Let's talk some politics.
Petraeus did about as good a job on the Dems in congress as Ollie North did back in the day. The end result of it all is the General is sayin', "see ya in six months". Which means he's got the green light to continue the surge and his counter insurgent warfare until then in the manner he sees fit.
Which means you're not going to see ANY massive troop withdrawals from Iraq until .....? That's right, until after the '08 election, ie...Jan 20, 2009.
No major policy changes or troop withdrawals are going to happen in the spring iof an election year, unless GW Bush decides to make them. The congress is certainly not going to get involved so close to an election.
So what? I'll tell you why, so what? If, as fervently hoped for by some, we are to re-enter the glories of the Clinton era again in '09, the war becomes a Democrat war. It becomes a Democrat war because only a Republican president can pull the troops out and still appear not to be cutting and running, or strong on defense. If Hillary, or any other Dem, attempts to implement massive withdrawals in '09 it will be playing right to image as a soft Dem. So they can't do it.
All of the stridency for immediate withdrawal evaporates on 20 January 2009, if a Dem is elected. That is why it is so important to hammer GW Bush over this now. The retreat must be seen as a Republican retreat or no retreat is possible.
SanderO is going to be seriously bummed by this analysis, although no more than MoveOn.org will be. While I'm thinking about SanderO, it seems to me he is rather concerned about Rep sex scandals. Was it not the position of like minded thinkers that these sexual matters were private? At least that is what used to pass for liberal thought on the matter when the president was a philanderer.
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“Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it.” Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
Even if/when Democrats take control of the White House there won't be a withdraw from Iraq. You heard it here first.
It's a convenient stick to beat Republicans with, and it has been all along, but Democrats and Republicans, everyone, has a stake in what happens in Iraq. No matter who wins the White House we'll be there for a long, long time.
Or to put it another way, they took the place over, then proceeded to spend a few billion $us building a base there, the boundary around which they call "the green zone". You think they've been building all that just to turn around and leave ? D-r-e-a-m .... O-n .....
Last edited by wind_magic : 09-15-2007 at 03:06 AM.
House #1 A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas --- add on a pool, a pool house and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern "snow belt" area. It's in the South.
House #2 Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat- pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.
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HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville , Tennessee ; it is the abode of the "environmentalist" Al Gore.
HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford , Texas ; it is the residence of the President of the United States , George W. Bush.
An "inconvenient truth".
THIS IS A TRUE STORY, YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT ON THE FOLLOWING URL.
Only 29 percent of Americans gave Bush a positive grade for his job performance, below his worst Zogby poll mark of 30 percent in March. A paltry 11 percent rated Congress positively, beating the previous low of 14 percent in July.
The W numbers can be decieving. I'm a very hard core coservative and would give W a negative rating for not being conservative enough. The other side would not care to mention that. They would spin it their way.
Lookin' pretty good for those Dems, eh? (don't count too much on Michigan, the Demm governor just signed a big tax increase) Veteran pols remind us of the fickleness of voters, not to mention actual facts. Good article below. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6134.html
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“Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it.” Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
A fairly comprehensive analysis of the existing presidential canidates and their chances for acceptence by the American people. The author's conclusion that Fred Thompson is 'da man is tough to argue against. His historical vignettes are valuable information; information that is part of the political DNA of Americans. A most excellent read. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art..._will_win.html
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“Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it.” Wm. F. Buckley, Jr.
Fred may be an actor, I don't care. He's got the "Beliveable" factor for me.
I mean, I take him at his word.
One of the things that attracted people to Reagan was that when he spoke, he spoke "to" you, not "at" you, and you bought his bs, regardless if it made practical sense or not.
Thats not a bad thing.
Fred, to me is the same way. His demeanor, calm confidence, and personal "stablity" inspires confidence that he can "get the job done".
Maybe he is a "good ol'boy" I don't care.
I can't help but think that if he's across a table form some other world leader, and he say "ya'll better cut that out" they're going to take him to heart.
I can't help but think that if Fred has a member of congress in the oval office and says to them "y'all are with me on this, aren't ya" and gives them a smile and handshake,... they'd better be.
Everett Dirksen said that the scariest moments he had while in office was having the phone ring and having LBJ on the other end starting the conversation with "Everett, this is your President".
heres come "quips" from fred before and after he entered the race
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We are not primarily on earth to see through one another, but to see one another through
Some people are like slinkies: not really good for anything... but you can't help laughing when you push them down the stairs
Last edited by cardiacpaul : 10-04-2007 at 09:11 AM.
