Shorter William F. Buckley:

I'd stand up for America's honor, morals, and liberties - but I'm too scared.

As justification for his lack of moral fiber, Buckley quotes a military historian who makes statements like these:

"The most widely respected Islamic authorities ... all assume that Muslims have a duty to spread the dominion of Islam, through military offensives, until it rules the world."

Leading Islamic scholars might find this statement, from someone who doesn't know their field, absurd. Savvy anti-terror strategists might observe that it plays into Al Qaeda's hands by defining all Muslims as terrorists.

But if it justifies Buckley's timidity, and his lack of reverence and respect for America's values, I guess it bears repeating.

Shorter Stephen F. Hadley (Bush National Security Advisor):

It takes guts to be this stupid.

What he actually says is that Bush "didn't take the easy way." That would be the way that looked at the facts, told the truth, and acted accordingly. No, says Hadley, we're too smart for that ...