Bush vs. Kerry

Vote Vet is going to target all Senator's who refuse to go on the record for or against the way Bush is running this war.

C'mon, Kerry as Dem spokesperson? Wasn't Michael Dukakis available?

George Bush’s Presidential Library?

As George W. Bush’s term waddles to an end, our lame duck president may find his options for leaving something more than disgrace as legacy very limited. Many presidents in the past, who have had a bumpy relationship with the country, reached across the ocean to find some overlooked foreign relations project and thereby, hoped to leave some semblance of an honorable legacy. Our president has no place to go; he starting working on his overseas legacy more than three years ago when he invaded the wrong country. Even if he had not invaded Iraq, it is doubtful a president not known for having the skills of an interlocutor and understanding complex issues would have made any difference in planning one of the rooms in the future Bush Presidential Library.

One has to wonder what a different world this might be today if George W. Bush had picked up in the Middle East where Bill Clinton had left off; instead of exacerbating the problem by inflaming ideological passions already at their bursting point. Clinton came very close to forging a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, which failed, but his intentions for peace gave hope for an eventual peace. In addition to the problem there, GWB should have been aware of the brewing religious hatred of having American troops on the same holy Islamic soil as Mecca in Saudi Arabia, after George W.H. Bush’s ouster of Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, which later became the rallying cry for Osama Bin Laden and his holy warriors.

It became very clear to the Arab world what our current President thought about the Middle East shortly after he took office, when he refused to allow then Secretary of State Colin Powell to attend The World Conference Against Racism in South Africa, which focused on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Two weeks later we had ‘911.’

With the little time he has left, no one will care about his late and paltry attempts to set a domestic agenda, although his 2008 budget which tries to pay for the war with reducing benefits to senior citizens and poor children has foment ire from both sides of the aisle

There is a sad irony in that one of the highlights of his State of Union Address and his message toay, where he promoted the benefits of alternative fuel to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. If he had made that a part of his agenda in his first term, maybe he would not have seen any strategic advantage in invading Iraq and gaining control over their vast oil reserves.

Many old western movies ended with the hero riding off into the sunset. Our cowboy from Midland Texas will have a long flight back to Crawford Texas. Instead of the fading sun as a backdrop for his departure, there will be a cloud over his legacy, which may bring tears to this country for decades. George W. Bush is not an evil president; just the wrong one.

York Van Nixon III 2/10/07 York@YorkVanNixonIII.Com

I hope John Kerry sticks it to Shrub and Deadeye Cheney on their phony balony Iraq war.

The Swiftboat thing that W./Cheney/Rove pulled off in 04 was probably the lowest,slime filled,gutter scum moment in U.S. campaigning history.

C'mon, how long are the media outlets going to let this slip by: the GOP voted against cloture, thereby EXTENDING the debate on the non-binding resolution. Why the vote against cloture, you ask? Because Harry Reid and his friends didn't want to debate and vote on 2 republican-sponsored resolutions.

So, please tell me, who is actually "preventing a full and open debate"? The Democrats, that's who.

Go climb back into the tanning bed, Mr. Senator. While you're at it, please search for your spine.

The more I hear this trope that we must convince Iraqi statesmen to get tougher or whatever, the more hollow it sounds. I don't think Sen. Kerry is wrong to use it necessarily, but for me it obscures more central questions. Like, what's up with the construction of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq? Why isn't this more central in our discussion?

Similarly, a few weeks ago when I was hearing about how Iraqis had to figure out how to share the oil wealth, I wondered how much of that discussion involved figuring out which Halliburton or Exxon clones got the oil contracts.

As much as these are ignored, they seem like issues which must be addressed/resolved before we are really able to sort out our disengagement with the Iraqi war cauldron we designed and fired up.

As a Bostonian, I have immense pride in Sen. Kerry overall, though he has embarrassed us too frequently. I wish that he would use his authority to bring hidden issues like these more into the open.

20% in 10 years? Nonsense. I'm going to buy a Toyota Prius next week. I will double my fuel economy instantly over what I currently drive. Every American should do the same thing. That's how to support our troops. If you drive an SUV you should be ashamed.

Shrub, the current occupant @ 1600, is leaving us with a colossal job ahead: to try to get back the respect of the world. This will take a long time. And we will leave Iraq! Right now, Shrub guts most domestic programs which benefit our citizens!

The only issue the Senate or Congress need to be voting on is opposing the Bush administration's failed Iraq policy. Up or down. Forget about Republican-sponsored resolutions. They're just re-hashes of what Cheney and Bush decree from their "unitary executive" dictatorship. It's time for the Legislative Branch--Democrat and Republican alike--to find their backbones and stand up against the Cheney/Bush cabal.

