s committing — an ABC reporter calls him a “one-man gaffe machine” — may not actually be gaffes. Instead, they could be an indication that in terms of knowledge and experience, Obama is in way over his head. Now is not the time to put an amateur in charge of American foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the reality of this war is being lived out in the pain of many American families, including a local family who this afternoon in Scottsdale remembered the life of their son, brother and friend. I didn’t know Kyle Daggett, but have close friends who did.

This morning I taped Sunday Square-Off for airing Sunday on Channel 12 in Phoenix. With my friend Alberto Gutier and radio host Dr. Mike Newcomb, we discussed Arizona’s budget crisis, McCain’s possible VP picks and Scott McClellan’s book. In the “final thought” section, here is what I said:

On Memorial Day last Monday we recognized and honored those who have died fighting for our country. But this year, Memorial Day tragically has greater meaning for one Valley family. On May 1, Sergeant Kyle Daggett – an Army Ranger — was injured by a rocket propelled grenade in Baghdad. After battling his injuries for two weeks, this graduate of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix lost his life. Kyle Daggett was 21 years old. On Monday this American hero will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside many others who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we enjoy. To the family of this hometown hero — Arizona thanks you for your sacrifice and our prayers are with you today and in the days to come.