What happened on Sept. 11 two years ago - however much we may prefer the comfort of collective amnesia and the white noise of politics - changed the world for our lifetimes.
Sept. 11 was not just a singular attack on a particular parcel of real estate at a specific moment in time. It was a declaration of lasting war against the United States by an ideological faction of nihilist fanatics with time - and hate - on their side.
While we've got Democratic candidates naming their favorite tunes and hurling criticism at the current administration - but never a constructive alternative plan - the Islamists are breeding more infidel-hating Orcs to plot the next suicide attack.
While we're counting down to the next flag-waving, ribbon-wearing, victim-baiting, tear-streaking, baby-kissing election, our enemies are counting down to the next decade, or the next century, or however long it takes to bring us down.
We had no choice but to act. We have no choice but to stay the course in Iraq until that country is on its feet. As Bush has noted, "Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness."
At the press club, Rumsfeld recounted a conversation he had shortly after 9-11 with the sultan of Oman, who proposed that the attacks, though horrible, might have been a blessing in disguise. They would be a blessing, he said, if the result were an awakening and if our response prevented a worse attack.
Two years later, we have not had another attack on our soil. We have salvaged Afghanistan from the Taliban, toppled Saddam Hussein, begun a reconstruction in Iraq that shows promise, suffered less human loss than expected, and captured, killed or thwarted many of our enemies.
That we have ticked off a few Europeans in the process falls squarely into the category of "Things could be worse." Which, without the commitment of September 11 Americans, they might well have been.