[Texas Eagle]

Sounds to me like you handled it just right.

[supercat]

"We'll just have to see what pans out." If you turn out to be right, though, don't rub their noses in it. They'll eventually figure out that your predictions seem to have a habit of being right.

[SouthernFreebird]

Git a rope!

[RogueIsland]

I had the same problem a few days ago with an old college friend. He started in on a rant about how Bush thinks this is "a war for God" and how the U.S. media is completely controlled by the government, blah blah blah -- the whole DU schtick.

I just politely told him that I really didn't wish to discuss the war as I get enough war discussion at work and outside of work. Maybe that was taking the easy way out, but given the nature of his point of view, it was clear there wasn't going to be any reasoning with him. Sometimes you just have to give a perplexed shrug and move on.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I would just ask if they would have supported the war on Nazi Germany. If so, ask them to help you understand the diffeence.

Don't argue, just ask for their views.

[Feiny]

I just spoke with a high school friend who is now mid 30's and she was telling me that she was dating a (GASP) christian republican! She said how shocked she was that she (a liberal) would be doing such a thing. I asked her if she was absolutely sure she was a liberal. I asked her how she felt about taxes. She said that she didn't mind paying taxes...that compared to Europe, we pay very little. I knew I was about to go into a long speech and we had spoken in about 2 years so I tried my best to shorten the politcal talk. But, I followed up with an email that linked to a test you can take to determine your political views. I am confident that she is not a liberal....she only thinks that because she lives in San Francisco. She is ex-Air Force and not against the war. I also sent her a list of things she had to "believe" in order to be a liberal today.

[Scenic Sounds]

I'd suggest that you try to do whatever you can do to prevent politics from interfering with your friendships.

We've got family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances who are all over the political spectrum. Of course, political conversation just has to be avoided with some folks, particularly those who take their politics very seriously and have somehow managed to insulate themselves from other points of view. With them, you just have to stick with things that you do have in common.

Personally, I enjoy exposing myself to a wide range of political viewpoints and I enjoy trying to understand what accounts for the political differences between people. It's never worth really fighting about, though. Try to keep it fun and remember, what difference will it make in 100 years? LOL (actually, ROFL)