The Axis of Re-election
Evil empire redux: nothing like the specter of foreign enemies to mute domestic woes

NEWSWEEK


March 4 issue — When the president first used the phrase “axis of evil” in the State of the Union address, it smelled of the speechwriter. That’s OK; many of the most memorable oratorical flourishes of the last century were crafted by writers but ascribed to their political masters. But as the weeks have passed, the repeated use of the term to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea has begun to stink of spin. That’s par for the course, too; political speeches usually have political aims. But this is the wrong time and this is the wrong issue on which to use fighting words for political gain.