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"Pandering to the Muslims didn't do the French any good, and if Bush tries his own brand of pandering to Muslims we'll wind up being another France."

True, but I don't think Bush is going to pander to Muslims. He's just going to seek their votes. There are plenty of reasons why individual Muslims should vote for Bush, just as there are for individual Jews and (of course) individual Christians.

It's not hard to understand Jews or Christians having individual opinions that are contradictory to their religious beliefs, but I've wondered since 9/11 if there was such a thing as an individual Muslim.

What we've seen of Muslims, since 9/11, has been a herd mentality with no leading Islamic individuals speaking out against the horrors of 9/11. Instead we've seen Muslims circle the wagons around Islam and the events of 9/11, and in a kind of group-think do everything to avoid Islamic responsibility for what happened on that day. This isn't characteristic of the behavior of Jews or Christians where noteworthy individuals speak out against despicable acts done in the name of their religion.

Which brings us to the Muslim vote. If Muslims do indeed use the voting booth in 2004 with an Islamic herd mentality instead of as individuals will there be a price to be paid for that bloc vote? If Bush, or his opponent, decide to pay that price what impact will it have on our government , our society, and our children's future?