peter_puck

I suppose this depends on your definition of war. For the purpose of it ending for Al Queda...well, they are still killing members of the US military and civilians, so to them it is still a war- they don't care what you think. They didn't care about Bush's "mission accomplished" either. No, but they never were in New York - Al Qaeda was. They are a different animal. If the Confederates/Federales/Germany/Korea went to New York, they would be killed. Same with Al Qaeda, but they don't care cause they will go to heaven and be given lots of women without face masks. I doubt "inspired" is the right the word. The Sunnis were more than happy to have Al Qaeda kill Americans. It was when Al Qaeda started to threaten the power of the tribes and the remains of Saddam's army that people became "awakened". They don't like the US either, but the US gives them guns that they just might use against the Shite's.

Maybe it should have been done 12 years ago, but it should not have been done when it was. It was a huge strategic blunder, right up their with Hitler opening up a second front by invading Russia. You should finish your first war before you start another. In a war with Al Queda and Iran looking for nukes, Saddam, as weird as it seems, served US interests. The Iranians were afraid of Saddam and the only Al Queda members in Iraq were found in mass graves. Now Iran has left the reservation because they face no credible threats to their power. Al Queda has rebuit in large part due to the Iraq war. It is a huge recruting tool, and the troops who could have finished them off were pulled into Iraq from Afganistan. Hey, and even if the Iraq war ended tomorrow, what do you think happens to all the people who were inspired to join Al Queda for the Iraq war ? Do they go home to raise goats, or do they go somewhere else...like maybe New York ?

No argument their. I never did understand the logic of a stimulus package. The US economy basic problem is that it runs on borrowed money. It consumes more than it produces and spends more than it brings in. You have record deficits and a rapidly aging population. You have an economy that is unready to face the future fuel crisis. The solution ? Borrow more money and give it to people who can go out and buy Ikea furniture to feel better. What they should be doing is letting the market work it out.

It would be foolish to surrender control of our currency. Our ecomony is different than that of the US and we might end up needing a lower dollar, while the the US needs a higher one, or vis versa

Iran has bankrolled many of the Shite groups in Iraq, both in the government and opposition. They could turn Iraq into a tinderbox tomorrow. They do the same thing in Afganistan - bankroll both sides. They control thousands and thousands of rockets in Lebanon. They control in Hizbolah, a sophisticated network of terrorists. They control the straight of Hormuz and could shut off a good hunk of the world oil supply. They have a very modern air defense system. If Bush didn't attack these people, Obama won't. They know that, so I don't think Obama is in a position of strength. Bush legacy 1. Broke the debt clock. May end up running up more debt that every other US president combined. 2. Failed to move US away from fossil fuel dependence even when it was clear it would be a giant threat to the economy 3. Used some of the dirtiest campaign tactics in modern US history. 4. Caused the (possibly) greatest economic meltdown since the Great Depression 5. Let China into the WTO 6. Started an idiotic war that boosted Al Queeda. 7. Dramatically lowered the US's standing world wide 8. Raised the level of partisan ignorance to new levels (putting unqualified partisans into traditionallly non-partisan jobs). More than that, he did it all while not really having a deep understanding of anything. This will forever place George W Bush as a warning to future voters.

I think that remains to be seen. What Bush and Bernanke (the killer B's) will cause inflation. We have a record deficit and very low interest rates, both of which stimulate inflation. This will likely cause inflation to rise during the first part of his term. The rest depends on what Obama does. Is he going to move to the centre like Clinton, or go left like Carter. If he would tell the truth to the American people "you can't run an economy on borrowed money" and balance the budget, he might be okay. I would have prefered McCain, but anything is an improvement on Bush (even picking the first name in the phone book for president).

I really don't get what just happened. McCain lets the Democrats paint him as a clone of George Bush. In reality, McCain hates Bush more than I do. Outside of the guy who got his testicles blown off in Iraq, there is no greater victim of Bush than McCain. In any normal, ethical country, McCain would have been president 8 years ago. McCain said Bush was the Scare Crow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion all rolled into one (no heart, no brain, no courage). He said (indirectly) that he had a special place in hell. Why the heck did McCain stick by the frat-boy? Why the heck was there no response to Binden when he did that "I don't see a difference thing" What the heck was with the ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton. Pointing out that your opponent can outdraw you 1000 to 1 means something ? Obama proposes the biggest welfare increase in history (disguised as a tax cut) and McCain tries to generate sympathy with a fake guy making a fake 250K ? Nobody feels sorry for someone making 250K. They do get pissed at giant welfare handouts though. But McCain did not want to talk about some undeserving person getting a handout, he talked about the poor guy making a quarter million a year. Palin ? WTF?? When your boat is sinking, don't grab the anchor. First of all, she has scary social conservative views that piss of the independent voter that decides elections. Second of all, don't you think that somewhere in the vetting process, they should have asked "can you point out Africa on a map"? I mean I get the point about the base, but look at Obama...he should get the base plenty motivated. Even if you do pick her, you should give her a few months warning, so she could get a Geography for Dummies book or something. I mean geez John, look at history. What happened when Bush senior picked a unknown, young, piece of fuff ? McCain has a well deserved reputation for being an honest politician. He then burns that away by making a campaign out of dishonest attacks. McCain had a reputation as being a moderate Republican who could compete for the independent voter. He was runing in a year where the Republicans should have been playing defense. Why then the swing to the right ? Why not have a tax plan that was better for the average voter than Obamas ? Hit over and over again that the real plumber would be better off under McCain. How the heck can you lose on the issue of taxes to an UBER Liberal ? What the heck was with his election team as well. How can you hire such a group of complainers ? Palin may be Dan Quayle in jeans but the McCain's people should not have been saying it. They should have been working on lying with a straight face. I think he really had a shot to win if he did not try to imitate Bush in policy and ethics. Obama may be a special politician, but his views are really out of sync with a right of centre country

I think this is different though. Dion did not understand the nuances of partisan politics. Palin did not know Africa was a continent. Bumbling politicians can come back, people who can't spell potato don't.

Yet he had to follow the wishes of the "base" who do not care if their candidate is brain dead, as long as he or she are right on the issues. He should have been honest, told the social conservative base where to go, and picked Liberman.

:-). First post that made me laugh in a long time

I don't know what is worse. Is it her performance in that piece, or that she has staff that would let a call like that get through. The people who did the call said they did not think it would work, until it became clear the people they were dealing with did not know who the Sarkozy was.

Nobody is preventing Noam Chomsky from running for office.

First of all, the great money raiser before Obama was Bush. With a few exceptions, the Republicans have out raised and outspent the Democrats. There was a case somewhere in the south were an incumbent Democrat was outspent over 50-1 by his Republican opponent, who won by something like 100 votes. Second of all, how much of a story was it that the Conservative party has outspent the Liberals in a huge way ? (those Dion attack ads were running long before the election). I might be wrong, but isn't the "60 seat majority" only applicable to a fillibuster ? I don't recall that tactic being used with campaign reform and Freddy/Fannie debates.

I don't think it was "made up". On the other hand, I don't think these idiots could ever pull it off. Just like the last "Obama assasination attempt", they were just dumbasses who could probably not assassinate a chicken. I really don't like the way it is covered on the news, why give these losers their 15 minutes of fame, but I doubt the coverage is politically motivated. Besides, if they really wanted to keep Obama out of office, they would shoot Palin :-)

Dan Qualye made a run for the nomination to go against Clinton. So, I believe that would make her the second most deluded person on earth.