Letters to the Editor
FredrickBernanke
Published Letters: 170 Editor's Choice: 8
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The Unintended Confession of Incompetence
[Read the article: Fun and games with terrorist threats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Below is an excerpt from Armagednoutahere's letter below.
I agreed completely with that excerpt and hope the Dems have the analytical ability that A has and make this confession of incompetence part of the campaign in the general election.
"...somehow after all these years of terror-fighting, by their own admission now, this alleged war president hasn't made any progress against this enemy. In fact in this bizarre scenario it's the administration itself now telling us that Al-Qaeda are now even (somehow) more dangerous than they were before these amazing terror-fighters got started. How is it possible for these people to play the role of super-duper warriors against terror when they haven't accomplished anything in the years since 9/11 but to to let Al-Qaeda become even more powerful and scary. Can you imagine what the Republicans would say if the Dems tried to pull something like this? The fact that this (oh so terrible) enemy is even more capable of attacking us now, after all these years of war and death and wasted money, should preclude the possibility that these idiots would get anything they ask for at this point. This administration's incompetence alone should be enough to guarantee they won't be given what they're demanding...."
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McCain: A Football Player on the Baseball Field
[Read the article: The GOP chases its tail]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If he becomes the Repub candidate, will McCain's biggest worry be the potential desertion of his candidacy by the conservative wing of the party?
I don't think so because their is another looming enemy out there waiting for him: The likelihood that the prime issue in the election will turn out to be "the economy, stupid."
Iraq/National Security/Terrorism is already being superseded in the national debate by concerns about not only a recessionary economy, but an economy whose current foundation is longer manufacturing "things," but is the supplying of services, particularly services whose primary function is the profitable manipulation of capital---in fact, that's how Mitt Romney made his megabucks, not by building the best mousetrap on earth.
McCain's formidable family tradition of Naval service (two full Admirals as father and grandfather) serves him well in the Foreign Entanglement/National Security sphere, probably with all but the most intractable of conservatives. And if the general election pivoted on those issues, he'd be a tough opponent to discredit.
But McCain's career has largely been a one trick pony and he may suddenly find himself having to ride a different horse in November. A buckin' bronco named the Economy, the largest component of Domestic Policy.
His colleagues on both sides of the isle can vouch for Johnny Mac's uninterest in domestic affairs. It's just not thing, not what he's built his reputation on. Does anyone think if 9/11 or an equivalently belligerent act had not happened this century, that the Senator would be currently the putative nominee of his party?
Who can predict what the transcendent issue will be by Sept., Oct., November? But if the economic clouds get darker by then, if the problems associated with the economy become even more complex than they are today, McCain's going to find himself battling on an unfamiliar, muddy turf.
"Tough" works fine when confronting the relatively us vs. them type of issue like terrorism. But issues of the economy often turn out to be us vs. us, or at least are more subtle, with more gradations than fighting foreign enemies.
Solving economic problems is more akin to winning a baseball game. John McCain's a "punch em in the mouth" football player if ever there was one.
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The Conservatives are the Least of Johnny's Worries in the General Election
[Read the article: Why McCain provokes paranoia on the right]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If he becomes the Repub candidate, will McCain's biggest worry be the potential desertion of his candidacy by the conservative wing of the party?
I don't think so because their is another looming enemy out there waiting for him: The likelihood that the prime issue in the election will turn out to be "the economy, stupid."
Iraq/National Security/Terrorism is already being superseded in the national debate by concerns about not only a recessionary economy, but an economy whose current foundation is longer manufacturing "things," but is the supplying of services, particularly services whose primary function is the profitable manipulation of capital---in fact, that's how Mitt Romney made his megabucks, not by building the best mousetrap on earth.
McCain's formidable family tradition of Naval service (two full Admirals as father and grandfather) serves him well in the Foreign Entanglement/National Security sphere, probably with all but the most intractable of conservatives. And if the general election pivoted on those issues, he'd be a tough opponent to discredit.
But McCain's career has largely been a one trick pony and he may suddenly find himself having to ride a different horse in November. A buckin' bronco named the Economy, the largest component of Domestic Policy.
His colleagues on both sides of the isle can vouch for Johnny Mac's uninterest in domestic affairs. It's just not thing, not what he's built his reputation on. Does anyone think if 9/11 or an equivalently belligerent act had not happened this century, that the Senator would be currently the putative nominee of his party?
Who can predict what the transcendent issue will be by Sept., Oct., November? But if the economic clouds get darker by then, if the problems associated with the economy become even more complex than they are today, McCain's going to find himself battling on an unfamiliar, muddy turf.
"Tough" works fine when confronting the relatively us vs. them type of issue like terrorism. But issues of the economy often turn out to be us vs. us, or at least are more subtle, with more gradations than fighting foreign enemies.
Solving economic problems is more akin to winning a baseball game. John McCain's a "punch em in the mouth" football player if ever there was one.