A JACKSONIAN MOMENT? Michael Barone emails:

I was just reading InstaPundit tonight when I remembered one of the great Jacksonian moments in American history. If you listen to the audio tape of Franklin Roosevelt’s speech to Congress December 8, 1941, you will notice that the biggest applause–not just applause, but wild raucous cheers–comes after this line.

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”

It is, I think a beautiful piece of writing, drafted by Roosevelt himself–more proof that, whatever his faults, he was a great man. “The American people”: not the government, not the armed forces, not the leadership, the American people. “In their righteous might”: here Roosevelt weaves together by internal rhyme the idea that we are strong and we are good. “Will win through to absolute victory.”

The historians debate when the United States and their allies became committed to unconditional surrender. But after these words, how could America have settled for anything else? Roosevelt knew what had followed the ambiguous victory of November 1918, and wanted to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again. And he did so in just a few words.

I wonder if anyone in France called him a “cowboy?”