Posted on 09/06/2007 9:21:16 AM PDT by pissant
I found the debate frustrating. Neither of the top tier candidates -- Giuliani and Romney -- had a good night. Giuliani took a big hit early over his 1994 statement welcoming illegal immigrants to New York. Thereafter, he seemed to answer most questions by referring to New York city crime statistics. He needs to diversify
Romney seemed defensive and, at times, evasive. His answers on Iraq were rambling. When the deputy sheriff in the restaurant called him out for not articulating an "end game" strategy, Romney was unable, I thought, to take advantage of the opportunity.
McCain did pretty well. At a minimum, as always, he answered the questions. I can conceive of him having a "surge" in New Hampshire as the "straight talk" candidate, particularly if Giuliani and Romney don't step it up.
Huckabee had another decent night, and I give points to anyone who takes on Ron Paul. But (as Romney pointed out) the "broken pottery" analogy in Iraq misses the most important reason for why we need to keep fighting -- namely the implications of the outcome on the war against terror. Huckabee also totally ducked the final question concerning what we should do if Iran continues on its present course towards becoming a nuclear power.
Duncan Hunter was, once again, the best of the rest.
Sam Brownback continues to be a huge disappointment. If the best he can do is channel Tom Friedman, it's clearly time for him to withdraw.
UPDATE: For what it's worth, Fox's focus group agreed with me that McCain did better than the two front-runners, and that Rudy talked too much about New York.
Hunter is the MOST serious candidate. Serious about stopping illegal immigration, serious about victory in Iraq and in the WOT. Serious about confronting the communist chinese. Serious about buidling up our military. Serious about ending abortion. Serious about protecting the 2A 1000%. Serious about the re-industrialization of America. Serious about shitcanning political correctness and the war against God in the public square. Serious about tax relief. And serious about slamming the door on socialism.
If I understand your post accurately, you don’t think our men should be nation building. Based on that premise, let me ask you a few questions.
Do you think we should have left Iraq as it was?
Was it okay for Iraq to kill off the Kurds?
Was it okay for Iraq to kill off people in it’s southern region also?
Was it okay for the Iraqi leadership to prevent all the girls from attending school.
Was it okay for the Hussein’s kids to torture and kill off Iraqis?
Was it okay for Hussein to pay out $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers in Israel?
Was it okay for Saddam to continue to stage his soldiers on the borders of neighbor states, as if preparing to invade? He had previously attacked four neighbor states, and had occupied one of them.
Was it okay for Hussein to cheer on those who carried out terrorism against us, and call for the destruction of the U.S.?
It would be impossible for anyone to claim there weren’t terrorists in Iraq, all the way up to and inclucing Hussein and his sons. So wasn’t it a good thing that we took them out?
I know there’s a claim that the U.S. shouldn’t be in this nation building business. Then who should be? In a world of expanding terrorism, who should and where should they decide to confront them?
Well, I guess that’s about it. In this shrinking world, just about any nation is a nation on our borders. I don’t think we can allow the terrorists to operate in a void, because they will fill that void. And if we just don’t want to take them on, then we just as well pull all our troups from around the world, all of our citizens too, and baracade our nation.
There goes trade. There goes travel. There goes our influence. There goes all the good we’ve achieved over the last 230 years. And sooner rather than later, there goes the homeland too. If the rest of the world is subject to evil taking over, then our nation couldn’t possibly stand.
If I misunderstood your comments, I appologize.
Bush never said it was a cakewalk. And even his speech on the aircraft carrier warned that the hard work was just beginning. Cheney did screw up by claiming the inusrgents were in their death throes though.
Wasn’t Iraq also responsible for an attempted assassination of the first President Bush?
I actually had a co-worker ask me yesterday, “So what’s so bad about illegal immigration?”
I said, “Um, it’s ILLEGAL,” wished her a nice evening, went home, and wrapped my head in duct tape.
