IT'S OK TO USE THESE WORDS IF YOU'RE A REPUBLICAN

Regarding the forthcoming Bob Woodward book, Steve Benen notes that a certain turn of phrase has upset right-wingers:

This morning, it appears one quote from the book in particular is sparking interest.

Woodward's book portrays Obama and the White House as barraged by warnings about the threat of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil and confronted with the difficulty in preventing them. During an interview with Woodward in July, the president said, "We can absorb a terrorist attack. We'll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever ... we absorbed it and we are stronger."

... the right has already begun throwing a tantrum over the president's remarks. Fox News' Gretchen Carlson suggested Obama is "inviting" an attack....

John Bolton appeared on Fox News to declare the president's comments "outrageous," adding, "How can an American president say that as if he's a detached observer and doesn't care about Americans dying?" Bolton went on to say Obama's words "proves" he's not qualified to be president....

Um, if Obama saying "we absorbed it and we are stronger" is "outrageous" and "inviting" to terrorists planning an attack, then I suppose you could say the same about this:

From the tragedy of September 11 emerged a stronger Nation, renewed by a spirit of national pride and a true love of country.

And this:

Over the past seven years, this system has absorbed shocks -- recession, corporate scandals, terrorist attacks, global war. Yet the genius of our system is that it can absorb such shocks and emerge even stronger.

(Emphasis added.)

The first of those was President Bush's 2002 proclamation designating 9/11 as Patriot Day.

The second of those was President Bush's statement about the U.S. economy on February 13, 2008, as he signed that year's Economic Stimulus Act.

As usual, it's OK if you're a Republican.

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UPDATE: Oh, of course -- via Newshoggers, I see that the many wingnut bloggers who gasped in response to this quote were led to it by Matt Drudge's red highlighting. Well, naturally -- these people don't say "Good morning, nice day, isn't it?" unless Drudge (or someone) has put that in the approved talking points, do they?