[Morgan in Denver]

I was concentrating on Newt's statement this morning that our bureaucracy is in a terrible state.

This is not new and has been a complaint coming from the right for years now.  We have complained and commented and yet rarely has anything been done about it.   Powell failed to make any great changes in State, Rice is doing better at State now but perception is it has not changed enough. Rumsfeld did change the military quite a bit and we now have the best fighting force in our history even though some of the old guard generals cannot accept the change. Bolton at the UN was fantastic, but constantly under attack by Democrats that made it harder. The FBI and CIA are doing better but there are still too many leaks and people there who want us to lose so the left benefits.

In the above, Newt is right on target as to what we believe is still wrong and what has to be done.  But, I don't know if anyone can make the changes necessary in the near future.  This has been problematic for decades and it may be unrealistic to think it will change quickly.

[rodguy911]

As usual you go right to the core!
Have we gone to far left to swing back to common sense again. That is the big question and no one knows the answer.

[PerConPat]

This has been problematic for decades and it may be unrealistic to think it will change quickly.

Agreed. The havoc that the Clinton administration visited upon the intelligence and defense apparatus ought to be shouted out at every opportunity by the Right. Perhaps Newt has found an issue that might pay dividends for him before he makes his "decision by Labor Day."

The Rat's are very vulnerable here; and if Newt can again cast himself in the light of a reformer with some distance from his Pub colleagues, he may yet stir things to his advantage.