Cowardice

cow·ard·ice· (ko̵u′ər dis′)

noun

lack of courage; esp., shamefully excessive fear of danger, difficulty, or suffering

Synonyms
pusillanimity, cowardliness, cravenness, timorousness, timidity, faintheartedness, baseness, fear, abject fear, weakness, quailing, shrinking, cowering, fawning, groveling, sniveling, abjectness, bullying, recreancy, dastardy, dastardliness, want of courage, spinelessness, poltroonery, desertion, apprehension, dread, diffidence, apprehensiveness, fearfulness, suspicion, baby act*, white feather*, yellow streak*, yellowness*, lack of guts*, gutlessness*, funk*, cold feet*;

Here is an exchange between Wolf and Senator Dodd in last week's debate...

BLITZER: What is more important, human rights or national security?

DODD: Obviously, national security, keeping the country safe.

When you take the oath of office on January 20, you promise to do two
things, and that is to protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States and protect our country against enemies both foreign and
domestic. The security of the country is number one, obviously.

BLITZER: All right. OK.

If any other candidates happen to stop by and read this post...Wrong Answer!

Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The job of the President is to defend the Constitution. Read it carefully. It doesn't say "except when I am scared spitless that the brown hordes will kill me". It doesn't qualify the responsibility in the least.

I am really getting tired of "national security" trumping The Constitution. In the last two hundred plus years The Constitution has been defended with the loss of thousands and thousands of lives and it deserves just as much defense today as it ever has. This almost casual setting aside of The Constitution out of cowardice is the same as admitting the defeat of the ideas that founded this nation and that have preserved it through revolution, civil war and two world wars. It makes lies of everything that made this country great. If we give up the Constitution and with it our rights, we are defeated.

This is the purpose of terrorism and each time we prostitute our Constitutional rights in the name of fear we are defeating ourselves far more effectively and completely that Osama could ever hope to do directly. Even a dirty bomb in New York or LA would not do the damage that giving up on the Constitution would. Lincoln knew this in his heart and struggled with the damage he wrought to the Constitution during the dark days of the Civil War.

"At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." -- A. Lincoln, 1838

h/t to Devilstower at Dkos