If the only debate on the Republican side is which of these two should truly be either President or Vice President, then I would certainly be happy. They would definitely still be attacked by both the MSM and “leftists” in general as being two old white guys who are also “too pro-war” and “too pro-military”. I have wanted both Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson to be the ‘08 GOP Presidential ticket for awhile, but there are also plenty of other GOP Presidential ticket possibilities that would work well for the GOP.
Why not...that's where he's getting his support these days.
Hunter did well, but people will remember the Paul-Huck sparring. That was the only real debating going on. No candidate is going to be able to rely on this format to get his message out and win. They only show that these guys appear competent. And most did. You and I know the records of these guys, so we can detect the spinning (putting it politely). Hopefully, they will at least show the masses that the GOP guys are 1000% better than the idiots on the democratic stage.
The writer was assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 1975 to 1977, and arms control director under President Ronald Reagan.
30 years ago (25 years at the time he wrote the article) he worked under Rumsfeld, and that constitutes the Bush Admin saying Iraq would be a "cakewalk"?
As for plans to do in the elder Bush, I believe you are right. With regard to the other two questions, I’m not sure. These are certainly good questions though. On the plan to do in the first President Bush, that alone should be grounds for taking action IMO. The others would just be icing on the cake.
Thanks.
BTW Your quote is about the war on Terrorism, not Iraq. Made shortly after Sept 11th. Here are some administration quotes including the 'cakewalk' one on the Iraq War.
-------------------------------------------------------
Wolfowitz: A country that can really finance its own reconstruction Mar. 27, 2003 Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary There’s a lot of money to pay for this that doesn’t have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people…and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.” (more)
(my comment): He is right. We should have left and let them rebuild with out Taxpayer assistance or troops on the ground. They have enough resources.
Perle: days or weeks -- this will be a short war Mar. 25, 2003 Richard Perle, Chairman of the Defense Policy Board I can't tell you exactly how many days or how many weeks. But by historical standards, this will be a short war. (more) My comment: again he was right, too bad we took on nation building.
Cheney: In weeks rather than months Mar. 16, 2003 Dick Cheney "My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . [in] weeks rather than months." --on NBC's Meet the Press
My comment: again he was right....too bad we took on nation building.
Rumsfeld: I Doubt Six Months Feb. 7, 2003 Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense "It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." —to U.S. troops in Aviano, Italy: (more)
My comment: again he was right....too bad we took on nation building.
Rumsfeld: Under $50 billion Jan. 10, 2003 Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense “Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question.”
My comment: Spot on. It only cost that much to get rid of saddam.....too bad we took on nation building.
Rumsfeld: Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer Nov. 15, 2002 Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense "The idea that it's going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind I think is belied by the fact of what happened in 1990," he said on an Infinity Radio call-in program. "Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that." (more)
My comment: ....too bad we took on nation building.
Adelman: Liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk Feb. 13, 2002 Ken Adelman "I believe demolishing Hussein's military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.” - Washington Post
My comment: Liberating Iraq is and was a cakewalk, too bad we took on Nation building, they could rebuild themselves and we should have let them. I don't give 2 craps about them as long as they have no military threat toward us and saddam is dead.
LOL
When the importance of a President 'setting an example' for the rest of the country came up in a question from the diner,,,,
Rudy commented that he should be judged by his job performance in office, and not by his private life. Geeee,,,,,is it just me, or have we heard that lame, cop-out 'defense' before?....lol
Wow. You didn’t even slap her?
Oh, she’s not worth slapping. She’s a reflexive liberal - she’s been programmed to be that way. She has no freakin’ clue why she “thinks” what she allegedly thinks. She is innocent of logic.
Here is what Paul said last night (Debate Transcript):
PAUL: The people who say there will be a bloodbath are the ones who said it will be a cakewalk or it will be a slam dunk, and that it will be paid for by oil. Why believe them? They've been wrong on everything they've said.
If he wasn't talking about the Bush Admin, who WAS he talking about???
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