If you are old enough to remember Vietnam, you will remember that we rarely,
if ever, lost a battle on the ground. We inflicted incredible damage upon
our enemies. But our B-52carpet bombing and the like only infuriated the
local populace and caused them to give shelter and support to our foes. It
is really great to win the battles, but is is even greater to win the wars.

In this case, I would look at a stratagy to win the war.

If you are old enough to remember Vietnam, you will remember that we rarely,
if ever, lost a battle on the ground. We inflicted incredible damage upon
our enemies. But our B-52carpet bombing and the like only infuriated the
local populace and caused them to give shelter and support to our foes. It
is really great to win the battles, but is is even greater to win the wars.

In this case, I would look at a stratagy to win the war.

Furthermore…the anger doesn't outwardly turn against the Taliban because that would result in a beheading or tongue removal or whatever other heinous form of oppression is effective.

The Bush Doctrine is neither pre-emptive warfare or religious idealogy. The Bush Doctrine states that the enemy is no longer embodied by the boundaries of a single nation or people. Extremism is not a religion but a mindset of fascism – violent, suffocating fascism and anarchy – spreading transcontinentally. Think about it!

“Decent citizenry” is referring to citizens with good judgement, itegrity, basic morality and respect for dignity of the weak living among us. “Others types” I would differentiate as people with a sense of entitlement w/o contribution to society, poor stewards of what we/they have, anarchists, and those who are base in thinking. The latter being unfit for deciding what builds up a nation because they only know how to use one up or tear one apart.

Something I've been thinking about as we approach the election of THIS country's leadership for the next four years might be of some help to others who, like me, get lost in all the complicated issues, information/mis-information, rumors, and pundit opinions hurricaning our brains as we seek contextual understanding of our candidates positions. Without making any judgements of the personal choice each of us concludes to, I think one important question every American voter should ask and seriously think on is this: Is the vision for America one of progressive change that adopts European principles? Or is the vision for America's future best securely founded on the uniquely “western” qualities by which our land has prospered for 230 plus years? I think that voting choices made on the current dire problems with our economy alone is short-sighted. Too much tampering or inadequate oversight are behaviors that can be corrected if “we the people” demand it and hold our elected accountable. Based on the longevity and overall success of our system, the fundamentals probably ARE just fine, it would seem to me.

Support for Obama is strong and so it is with a sense of speaking into the “tyranny of majority” that I state my preference here for “values” voting. I value, and do relate to, leaders with background experiences that are deeply rooted in “American” culture and history – that I can recognize as similar to mine and my founding ancestors. I mean that there can be no mistaking that a western quality of life HAS been the defining life experience of McCain (AND Palin). But if you consider the developmental experiences in Obama's upbringing and developmental experiences, you can see why he may be inclined to lead our country into a “euro-style” America (think also Eurabia and read his father's work). While impressively unique, Obama's life spent in places around the globe and his “it takes a village” parentage, lends itself into the notion I have that Obama likely is a bit too unfettered by any ancestral ties to THIS country, and may even be motivated to re-cast this nation with the helpful collaboration of dictators and fascists. I think that if you like heavier-handed socialism and the way countries like Holland, for instance, have been governed; if you believe citizenry there is happier than we are, and if you despise American 'cowboys' or the zealous patriot, preferring your alignment to be with the “elitists” – you know the right ticket to vote for. On the other hand, if you were raised in small-town America, taught the Golden Rule, and had siblings/parents who lived and were raised up in the same country as you, the choice should be even more obvious. It seems to me that McCain and Palin inarguably have deeper roots in this country. I believe that is one valid measure of who is best to lead this western nation forward.

Guess I see why you like Palin so much–you don't answer direct questions, either.

Sorry about the misspeak on WaPo, I was quoting from the NY Post. As far as the factchecker article in WaPo, the first comment below points out that they will look forward to a similar article on Obama and until I see that, I'm reserving judgement on McCain. Usually, however, Obama gets a pass on everything from the media. Now that is SCARY!

As far as getting further in debt, our credit card is already maxed out as a nation. We are already economic hostages to China. Whoever becomes president is going to have to work us up out of a deep dark hole. When Obama chaired the Annenberg Challenge in Chicago, he frittered away more than 100 million dollars allotted for the school system on experimental programs that resulted in no improvement. Even just hiring a few more teachers to reduce classroom size would have shown significant improvement. This showed extremely poor financial management, IMHO. http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/can-obama-survive-...

Speaking of concerns about McCain getting us involved in wars, what about Obama campaigning for Odinga in Kenya as a United States Senator. When Odinga lost, his supporters murdered hundreds, including burning Christians alive in their churches. http://inyourface.info/ArT/Theta/KeNY.shtml Obama is anxious to give more foreign aid to other countries and while that seems laudable, we aren't rolling in dough for our own people. We really need to be careful who we give our limited resources to.

One thing that troubles me greatly about Obama. He touts unity but his campaign uses race baiting to divide us. His ads have manipulated racial tensions with an us vs. them mentality. So much for the post-racial candidate. Until recently he used significantly more negative advertising than McCain. So much for a new kind of politics. http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/20...

To me, Obama just shows a lot of naivete in many areas, both financially and in foreign affairs. Besides Ayers, Wright, Odinga, etc., he just has way too many bizarre associates that make me really uncomfortable. That really makes me question his judgement of people. I don't want the corrupt political scene of Chicago messing up the already murky waters of Washington.

The mess of an economy in a tailspin, a deficit that is reaching $10 trillion, a six-year war (and counting) against an enemy that can't be found, with thousands of American soldiers dead while the terrorists that attacked us hide unmolested in the hills of Pakistan and Afghanistan, oil at record high prices, and a federal government that has grown to its largest size in history, spending more than any US administration in history.

That mess.

And whose “anti-intellectualism and folksiness,” in particular, are you talking about?