It really scares me to see the consolidation of money/power not only in the USA but the world as well. The power of the media to bias human minds as exampled the dope a bit above that spews out typical right wing devicivness, refering to Kerry as something not worth concideration by the demenoir of his comments that went something like, Kerry as the Dem spokesperson what ever happened to Dukakis. He waste our time with nothing productive, good, or worthy of anyone sincere in charactor. He should go to a progresive retraining program to help in understand his problems.

To Senetor Kerry/my Senator I say carry on Sir you have it right and one day maybe we will get a shot at fair and balance media the will eventually repair the damaged minds of so many that think it's cool to say Oh Kennedy, Kerry, Massachusetts their all not worthy of consiseration without so much as a decent thought in their mind.

Thank You for your effort Senator and carry on. All the Best in your battle for the free and open availability of the truth to all.

Sen. J Kerry's radio address was OK. He used the same old tired tacticts, like Bush has been taught to use.

I am a voting Democrat, but I am getting sick and tired of the spineless politicians in both parties who talk a lot and do little.

Now the Dems are in power, why are they sounding so wishy washy about the illegal war in IRAQ which Pres Bush wanted.

The Dems. non-binding legislation is worthless, and a total waste of time. Pres. Bush just laughs at such a wimpy effort.

Please act now, and cut off funding for the IRAQ war, and bring our troops home. Give this a time line of July 2008 to complete.

We can do nothing to stop a civil war in IRAQ. The longer we remain in IRAQ the worse things will become. And will lead to war with IRAN.

If Democrats do not act now, to end our involvement in the IRAQ war quagmire, They will be responsible for more dead and wounded US soldiers and that is criminal.

Please abandon your clap trap oratory, act now. Go find some backbone for a change.

AS for attacking IRAN DON'T DO IT.

Liam O Brien

The Unrestricted Bush-Cheney-Rove-et al., Inc. Administration IS, giving by will, American
people--the "12 IN 8 LEGACY PLAN"/"12 TRILLION
DOLLARS NATIONAL DEBT IN 8 YEARS WHITE HOUSE
TENURE"!!!

We are getting lost in the 'micro-izing' of this entire middle east conflict and the way the Bush administration has been ruining the economic and moral underpinnings of this country. In re-reading this passage from our Declaration of Independence, I think the path is clear for all of us:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

It is obvious that the Bush power grab to declare himself the 'unitary president' and his incompetence/neglect/intent to destroy our governmental structure and cities (Katrina), to bankrupt our country as he supports his friends in the 'ruling class', and to make permanent the 'military-industrial complex' that President Eisenhower so clearly warned against, requires that we again declare the 'Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government.'

We The People spoke in November at the polls. It is time to speak again to both Democrats and Republicans that we will not tolerate this current path of our government. It is time to change - the President and all the Congress if necessary. It is not their country, it is ours. If we need to impeach them, let's do it now before they can do any more harm.

If you drive a SUV you should be ashamed - C'MON!!! If you don't have solar power you should be ashamed - or how about if you haven't planted trees in and around where you live you should be ashamed - It's much more than buying or owning an SUV - It's about everything. Just because you are purchasing a Toyota Prius - doesn't mean you can tell everyone who drives an SUV that they should be ashamed. Shame on you for telling america that "everyone" can afford a Prius or other Hybrid. Those things need to be started from the Top-Down. Toyota and other manufactures need to drop prices, as well as the tax break for it to be a wide-spread Hybrid world. Give me a break TOM! Think about someone other than yourself for a change and you will do good in this world.

Other beef - Why (as a human race) are we still at war? What is wrong with us? If there are aliens out there somewhere they must think we are the dumbest race. Killing each other! So stupid.

The earth should be our major concern. I betcha the earth doesn't feel so good with bombs going off in Iraq. That can't be good for the earth.

Yeah Tom, show your support as a true American and go out to buy that Japanese car while Ford is laying off thousands more American workers. Toyota may have assembly plants in this country, but they are still foreign made cars that employ very few American workers, compared to an American auto maker. I believe all of the big three auto manufactures here have hybrids now comparable to anything the Japanese or Korean manufactures have. If you want to help with ending our reliance on imported oil I think you should consider keeping your hard earned American dollars here where they belong.
Liam, your discontent with the newly elected Democratic Congress seems a bit misplaced. Having a 1 seat majority doesn’t mean you can get anything put through without gaining some support from the other side. Yes we did put Democrats in control in order reign in the Bush administration, but unfortunately the Democrats don’t have the majority the Republics had to squash the opposition.

