avoiding what reality? muslim terrorism is an established fact, you're fighting two wars aganst it, one against al-quaeda and one against the taliban. but you fight the kkk too without feeling the need to wage war against southern protestant caucasians. there are a billion muslims in the world, many of them your allies in those wars, many of them up for grabs, many of them citizens of your country. alienating them is suicidal, not to mention it plays directly into the plans of the islamofascists. they want you to do it.

the need to demonize all muslims (and those who allegedly "make excuses for them") comes not from the need to fight terrorism, it comes from the desire to energize america for a war that is becoming increasingly unpopular because it appears to be going nowhere. its a propaganda exercise designed to get people riled up, a means to fight apathy by mobilizing hate. it is not a liberal vs conservative policy difference, it is a conservative extremist tactic for mobilizing public outrage against mainstream liberals.

the american authorities, including the mainstream republicans and the administration of gwb, have honorably never succumbed to the temptation to employ this racist tactic to fire up public opinion for purely political purposes. even the israeli government, surrounded by muslim enemies, has never deliberately manipulated public opinion in this way (although private groups of israelis and their foreign supporters certainly have).

maybe this is why democrats are so sensitive on this issue. this ain't at all about defending america from muslims, it's about keeping america safe from liberals.