[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote: "If McCain were president instead of Bush..
1) Iraq would have been won by now;
2) Incompetent FEMA heads would have never been appointed;
3) We would not be faced with incontrollable deficits;
4) There would be a veto proof Senate for GOP;
5) RATs would be abandoning their Democratic party faster than a priest at a strip club!"

1) Vagaries of war. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. To say the war would be won by now as an unqualified statement begs the question: 'How?' McCain is a veteran combat pilot; how does that translate to waging war better than the sitting POTUS? Answer: it doesn't. You pulled that one from an alternate universe.

2) Incompetents are appointed to federal positions of responsibility all the time, either as a pattern of corruption and nepotism (Harding) or because the President is a poor judge of character and ability (Grant, Carter). Besides, FEMA is no more poorly run than most federal bureaucracies. The greater fault in lackadaisical hurricane response was carried by the state and local governments in Louisiana.

3) McCain loves taxes. He hates tax cuts. You fight deficits by creating wealth, not by taxing the daylights out of the most capable and productive citizens.

4) Veto-proof Senate? Not sure I understand the statement. Do you mean McCain, because of his supposed moderation, would not have to employ the veto because of his celebrated rapport with the Democrats? Think again. The Dems would turn on him in a heartbeat the moment a President McCain does something even remotely Republican. So would the press.

5) Wishful thinking. The moderate Dems have already migrated to the sunny side. The next general election will be even more polarized than the last.

[meandog]

Vagaries of war. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. To say the war would be won by now as an unqualified statement begs the question: 'How?' McCain is a veteran combat pilot; how does that translate to waging war better than the sitting POTUS? Answer: it doesn't. You pulled that one from an alternate universe.

McCain wanted 600,000 boots on the ground to do the job initially, instead of the paltry 50,000 we invaded with--the result would have been better C4I, no looting of museums, and (possibly) the capture of some WMDs (along with the terrorists) before they were carted off to Syria

2) Incompetents are appointed to federal positions of responsibility all the time, either as a pattern of corruption and nepotism (Harding) or because the President is a poor judge of character and ability (Grant, Carter). Besides, FEMA is no more poorly run than most federal bureaucracies. The greater fault in lackadaisical hurricane response was carried by the state and local governments in Louisiana.

Brown was a Bush party hack, pure and simple. He was rewarded with a job that proved way above his head (despite it being one of the most important in government). McCain has demonstrated time and again that he doesn't care about being popular with his party; he only wants people that can do the job--even if they happen to be Democrats.

3) McCain loves taxes. He hates tax cuts. You fight deficits by creating wealth, not by taxing the daylights out of the most capable and productive citizens.

Rig-g-g-ht...that's why he supported tax cuts during the Reagan administration and railed against Poppy Bush's "Read My Lips" flip flop. (Personally, like McCain, I have never understood tax cuts when we're in the middle of a WAR...where's the logic in that?)

4) Veto-proof Senate? Not sure I understand the statement. Do you mean McCain, because of his supposed moderation, would not have to employ the veto because of his celebrated rapport with the Democrats? Think again. The Dems would turn on him in a heartbeat the moment a President McCain does something even remotely Republican. So would the press.

My thinking is that 30 percent of the public is always going to vote for the RATs, 30 percent is always going to vote for the Right, BUT the other 40 percent (which each party strives for) would be so upbeat by the establishment of democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the capture of OBL that they would flock to the GOP like a hound to a steakbone leaving the RATs stranded on an abandoned ship.

5) Wishful thinking. The moderate Dems have already migrated to the sunny side. The next general election will be even more polarized than the last

This is where we agree...thanks to Bush.