Having watched the Paul YouTube videos, I like him even more now although I am far from a conservative. His common sense and honest views stand in stark contrast to Fox Noise and Repug cult thinkers. It was interesting to hear how many in the audience were cheering for him. All the Repug candidates except Paul are tied to the surge succeeding and “winning” the Iraq War, not a winning recipe for victory in 2008. I agree that the Dem candidates are playing it too safe during the primary season. They will have an unbelievable arsenal of material for attacking in the general election unless a miracle happened and Paul was the nominee.

P.S. I posted my plagiarizing comment before I read your explanation.

“A friend whose brother is a highly placed general in the US Army tells me that Petraeus may be the darling of the press and the Washington establishment, but he is not much liked by his fellow high-ranking officers. He is quite skilled at buffing his image as genius leader and tactician, but is seen as a self-promoter who claims credit and cuts out those have made his success possible.”

Gen. Petraeus has the same political mind as Colin Powell and those other senior officers who rise to the top in the military through inflated egos and self-promotion. Anything that Petraeus says has to be judged with a lot of grains of salt because he has now staked his entire reputation on becoming a historical giant through his “genius” and “winning” in Iraq. It is entirely impossible for him to act in any objective or impartial manner because he would die inside if his ego were to deflate and he ends up being blamed for unnecessarily prolonging the war, which is bound to happen. Deflate it eventually will as it has for almost all these emotionally scarred “leaders.” I’m sure Powell has died inside even though he has tried unsuccessfully to explain and blame his way out of his UN performance and not really trying to slow if not stop the Iraq invasion.

Colin Powell and Petraeus are detested by the true military leaders who made it to the top by taking care of their troops and mission and not giving a damn about promotion except for how it would better serve the troops and the nation. Generals like Powell and Petraeus thrive when we have sick leaders like Nixon, Reagan and Bush.

But of course we should listen with baited breath for the wondrous things that Petraeus will impart to the nation.

I’ve decided to swear off any political farce news/disgustion TV today for the sake of my sanity and deep sorrow for the Iraqi people who are sinking in the mire of our American distaste for reality and love of rationalized living. I will probably watch the congressional testimony tomorrow to possibly be inspired by someone like Rep. Doggett who does get it, although I won’t hold my breath.

Those most responsible for this tragedy, ask opponents, if you are so smart what are your plans to keep the Iraqi people and outsiders from making this a total disaster if we just pull out. It already is a total disaster and people asking that question reveal that they don’t give a damn about the Iraqis or our brave military, but about keeping our comfortable life going over here without any interruptions like destitution and death that they turn away from when glimpsing it on TV.

When we accept a when will you stop beating your wife (American troops and Iraqis), trick question, we are dupes. The “serious” experts trumpet the Sunni turncoat tribal chiefs who are now pounding al-Qaeda in Iraq, yet when the Jones Commission members agree with a Democratic senator’s statement that only 2% of the fighting in Iraq comes from AQI, no Dem war opponent asks how this “remarkable” military development is so important when 98% of the violence in Iraq has nothing to do with al-Qaeda over there and why we should trust the surge will succeed if you just let us keep thinking this illogically. Arming the Sunnis who believe that the enemy of my enemy is my enemy so that they can wait for the inevitable American draw down and kill more Shi’a sure makes this a strategy for success. As is claiming violence is down in Baghdad when mixed religious neighborhoods are no more.

Dem candidates have provided strategies for drawing down like Joe Biden’s federalized partition, which is happening de facto now. And Barack Obama has said often that we are faced with choosing the best of the worst options. But what no politicians are doing and what is moving the American people to want the war to stop is seeing war’s human pain suffering and cruel death. The “serious” experts never seriously address the real results of this endless intellectual analysis of war and ego posturing. Bobby Kennedy humanized his politics when he honestly felt and spoke about poverty and racism in America. We need war opponent presidential and congressional candidates who talk and feel from their gut and stand up like Rep. Doggett to the inhumanity that war supporters and war extenders are foisting on us.

Bebop-o has been eloquently telling us this from his unique view because he felt war in his gut and has been disgusted from the war show he and we have been forced to watch. Glenn’s commentariat also stay steadfast in their resolve to support his professional approach because their guts are aching like mine. Our strategy for defeating these war intellectuals has to be to keep shooting from the gut, like Glen did today, and believing against all odds that logic, reason and humanity can ultimately prevail.