Free Republic

Pennsylvania - the Clintons end here. It will be nice.

I wouldn't be sure of that at all. Reagan helped him only nominally and didn't exactly go the extra yard. He probably considered Ford and Carer to be basically the same. Since that election was pretty close to being 50-50, the electorate didn't perceive much difference between them. Reagan probably wanted Carter to win so that he could try again in 1980.

And look where it got us - GOP nominee John McCain"

I suspect people's opinions of Ron Paul will be a lot higher after four (or maybe eight) years of Hillary. Too bad we can't do retroactive elections for when people change their mind.

It seems a lot of people are getting a kick out this whole thorazine joke because of Charles Krauthammer, who hasn’t been practicing psychiatry for years. Thorazine is a pretty obsolete drug and has been largely replaced with newer and better ones. Yes, I am a psychiatry resident - I don’t need to take them (not yet anyway!). Even Krauthammer’s jokes are out of style.

The GOP establishment has been doing that for awhile. In 1976 with supporting Ford over Reagan. And pressuring the Reagan campaign to accept Bush as VP in 1980. This year is nothing new.

Yeah, I like that. Sounds good to me.

People actually live in Philadelphia.

On the contrary, this is the best reason to vote for Sarkozy. Go Sarko!

The Persians were most certainly not savages and their empire was the first truly international empire in history. Cryus the Great comissioned the world's first document on human rights.

http://www.farsinet.com/cyrus/

While it was a good thing for the West for the Spartans to have held off the Persians for as long as they did at Thermopylae, the Spartan culture would be considered more barbaric than that of the Persians. The state was supreme in Sparta. For example, families were not allowed to raise their children, and slaves greatly outnumbered the citizens. Sparta was considered a backward pariah state among ancient Greece whose only use was to keep Athens in check.

If only the Muslim government of Iran would follow the lead of its predecessors, then that country would be in much better shape today.

What's that supposed to mean? They're basically the same people. Political chaos has always been a constant in Italian life, in the ancient, medieval, and modern world. Yet the country continues to somehow function, much to the bewilderment of outsiders.

Extremely interesting. A pity this interview is not longer. I'm not a big fan of FrontPage Mag, but when it comes to criticism of Islam's inherently warlike, rigid, and intolerant nature, it is very good. Regardless of how Iraq turns out (which won't be good), the battle to expose Islam must go on - and that's the only way the war on terrorism can be won.

There's a piece. And another piece on the ground. And yet another that didn't come off a chained whip. Lots of pieces everywhere.

I'm surprised Tiger even carries a 5-wood. I don't imagine he would use if very often.

If things continue to go at the rate they are currently, Ron Paul may be the only Republican who can win in 2008.

Turkey and Iran would have to be considered partially successful democracies, or at least the best in the region, excluding Israel. Turkey's is purely secular and Iran's has an Islamic bent, as the Ayatollah and Council of Experts have final say.

Ahmadinejad's party just was trounced in local elections a few weeks ago. The people regard him as an idiot for antagozing the world and also because of his failed economic policies.

I don't think a formal unification is going to happen anytime soon, and not in Benedict's reign. However, if and when it happens, Benedict will be the one regarded by history as getting the process seriously moving, which would be a truly great and historically important achievement.

There is a time for all things. The circumstances did not exist to move towards unity. Now there is no choice. By insisting on moving things forward with the East while the world has been skeptical, Benedict is a visionary and a great man.

For now it is enough to see a spirit of renewed cooperation and a sense of being united in Christ. Hopefully this spirit continues and will allow a future unification to occur.

One thing I've noticed is that this trip has brought the world's attention to Bartholomew I and the Patriarch. It's almost as if the world has rediscovered the fact that their is a Patriarch and the office continues to exist. I would like to see Bartholomew and future Patriarchs remain prominent on the world stage - and I say that as a Catholic. It would be a shame if he and the office slip back into relative obscurity, which is what the Turks and other Muslims would want to see.

One of the best ways to strenghten Christianity and undermine Islam is to continually broadcast to the world that, despite the oppressive atmosphere of the Turkish state and Muslim population, the Patriarch continues to thrive. Advertising this would do much to encourage the Christians and other religious minorities trying to live in the Muslim world. Therefore it is vital that the Patriarchs remain prominently visible for the world to see.

Not so much. This is the state that produced Republicans many times, Thornburgh, Ridge, Santorum, Specter (RINO, granted, but still an R), and went twice for Reagan and Bush41. It's basically a conservative Democrat state, lots of Reagan Democrats here. You can't cry corruption everytime your guy loses.

Is that a Chicago Bears jersey on the kid with the machine gun?

I don't really think so. Those are more media driven issues and I don't think many people changed their minds because of those things. I think Santorum supporting Specter against Toomey alienated many pro-life conservatives, some of whom would vote for Casey. Casey had the name and the ability to steal some of Santorum's social conservative mojo. Combine those factors with Iraq, and there you have it.

Santorum was never particularly popular here in Pa. Pa is basically a conservative Democrat state, and that, like his father, is basically what Casey is, at least on the social issues. Had Heinz not been killed in a plane crash, Santorum never would have come close to being a senator, as he won in 1994 against the weak interim candidate Harris Wofford. Furthermore, 1994 was a year in which any Republican could have won. There was never a major clarion call of populist support for him. Tonight's result is not a surpise, or at least it shouldn't be. He was finished the moment Casey won the Democratic nomination.