THE SILENCE

Posted at 6:20 p.m. ET

John Avlon, at the New York Post, has noticed a remarkable absence from the presidential campaigns.  It says a great deal about our politically correct culture, something likely to get much worse in the time of Obama:

HERE'S a wake-up call for a nation at war: We've had all but one of the presidential debates, plus the veep debate - without once hearing the words "Islamic terrorism."

Seven years after 9/11, we still seem to be debating whether it's polite to name our enemy directly. Worse, the emerging consensus seems to be "no."

That is not a good sign. How is the next leader of the free world going to solve a problem he can't even name?

And...

As dissident and exile Ayaan Hirsi Ali told me, "The presidential candidates are focused on military and intelligence positions, but I patiently wait for them to define the ideology they are going up against - because it's also a war of ideas. . . The collectivist Islamist system is not just wrong, but opposed to the American way of life."

This skittishness about naming our enemy directly is consistent with the 20-plus debates of the Democratic primaries, where discomfort with saying "Islamic terrorism" led to its absence from the dialogue.

Which raises the question: Who are we afraid of offending?

A very good question, and one that goes unanswered in the public debates.

Since the opening hours of this war, US officials have strenuously emphasized that our enemy is not Islam, but Islamist terrorists...

...But the next president has far more work to do before we can begin to declare victory.

It may be years or decades, but Americans aren't being told that by either party.

Reuniting the country to win the wider war against Islamic terrorism is one of the great challenges facing the next president. And it's got to happen - because this challenge won't go away if we ignore it.

The seven years since 9/11 have seen no less than 14 attempted terrorist attacks in America. Our success in stopping them has lulled us into a false comfort, but we can't wait for an attack to succeed to remind us of the threat we face. Our domestic political differences are absurd in our enemies' eyes.

Finally...

If Obama wins, Democrats will be forced to recognize that they have just as much responsibility as Republicans to win this wider war against jihadism. It is inseparable with the larger constitutional responsibility of protecting the American people. And there certainly is no greater threat to liberal values than intolerant Islam.

The bottom line: Our enemy in this era is Islamic terrorism - and the need to confront it must be beyond partisanship. McCain and Obama should affirm that in their final debate.

Don't hold your breath.  The lack of interest, both in public and press, is pathetic, especially on the far left.  I fear that it will take another shock to wake us up, and even that may do it, as the excuse and explanation machine revs up to talk away any attack on this country, and blame it on George Bush.

October 11, 2008.