Before Frank Rich used his arrogance to tell us who we should vote for, he used it to tell us what plays we should see. Rich was, arguably, the last uber-powerful NY Times Theatre Critic. Unless a show had a huge advance and a great resume of talent behind it (“Cats,” “Phantom”) a pan from him would severely threaten a show’s future. Meanwhile, if he and he alone liked a show, he had the power to keep it afloat much longer than natural market forces would have allowed (“Sunday in the Park”).

Now theatre-boy Frank is an op-ed columnist and is known for erudite and vicious slams at all things Republican. This week, in trying to support President Obama’s disastrous spending bill, he not only assails the House Republicans, but takes frequent shots at the former President.

As classless and cheap as it is to continue to beat President Bush up, I am especially nauseated by this passage:

No one should expect the Republicans to give the new president carte blanche, fall blindly into lock step or be “post-partisan.” (Though that’s exactly what the G.O.P. demanded of Democrats with Bush: You were either with him or with the terrorists.)

President Bush NEVER, and I mean NEVER said or even implied that if the Democrats were not with him they were with the terrorists… NEVER!

There is only one time where President Bush came CLOSE to uttering a phrase like this. Here is the context and the passage of President Bush’s speech from September 21, 2001:

Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

It is clear who President Bush is talking about, and what he means by “With us.” And, by the way, this is still our policy, and it SHOULD be. If we find that a country is wilfully harboring Bin Laden, they are our enemy.

By the way, I hope you click on the link I provided for the full text of this speech…. it’s from the New York Times. Theatre-boy Frank’s very own web-site has the actual information that exposes him for what he is: A Big Fat Liar.

Stage Right is on Facebook.