Mike789—You’re describing practical politics.  Only about five or ten percent of the electorate think about or vote according to ‘issues’ or what we might humorously call ‘reality’.  A political party that wants to stay in business must respond to the public demand for image, showmanship, blather, posturing, and so on.

Olberman did a rebuttal Friday night wherein a Bush Admin. policy paper was cited. The language was nearly identical to Obama’s words.

In reality, the policy on terrorism is virtually the same. And many on the Left or even Indies are not happy with it..

What is evident in what comes out of the wise cracks (in the sidewalk) from the Right is that they are ostensibly oblivious to the record of their own history. They’re rewriting it constantly.

So the bait and switch continues, channeled through the think tanks to the marginally informed. They all stay on the music sheet to form an echo chamber which gains in listeners but lacks in substance and realistic analysis. It’s as if all that matters is the label.

Before the election—actually, I believe before he had even won the nomination—Obama promised to reinvade Afghanistan and said he would look into invading Pakistan as well.

Yeah, but whatever you call it people die through illegal acts of aggression.  When a piece of shrapnel is about to blow half of your child’s head off right before your eyes it hardly matters if it’s “terrorism” or “war”. 

I’m not sure I agree with you on your definitions.  When a nation prosecutes an illegal war of aggression against people who can’t defend themselves, I would call that terrorism because they are using violence to intimidate others into compliance.  For example if Dubya is crazy enough to invade Iraq for no reason then maybe he’d invade Iran too.

I don’t want to argue about terminology, though.  I think you and I agree that it’s shitty, and although Obama wouldn’t come out and say that, he did promise a different approach to foreign policy and I would invite anyone here or elsewhere to explain exactly how his foreign policy differs from Bush.

-Wexler

Once again the right-wing crowd gets mileage out of knee-jerk statements, this time by Liz Cheney, whose words are always inciting, false, and meaningless. Why doesn’t the media quote someone who is rational and reasoning, for example, a scientist.

Liz’s father, Dick—and his witless sidekick, W—already said the same thing years ago.

William W. Wexler, September 25 at 12:41 am:

The most outrageous thing that Obama hasn’t said about US foreign policy is that America is the biggest terrorist nation in the world. ...

Yes, well, he’s really likely to say that, isn’t he?  Any moment now.

However, it would be an error.  Terrorism is the use of state methods (war and terror) by non-state parties.  When a state practices terrorism we call it ‘war’, ‘foreign policy’, ‘law enforcement’, and so on.

It was obvious Fox “News” was going to run with that quote.  The real concern from Woodward’s book is the glimpse at the deep entrenchment of the MIC and the incredible resistance to backing away from the war/terror profiteering business by the establishment.  Additionally it highlights either the powerlessness or the lack of sufficient strength of character of Obama to be able act to execute what is in the best interests of America. The real story and question these facts elicit is does this mean that the POTUS job is really just a puppet position?

The most outrageous thing that Obama hasn’t said about US foreign policy is that America is the biggest terrorist nation in the world.  We have terrorist attacks in progress on a more or less daily basis that kill foreign civilians.  We spent 10 years starving post-Gulf Iraq and harassing 2/3 of her air space with flyovers and air strikes.  We caused over a million civilian casualties in the siege of Iraq, mostly kids who died from contaminated water.  In our present non-occupation/occupation, we caused an estimated additional 1 million deaths plus 4 million refugees.  What’s the deal?  Level the playing field?  No, I mean, REALLY level it?

We have a famous history of overthrowing unfriendly governments in Latin America for the last 110 years.  It’s amazing that more anglos don’t speak Spanish.

But wait.  You haven’t got the best part yet.  We’re spying and practicing terrorism on our own citizens.  Yep, that’s right, it’s reported today over at AntiWar.com that the government is making raids on anti-war activist’s homes in the upper midwest.  Gotta do these things on Friday when nobody really gives a fucking shit in the media.  Possible exception… if the FBI knocked off some right wing Patriot group on Friday you could bet your bippie that Fox News would be talking about Obama’s fascists.

What a fucking piece of shit country this has become.  You all need to read “Idiot America” by Charles Pierce.  I’m halfway through it.  It explains how we went from a nation of quacks to a nation of psycho quacks.

If you are careful, you might be able to get a copy of Pierce’s book in a brown paper wrapper.  Just don’t step out of the Free Speech Zone with it; anything could happen.

-Wexler

Maybe Obama should have been more careful in the words he chose so as to be absolutely clear what he was talking about.  Like, “love thy enemy, turn the other cheek, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Then the Bible thumping hypocrites could twist these words into lies like everything else and expose their Christian values for what they really are just fear and loathing.

Its that stupid partisanship again. If one of theirs had said it exactly that way, they would have been lauded for being “tough, no nonsense” etc superlatives would have rained like golden showers upon their saintly crown.

It all goes to prove how horrible the opposition must have been (the profoundly inept moronic Bush) to have to opt for the smiling newbee chanting about Change - which he had no idea how to bring about.

In any case, absorbing terrorist attacks is an absolute requirement if the U.S. is going to continue on its doomed imperial path.  If they are ‘unacceptable’ then the imperialism is unacceptable, and neither Bush nor Obama is going to say that.  It’s not allowed.

