Musings in Search of a Muse

From a BBC News report comes a rather impressive quote from London's mayor, Ken Livingstone:

I say to those who planned this dreadful attack, whether they are still here in hiding or somewhere abroad. "Watch next week as we bury our dead and mourn them but see also in those same days new people coming to this city to make it their home, to call themselves Londoners and doing it because of that freedom to be themselves."

Earlier comments echoed some of the best speeches of Sir Winston Churchill. Here's the text as found at FoxNews:

"I want to say one thing, specifically to the world today — this was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful."

"It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers," the former Trotskyist said. "It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian ... young and old … that isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted fate, it is an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder."

"They seek to divide London, they seek Londoners to turn against each other ... this city of London is the greatest in the world because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack."

Livingstone also had words specifically for the terrorists: "I know that you personally do not fear to give your own life in exchange to taking others ... but I know you do fear you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society ... in the days that follow, look at our airports, look at our seaports and look at our railway stations ... you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world, will arrive in London to become Londoners, to fulfill their dream and achieve their potential … whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail."

Bravo, Mr. Mayor. Bravo. Leadership such as this is exactly what is needed right now. The cowards don't stand a chance.