Lagniappe: WoT Bush Watch - From President Bush's Jan. 26, 2004, speech in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Medical Liability Reform. Bush opens with:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me. Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate the fact that a Texan is being treated so well here in Arkansas. (Laughter.) It's nice to be -- it's nice to be in this part of the world again. Arkansas is full of really good people, decent, caring people. And so is this hospital. I'm honored that you would have allowed me and my rather significant entourage -- (laughter) -- to come to Baptist Health Medical Center.

I'm here to talk about health issues. I'm here to talk about one of the reasons why health care costs are going up. And that's the fact that we've got too many darn lawsuits, too many frivolous and junk lawsuits that are affecting people. (Applause). I'm here to make sure that we talk in a way that says to the people of Arkansas and America that we need medical liability reform to make sure that medicine is affordable and available.

Six paragraphs later ...

Before I get into the issue of health, I do want to remind you that our country still faces big challenges. And we're rising to meet the challenges. The most important job of my administration is to protect the American people; is to chase down those who would do us harm and bring them to justice; is to never forget the lessons of September the 11th; is to stay on the offensive -- and that's what we're doing. (Applause.)

We're spreading freedom, and as we do so, the world becomes more peaceful. Freedom is not America's gift to the world. Freedom is the Almighty's gift to each man and woman in the world. (Applause.)

I appreciate so very much the contribution of the Arkansas Guard. Over 4,000 troops are part of our effort to not only make America more secure, but to make the world more free. I know that the Governor informed me that these troops are ready to go. They understand the mission. They're proud to serve our country. I'm proud to call them -- I'm proud to be their Commander-in- Chief. And I want their families to know how much we are grateful for their sacrifice, as well. Arkansas ought to be proud of the men and women who wear the uniform. And they're going to make this nation proud and more secure in their sacrifices. (Applause.)

I told everybody the other night at the State of the Union that we're going to stay on the offensive against al Qaeda, and we're making good progress. We're on an international manhunt. We're in a different kind of war. It used to be in the old days, you could measure progress based upon the number of airplanes that the enemy had or the number of ships in a flotilla. And the big battles of the past were clashes of equipment that were visible for people to see. And this is the kind of war where sometimes you see action and sometimes you don't. Sometimes progress is being made and it's hard to tell it, because in order to dismantle the al Qaeda terrorists network, we've got to be on a manhunt, and we've got a lot of people on the manhunt.

Just yesterday -- not yesterday -- just last week, we made further progress in making America more secure when a fellow named Hassan Ghul was captured in Iraq. Hassan Ghul was a -- reported directly to Khalid Shaik Muhammad, who was the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks. He was a killer. He was moving money and messages around South Asia and the Middle East to other al Qaeda leaders. He was a part of this network of haters that we're dismantling.

Our intelligence officers did a good job. He was captured in Iraq where he was helping al Qaeda to put pressure on our troops. There is one less enemy we have to worry about with the capture of Hassan Ghul. Our people are doing great work. (Applause.)

And John Kerry supposedly replays ad nauseam his service in Vietnam? Health Liability reform and Hassan Ghul? Yeah. That connection is about as clear as the one between Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and 9/11.