I do not know why we are not talking about replacing our light bulbs today with energy efficient, halagon type bulbs. It has been said that if every household used 5 of the bulbs, it would be like taking 1,000,000 cars off the road.
I myself drive a prius, have 10 of these bulbs,am starting to recycle, and I am looking for other ways to help.
I am not a tree hugger, although the tree hugers got my attention in the late 60's and the University of Texas. I am glad that I learned a little about conservation then and it has served me well over the years.
One great benefit of be an enviromentalist for me is that I have a large home with a small electricity bill. Additonally, my gas bill has be cut by over $250 per month by having a hybrid vehicle.
I ask that every start conserving with the light bulbs today, as a first step. Please pass this on, and start doing a little bit to help the enviroment now.

As long as opulence is what people look up to, people are never going to embrace frugality. As long as hybrids cost far more to manufacture than smallish economy cars, they are not going to be priced equally. These are facts of reality.

I agree with you that things need to be started from the top. I ride a motorcycle EVERYWHERE - not because of necessity, but by choice. But I am also the rarity who doesn't feel like he needs to have a Hummer just because the guy next door has one in his driveway.

In American culture today, it's "cool" to be wasteful. Owning the biggest house and the biggest, fattest SUV - these are status symbols in America. As long as this is the cultural reality, barring a major catastrophe or crisis, things will stay the same regardless of how much government force liberals think they can apply to "make" people conserve. However, if you can change the mindset of people and somehow sway culture to where it's considered desirable and "cool" to conserve resources, you will see waste decline.

I'm not Rep. or Dem. - I'm conservative where it makes sense and liberal where it makes sense. So consider me an impartial observer. Here's a suggestion for Dems: Start with those celebrities you like to pal around with so much. Americans love to emulate celebs and eat up every move they make. So get these people to quit setting the standard of driving a huge gas guzzling Bentley or Rolls or SUV/truck. When your liberal elite starts showing up driving a Prius themselves (or better yet, a motorcycle!) instead of a huge, opulent beast of a vehicle while telling everyone ~else~ to drive Priuses, people will listen and emulate the behavior.

Message for Rory M
Toyota has and new plant in San Atonio that supplies thousands of workers with good paying jobs, and keeps our hard earned American dollars right in Texas and beyond.
If ford, gm, and chrysler had decent products that were fuel efficient, people would by their products. These companies have appealed to the consumptions that American's no longer can afford.
Now it is survial of the fittest and American cars can not compete.
The hybrids of the American companies do not compare to Toyota. I tried to by American and could not by an inferior product.
As far as Republicians vs. Democrats, both are bad. Congess makes this president seem great. They are self serving and worked a total of 78 days last year, but did manage to give themselves another raise.

(Re: Jeff Fox's post at 10:30 Feb 11)

Although it's certainly true that hybrids are expensive and out of many American's price range, that doesn't justify driving an SUV. SUVs aren't cheap either.

If you can afford an SUV, you can afford a hybrid. The MSRPs for all Ford SUVs other than the Escape start above the cost of my Honda Civic Hybrid, never mind the additional fuel cost. If all the SUVs in America were replaced by cheaper cars, our demand for oil would go down, gas would be cheaper for people who are genuinely struggling financially, and our foreign policy wouldn't be affected by having to make sure we don't upset Iran and Venezuela enough to cut off our oil.

Certainly other things should be done, but buying an SUV for most people is about conspicuous consumption - buying something just to show off the fact you can afford it. People who just want to show off and ignore the consequences for the rest of America should be ashamed.

Or you could just be like me and not own a car.

Ain't it great that the Dems now control both houses of Congress! Da 'Publicans are truly worried that the country might be returned to the people in 2008!

Bob, let’s see, you seem to think that buying a Toyota is helping the American economy as much as buying a Ford or Chevy? Personally I don’t think so, and I’ll tell you why. Foreign auto manufactures build plants in this country to give the illusion that the cars they are producing are manufactured here, when in fact their producing the thousands of parts for these cars in foreign countries not just some of the parts, but all of them. They import these parts here and assemble the cars here, but that still is not a drop in the bucket compared to the jobs lost by American manufactures. If you don’t think American auto manufactures can compete with the Japanese I suggest you take off your “Japanese cars are built better attitude” and go down to McCormick Place and look at the American cars before you run out to support the foreign work force.

Everyone do yourself a favor= Read the book U.S. vs Bush. It was written by a American woman that cares about our country. She did a lot of research and come up with this- Bush and his cronies are guilty of crimes aginst the government of the United States. She was not saying that Bush should be impeached but saying that what he has done is an impeachable offence. You read it and make your own decision...