Letters to the Editor
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"They continue to talk about their nuclear (pause) I forget what it is but……"
Imagine if you will, a crisp October evening, the sound of gently falling leaves...and John MCCain sputtering his way through a Presidential debate. My only fear is that alot of stupid people will feel sorry for him. Remember that happened when George Bush looked like a buffoon in the 2000 debates.
Stroke or alzheimers. Its one or the other, there's no question in my mind. Did you see him on tv last night being introduced by the racist veteran? I swear he looks and acts like someone who'd had a stroke.
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@saintzak
I swear he looks and acts like someone who'd had a stroke.
It doesn't matter. He won't have to do anything as president. He's just a front man. His neocon "advisors" will be calling all the shots.
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The Honesty and Courage of Democrats
Wow. Between the blatant racism of "MAV in Florida" and the careless ignorance of "anti-war" "liberals," we have a few astute respondents who want to debate what McCain actually said, as opposed to the half-dozen or so words clipped from his statement and promulgated by the opposition in a manner which displays complete contempt for accuracy and truth.
Those who deny that occupying Iraq is comparable to occupying South Korea are again seeking to avoid debate of McCain's actual statement. This may be cowardly, but it is wise: few could explain why we should leave Iraq and stay in South Korea. Perhaps there are some who think we should leave South Korea (not the South Koreans, by the way). But even they are likely smart enough to keep it to themselves, lest they have to go on TV and explain why they want to surrender territory to a former military foe, and current political foe, of the United States.
I'm often astounded by the propensity of the Democratic Party to shoot itself in the foot. The 2004 race was an almost absurd casebooks study of this. The party seems committed, and suicidally so, to focusing on short-term gains without regard to long-term losses. Its constituents seem driven to self-destruct, obsessed with pointing to flaws in even their own candidates. The mantra I hear these days is, "If X wins, I'm not voting." With tis kind of party unity, Democrats don't need enemies.
Democrats really should try to use this against McCain. It will be amusing watching it backfire on them. I can just hear Rush Limbaugh, et al, now: "Not only do Democrats want to withdraw from Iraq and start a civil war - they want to withdraw from South Kore and let communist China take over. Next they'll want to withdraw military support for Taiwan. We shouldn't call these people Democrats, ladies and gentlemen: we should call them Surrend-o-crats."
Go for it, Big D: you'll learn what people mean by "penny-wise and pound foolish."
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Republican Pushback
Elephantman, I agree this is good response by the R's to refute the charges the D's lob on this issue. The R's (with the help of their MSM) are doing well to change the narrative.
I only wish we Dems could have done as well with "Al Gore invented the internet" and "Al Gore was the inspiration for Love Story" and "Al Gore is a serial liar" and "Al Gore never grew up on a farm" and "Al Gore didn't really serve in Vietnam."
Oh, and "G. W. Bush won Florida."
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Alkaline
Oh I agree. That's why his runningmate will be the real story. The republicans just have to avoid any ctastrophic moments like Brian
Williams stopping in the middle of a debate to say, "Can we get some help? Can someone help us up here? Senator McCain just soiled himself."
The Republicans have a showhorse who's ready for the glue factory, and that will be a problem for them. He might just be a frontman in THEIR eyes, but the public is voting for a President. A senile, sick old man will be a hard sell.
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Sound Clips
To be honest, McCain was comparing Iraq to Japan or Germany or South Korea, where we've been for decades without fighting any battles. Its pretty obvious when you watch the whole clip.
However, it was pretty obvious what Kerry was saying when he said he was against the war before he was for it. It was obvious Gore didn't claim he invented the internet. There's a long list of times the Republicans have taken something totally out of context and ran it over and over and over in the media and nobody bothered to fact check it and see what the person really meant.
I know two wrongs don't make a right but honestly, its time the Republicans got a taste of their own medicine.
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"We've succeeded in forcing a retreat by the Olbermanns of the world..."
The surge against the media is working! Stay tuned for Elephantman's six-month evaluation.
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WWII / Korea Bullshit
I want to puke every time some cretin cites U.S. Forces in Europe, Japan and S. Korea as justification for a permanent military installations in Iraq. Those situations were completely different from what we are facing now. The U.S. was completely different as well. I want to know from the pro-occupation posters when they think Iraq (and by extension, the Middle East), is going to be "pacified." I got news for you: the countries of the Middle East will NEVER accept a long-term presence in Iraq.
What needs to be debated today is this long-held belief that somehow the United States has to "protect" the world from itself and that no global solution is possible unless the righteous, omnipotent and omniscient Amurricans show everyone else what "true" freedom and democracy is. The fact is that none of the global problems will be solved unless a common interest is found among most countries to fix the situation.
As an international entity, America needs to stop acting like its shit doesn't stink and engage in some real diplomacy for a change. We've got bigger problems at home and while the U.S. should be a major player, it's going to have to truly cooperate with other nations, which includes not having its way from time to time. Sometimes leadership (and patriotism) mean admitting when you're wrong.
Oh, and BTW, there is a country that the U.S. withdrew from that isn't falling to pieces: Vietnam. I recently read that Oaktree Capital, a U.S. investment firm, announced their intentions to develop a $5B resort complex in Da Nang. Why there? Because it's closer to where the real money is.