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Patton and the 2008 vote
Boston Globe ^ | 3/16/08 | Jeff Jacoby

Posted on 03/16/2008 4:05:58 AM PDT by MartinaMisc

ON THE eve of the Normandy invasion in 1944, General George S. Patton, addressing the men of the US Third Army, delivered a speech that would become legendary long before George C. Scott reenacted it on a Hollywood soundstage.

"Americans love a winner," Patton growled, "and will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win - all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. . . . The very thought of losing is hateful to an American."

Nowadays, the thought of losing a war isn't as hateful to some Americans as the thought of losing an election. Recall MoveOn.org's infamous "General Betray Us" ad last fall, which was intended to undercut the commander of US forces in Iraq. Think of Senate majority leader Harry Reid's insistence that "this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything," or Barack Obama's unbudging claim that the "strategy is failed" and we must "get our troops out," or Hillary Clinton's vow that "starting on day one of my presidency, we will begin . . . to withdraw our troops within 60 days."

Were Patton alive today, his opinion of such defeatism would assuredly be unflattering - and unprintable. But his conviction that Americans have no patience for losers would be reinforced by the public's mounting confidence that the war in Iraq will be won.

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2008; defeatists; iraqwar; jacoby; nobama; obama; patton

1 posted on 03/16/2008 4:06:01 AM PDT by MartinaMisc
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To: MartinaMisc

2 posted on 03/16/2008 4:15:01 AM PDT by WakeUpAndVote (Pork, just bring the hot sauce!)
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To: MartinaMisc

“Nowadays, the thought of losing a war isn’t as hateful to some Americans as the thought of losing an election”

If losing the war is not hateful to some Nazi Americans then hopefully they will go to hell where they should be.


3 posted on 03/16/2008 4:22:56 AM PDT by YOUGOTIT (The Greatest Threat to our Security is the US Senate)
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To: MartinaMisc

The article says that Americans have no patience for losers. That may have been the case in 1944, but it is certainly no longer a universal reality. I’d venture to say that about one half of Americans not only have patience for losers, but actively support them. For Europeans, that number rises from 50% to probably 75% - 80%.


4 posted on 03/16/2008 4:28:27 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: MartinaMisc

The great news here is that if we are ultimately successful in Iraq, we will have defeated not only Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, but our own Socialist party (Democrats, for those of you from Rio Linda) and their handmaidens in the media. I can’t think of a better tribute to our Viet Nam veterans than defeating those who fought against them on the home front during that war.


5 posted on 03/16/2008 4:51:46 AM PDT by Hardastarboard (DemocraticUnderground.com is an internet hate site.)
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To: ought-six

I’d venture to say that about one half of Americans not only have patience for losers, but actively support them.
____________________

I’d think you’d be dead wrong on this.

What the leading Democrats want is for the Republicans to lose, that was the reason why their candidates were so anxious for President Bush to order a withdrawal from Iraq. So they would have something big against the Republicans in 08, the party that lost the war.


6 posted on 03/16/2008 4:52:32 AM PDT by I_Like_Spam
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To: I_Like_Spam

> What the leading Democrats want is for the Republicans to lose, that was the reason why their candidates were so anxious for President Bush to order a withdrawal from Iraq. So they would have something big against the Republicans in 08, the party that lost the war.

Yup. And that is the one thing that President Bush must not do.


7 posted on 03/16/2008 5:47:37 AM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: DieHard the Hunter

To surrender Iraq at this point, or any point, would be not just a national catastrophe but a political one for whatever political party is responsible.

The democrats may not appreciate the impact of it on the country, but they certainly do on their party.

I would not be suprised to hear the tune the democrats are singing in regards to Iraq change pretty dramatically if they were to win the presidential election.


8 posted on 03/16/2008 5:59:40 AM PDT by I_Like_Spam
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To: I_Like_Spam

> I would not be suprised to hear the tune the democrats are singing in regards to Iraq change pretty dramatically if they were to win the presidential election.

I think you’ve read it exactly right. They will push even more resource into The Surge, then take credit for “winning the war that Bush couldn’t win.”

If for no other reason, that is why McCain needs to be President.


9 posted on 03/16/2008 6:02:37 AM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: MartinaMisc
Patton Speech

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10 posted on 03/16/2008 10:08:20 AM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan ("Sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made." Groucho Marx)
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