Clemenceau once said that war is too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he may have been right...but now, war is too important to be left to the politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought...And I can no longer, sit around and allow Communist subversion, Communist corruption, and Communist infiltration of our precious bodily fluids.

I voted for Obama because he's not in the DLC. I would have voted for Edwards but he dropped out. If there were a true progressive with a chance (sorry Ralph) on the ballot I would vote for them if they were an Atheist Pygmy Eskimo or Joe Protestant Whiteguy. As there is not, I vote for Obama, because, maybe, just maybe, he will turn out to be somewhat progressive. With Hillary I know I'm getting a DLC war hawk. Of course either is 1000x better that McCain who will end up getting us killed. Cheers!

McSame

To me the most incredible thing about the exchange was Schiefer's "Really?". I mean, he seemed genuinely surprised that Clark didn't think crashing a plane and being a POW was a Presidential qualification. Bob, that must be really tasty KoolAid.

--- Warren did say, though, he couldn't vote for an atheist. "An atheist says, 'I don't need God,'" Warren said. "They're saying, 'I'm totally self-sufficient in myself,' and nobody's self-sufficient enough to be president -- it's too big a job." ---

It's not that an atheist does not need God, they just don't think there is one, at least not in the Christian sense. At the same time, that does not imply a sense of self-sufficiency. Most atheists feel that the collaboration, opinion and involvement of others is better than go it alone. They just collaborate with other beings they can see and actually talk to. This is just a sub species of the argument that atheists are amoral. Wrong. Atheists can and usually do have empathy for their fellow human and animal which is a sound basis for moral behavior. I'm really tired of this willful ignorance deployed against atheism.

the 21st Century has finally begun.

Can't we refer this matter to an International Court? At least half of the stuff Bush & Co pulled were violations of International Law. Can't we have an extrodinary rendition of the whole bunch to the Hauge to stand trial. No immunity there. No partisan issues save for Obama looking away long enough for the transport aircraft to clear US airspace.

From the moment Obama cast his vote for the FISA bill I knew what he was and was not, so this is hardly surprising. My personal feeling is that he has made a pact with the Democratic Party to adhere to certain bounds that, for whatever reason, they like to adhere to: No impeachment on the table, pro big business DLC, pseudo hawkishness. It's really a shame, but there it is. I still voted for the man, because McCain would have literally caused our death, probably beginning with an attack on Iran. If not that, then he would have continued with enough of the Republican ideology that would have, in fact, destroyed this country in some military or economic way (there are so many to choose from these days in the wake of Bush). No, my best hope for Obama is that he charts the most rational course within the constraints of the Washingtonian machine. I wish it were otherwise, but Obama is, above all an establishment man. In that context, it all makes a depressing kind of sense. He will not get us killed, if he can avoid it, and we might climb out of this economic hole with him at the helm, but there will be no accountability for those who put us here, and there will be no radical departures from business as usual. It kind of makes all that Republican blather about palling around with terrorists during the election that much more outlandish and grimly hilarious.

It's not even about profits in general, but profits for their oil and carbon buddies. If we pass laws and pump stimulus into renewables and the associated infrastructure there will be plenty of jobs and profits. But those who don't want to get on the new wave will certainly loose out, and the current barons of industry are set in their ways and don't want to risk the upheaval in the power/profit structure that will come with the new energy economy. I worked for Kodak over a span of recent years and watched the tug of war between the old forces, basically the salesmen, who knew how to sell film and didn't want to change, and others with more vision about how to make the transition to digital. In the end, there was too much internal friction in the organization, and Kodak is on the way to being so much less than they could have been had the cards been better played. I see the same thing in GM who already had the EV and now the Volt. But the corporate power structure hates these products because they don't understand them and the new structure they represent. Hence they sabotage themselves...and us. We have got to get the attitude going that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Those who are part of the problem...get out of our way, now!

F**k bipartisanship.

No, I mean when they tortured you, did you talk?

Ah, oh no, I ah... I don't think they wanted me to talk, really. I don't think they wanted me to say anything. It was just their way of having... a bit of fun, the swines. Strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras.