Comments on: Two for the road.

By: Terry WAlter

Terry WAlter — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:28:24 +0000

I would agree that the conduct of the war was poorly handled between the toppling and the surge, thus the need for the surge. There were even complaints during the invasion that they were shorthanded. I (guessing) suspect that Rumsfeld was a major player in this, part of the corporate lean & mean mentality. It sounds great, if you aren’t the one baking in the heat,without sleep, dodging bullets. This shows the weakness of the businessman as great government savior (see also Mitch Daniels). Wish there were more good answers out there. I just see Obama as old liberalism/socialism;which I know is popular with many on here, dressed in a new suit.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:29:48 +0000

the words of the immortal Jack Webb; just the facts,ma’am

Well, we’ll skip the protracted back-and-forth, and answer just this one nonfact -

He [McCain] was a near lone voice in the wilderness calling for the troop surge,which by any objective standards has tilted the battle back in our favor.

Other than, say, General Eric Shinseki, who said as much BEFORE the war? (a real career-ender THAT was, with the all-knowing former baseball team owner GW Bush! Hell, a used car salesman [as you say Obama is] at least has to make good decisions every day, unlike the socialized elite ranks of MLB ownership!)

Or John Kerry, who ran on the premise (amongst others) that Bush didn’t have enough troops in Iraq, in 2004?

By: Terry WAlter

Terry WAlter — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:02:52 +0000

I’m nervous but hopeful about Obama;nervous that he’ll win. To believe that a product of the Cook county political machine is a paragon of virtue is truly a gargantuan leap of faith. He’s just a used car salesman in a different suit. Isn’t that his buddy they are now trying to decide whether or not to hang? And the utter arrogance to call McCain naive on foreign policy. McCain spent years in the Hanoi Hilton and decades in the Senate. He was a near lone voice in the wilderness calling for the troop surge,which by any objective standards has tilted the battle back in our favor. Obama-up until a couple of years ago, foreign policy to him meant outside Cook county.
Here’s a couple of nuggets for you mo’ better government types. The recently retired,Ivy league educated mayor of Ft. Wayne Graham Richard, awarded a 3 year $285,000 contract to his “High Performance Government Corp.” a nonprofit government efficiency group he helped create just months before he left office. This contract,just coincidentally I’m sure, was just under the $100,000 per year that would require council approval. The first payment came just before the end of 2007 (and his term), for which NO services were performed. Now THAT’S efficiency.
And in Nancys’ beloved Ohio, remember the Big Tobacco settlement money that was extorted years ago? $270 million.
It was supposed to go toward educating people to not smoke. Well, let’em hack themselves to death. The state legislature has better things to do with $230 million of it. They’ll spend it however they damn well please.
So while you are all loading up your rock sacks, remember the words of the immortal Jack Webb; just the facts,ma’am.

By: del

del — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:58:10 +0000

I’m with JohnC about Obama — nervous but hopeful.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:59:47 +0000

Slowly, sadly and stubbornly I’m realizing that Hillary probably isn’t going to make it. In any other year, I’d be on that Obama bandwagon — His campaign really does seem to represent a fresh, more sincere, honest and hopeful alternative to the traditional spin-centered campaign. My concern is what happens if/when the pedestal he’s on is rocked or toppled by scandal. It’s a really long way to fall. As Jeff said, though, I’m trying to dig down deep in my dream duffle (dude).

By: Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:53:47 +0000

I adore Sarah Ferguson and her daughters… but did Bea think to ask anyone else, “What are you wearing to the wedding?” She really sticks out in the group pix, not in a good way. As Miley Cyrus will testify, it can suck to do your growing up in the spotlight.

By: Beryl Ament

Beryl Ament — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:46:59 +0000

I'm so glad those butterflies hatched. They were still in their cocoon at Christmas (photo 5).

By: Connie

Connie — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:18:25 +0000

Plenty of rabid haters here in Elkhart. We even had a cross burning on the lawn of an interracial a couple of weeks ago. The discussion forums on the Truth web site (our local newspaper for what it’s worth), http://etruth.com, are filled with horrible racism aimed both at African-Americans and Hispanics, who, according to the posters, are all illegals.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:17:16 +0000

Thank you Brian; I think I will take your last sentence to heart.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:08:55 +0000

Sue – definitely agree about the “thing that no one will talk about”.

In casual conversations this pops up every so often (as a ‘Joke”, don’t you know) – and my approach is to take it seriously and say – “always bet on the good guys” (meaning those Ben Affleck-looking, swivel-headed security guys)…and at least once the answer back I got was that “the good guys” might pose the threat!

More generally, death is always in the wings (it provides the urgency in the “fierce urgency of now”), no less so for McCain – even if the assumption (in his case) is that his clock will simply run out.

I say – win or lose – we cannot succumb to the murmers and whispers; and, always bet on the good guys