If you want to try to run the world, pay the price.  And don’t whine about it.

Sorry to upset you majorz, but we ahve tried it your way, over and over again. It didn’t work for Nixon, it didn’t for Reagan, and it sure as heck didn’t work for Bush.

I always ask the same question of “freedom” loving flag suckers, where were you when the Patriot Act was rubber stamped? Why don’t you love and believe in america as much as liberals? Why is it OK for a conservative to run up the national debt?

Next time you walk outside your house and get in a safely built car, thank a liberal. You gonna drive on a road today? Thank a liberal. Hear that fire siren? Thank a liberal. The factory down the street not dumping toxic waste into the creek behind your house? Thank a liberal. Want to retire some day and actually have some money to live on and services to help you. You like having healthcare for retirees that private industry refuses to provide? thank a liberal.

If you want to live in some dog-eat-dog banana republic where the richest and best armed people are in charge, there are indeed plenty of third world nations that can provide any true conservative that challenge they so richly want. But if you like civilized society, well, thank a liberal.

Big B

Couldn’t you think of any more asinine cliches? Is that what passes for thinking at your house?

My ilk? You mean the ilk that doesn’t suffer halfwits? Or the ilk that continued the Patriot Act after campaigning against it? - Or the ilk that took three months to rubber stamp - after much handwringing - the exact plan that his handpicked General proposed?

Yeah, I know, shut up or leave the country - the usual fascist instinct. Will there be be anyone left to speak for me? Not you and Peter, Paul and Mary(RIP) singing Kumbaya, I hope.

majorz

when they come for you, will there be anyone left to speak up for you?

Perhaps you and those of your ilk should move to a nation with a rigid, centrally controlled security force that is there to protect everybody from all evils, at the cost of personal freedoms, of course.

I hear Somalia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and China are very nice this time of year. There is constant and brutal security, and best yet, nobody can (or will) disagree with the government.

Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.

What’s that, you say? The Right wing distorts facts and lies? Are you sure? This must be a first.

The reality is very simple: if someone wants to attack us they can.  We are a large country with fairly porous borders.  We have a very open system that allows free movement.  We don’t want to become a draconian dictatorship, like say the former East Germany, because the cost is too high.  So we are vulnerable to someone attacking us.  That is the price we pay for being a free, “democratic” country.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Before one of you points out I don’t live in America, my children do so I worry about them.  My oldest son lives in NYC so I worry about him a lot.  But I would not want my country locked down under martial law to avoid an attack.

So, what Obama said is correct.  We can and should do everything possible to frustrate an attack but accept that one may happen despite our best efforts.  And he is also right that we can handle any attack, no matter how terrible.  We survived 9/11 and we can survive anything else that is thrown at us.  But, all this said, the greatest threat to our safety comes from within.  We keep bashing the bad guys, blaming the Muslim community for the threat and then are surprised when that community reacts badly.  This moron in Florida who wanted to burn Korans generated massive, violent anti-American demonstrations throughout the Muslim world and, quite frankly, converted a lot of people to our enemies.  I can’t believe we are so stupid as to believe that our bad behavior won’t come back to haunt us.  From the other side of the curtain, Americans look like a bunch of spoiled jerks who deserve whatever happens to them.  We need to grow up and start acting like we are “part of” the world community, not the “leader of” it.  As long as we swagger around like assholes we should expect to be the target of a lot of hate and, ultimately, violent reactions.  Stop the hate people ... or it will come back to bite you.

Not overblown - and nothing was twisted. “truthdig” indeed. The quote - if accurate - indicates a diffident, passive, academic acceptance of the unacceptable. It happens to fit in with the lefty worldview so all you pipesmokers bray in agreement.

Apparently, “everything we can to prevent it” is quite different for Bush and Obama - since we are under constant assault the last couple years. Maybe the constant bowing and apologizing isn’t quite as effective as you cowards imagine.

“We absorbed it and we are stronger”? How do you geniuses feel we are stronger?

I’d like to see any one of you tell the victim’s families that they were good to “absorb” the blow. But I guess third rate thinking and anonymous pomposity doesn’t require acknowledging reality which conflicts with your deep thoughts. I predict that when Al Qaeda attacks you, you bedwetters won’t be so smug.

Good commentary.

Umm, everyone needs to calm down. This is overblown by both sides.

So, in a nutshell…The Fox Noise agit-prop net rolls out their next Big Lie.

I’ll bet all the wonks down at the White House are infuriated by the misuse of the Woodward book and interviews! And certainly the opposition is purposely misrepresenting what the President is quoted as saying.. Shame on the ugly Rethuglicans!

Problem is.. I have a sinking feeling in my gut that the whole thing.. the interviews, the terror talk and consternation and preoccupation with keeping us safe.. all of it.. And all that put out in the news now, just before the election.. It stinks to high heaven! I am so closely reminded of how Bush played the terror card and constantly reminded us he was the war leader.. RED, YELLOW, ORANGE.. more YELLOW..

Disgusting back then.. infuriating now!

So, yeah.. Obama’s political crew have their panties in a bunch over such a brilliant plan, laid out over such a period of time.. now looking to backfire.

Nuts.