Yikes.
I tried to be civil at least. Geez. I wouldn't be quoting Thomas Sowell if I was looking for credibility. He's not exactly a part of a solution. Any solution. Then again, judging from the quote you selected, I don't think it's credibility or integrity you're looking for. Go find someone else to sling mud at, and shame on you.
speedracer, can you explain to me why the democrats are using the bush lied to us attacks, many of the people who are saying that bush lied to us, either 1. voted for the power for bush to go to war, citing the intelligence as iraq being a threat, or 2. said that iraq was a threat when clinton bombed them in 1998...wouldn't it help their push for power if they went on the offensive saying you messed up, we knew they had weapons (so this isn't contradicting what they had previously said) we gave you the power to attack, and you couldn't find them, now we face a bigger threat as the weapons were probably given to other rogue nations, and terrorist organization...I would find that an attack on bush like this would cause more damage then you lied
No I can't, and I hope my explanation of why I can't will sink in.
You can't categorize an entire political movement in US politics anymore. There's just not enough in any one faction of either party to say that any speak for "the party". I know within the Democratic party, there are 5 very distinct and vocal factions that I have to deal with before I can even get a stamp of approval on local issues. THEN I get to take it to conservatives. Your analogy on the "Bush lied" situation is dead on. It's why Howard Dean is going to spend the rest of the year doing anything but running for president. The Democratic base rejected the argument because the argument was poor. It would be akin to me screaming that all Republicans are protectionist and anti-fair trade because President Bush slapped an illegal tariff on imported steel. That's ridiculous.
On this 1998 thing, I happen to probably remember better than most what happened there. You see, I was in full battle gear, my equipment was being loaded onto C-130's, and I was sitting on the tarmac at Ft. Bragg, NC, a Private First Class, waiting for the word to get on the plane. My unit had already told me to activate any plans for my family since I was going to be gone at least six months. I was pretty bummed.
And then an unlikely "savior" stepped in. Senate Majority leader Trent Lott decided that he did not support taking out Saddam, did not support any military action against Iraq whatsoever, despite their constant violation of the no-fly zone and the lack of progress with inspections. I'll never forget it when asked if it meant he didn't support our troops. He said "I can support the troops without supporting the president".
Word.
psst. No one likes the UN. Not even "liberals". We believe it to be a necessary evil, just as most conservatives do.
On this Al Gore thing, I don't know what his administration would have looked like, but it's water under the bridge. We have far too much on our plate right now to be wondering about has-beens.
At least Bush is doing things wether people like it or not. He was elected by a small margin and still to this day his percent of people that would vote for him is near 50%.
Which has made most of his actions so intolerable to those that disagree with him. When an elected official wins by more than 7%, it's considered a landslide and that person has a mandate. It is accepted that whatever that elected official does is the will of the people, and their actions will usually go unquestioned for their first term. Mr. Bush didn't have a mandate, but has acted like it. This is inherently divisive. Think Reagan. The dude won 49 states ferchrist'ssake. That's a blank check. Mr. Bush's victory was certainly not.
What about the fact that he has one of the BEST possible cabinets that the US government has ever seen. Rice, Rumsfeld, and Powell...cmon thats a super team.
1. It's not the best cabinet ever. Not even close. Not even the best of the last 20 years. Reagan's was much better.
2. Name some amazing acheivement they have accomplished. Name some unbelievable piece of legislation they got thru that has fundamentally changed America for the better.
Saying they are great doesn't make them so.
On the average joe thing, am I wrong for wanting the leader of the free world to be a leader instead of an average joe? Am I wrong for thinking the world's most powerful position should be reserved for someone just a little bit better than average?
See? I didn't call anybody stupid or say that someone has no brain. Is it that difficult?
Did I miss anything?