Taliban

The Long List Of Republican Presidential Dropouts: Why If 2012 Is Such A Great Year For The GOP?

Ronald 1 Comment

Common belief is that 2012 will see the defeat of President Barack Obama, and recent polls seem to indicate such, except, of course, for the fact that polls in the summer and fall of the year BEFORE the national elections are notoriously misleading!

But with such predictions and prognostications, why is it that a long list of Republicans, some of them very attractive possibilities, have decided NOT to seek the Presidency?

First the list of candidates in no special order:

Jeb Bush
Haley Barbour
John Bolton
Mitch Daniels
Jim DeMint
Mike Huckabee
Bobby Jindal
Mike Pence
David Petraeus
Paul Ryan
John Thune
Donald Trump
Rudy Guiliani
Sarah Palin
Chris Christie

That is a list of FIFTEEN people, some of them very appealing in different ways, who have decided NOT to run!

But why?

1. It is an arduous chore, costly, dominating, stressful to run for President, and becomes all encompassing to the candidate and his or her family.
2. It requires tremendous financial and organizational support to make a serious run for President, not easily achieved.
3. It requires a “thick skin” with the strong criticisms and investigations of one’s record, of everything ever said or done, that is automatic when one runs for President.
4. It requires a candidate to be knowledgeable, informed, and to have good debate skills against potential opponents.
5. It is required that a candidate have the “fire in the belly” that he or she is meant to run, and willingness to sacrifice his or her life for a year or more.

With all of the above, one other point should be made in conclusion: The candidate has to believe that Barack Obama can be defeated in 2012, or else it is better to wait to 2016!

The author would contend that many on this list, maybe all of them, see the chore of dislodging Barack Obama from the Presidency to be a very difficult job, no matter what is uttered publicly!

The President will have a billion dollar campaign fund; a record of major accomplishments rivaling the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson domestically, certainly the most since the first term of Richard Nixon, the most in FORTY YEARS, that he can be proud of; PLUS exceptional achievements in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and general respect around the world! His record on defense and foreign policy is outstanding, with his ONLY major failure being the economy, one that he inherited and has been unable to overcome due to the total intransigence of the opposition party, which now controls the House of Representatives, and is doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to create jobs, build infrastructure, promote education and innovation, and will go down as the worst Congress in decades!

Barack Obama will be able to call them the “do nothing” Congress as Harry Truman did when he ran for election in 1948. The difference is that even the GOP Congress of 1947-1948, the 80th Congress, DID support the President on foreign policy initiatives, while the Republicans today ignore or dismiss accomplishments of the President in that area! So this is actually a far worse Congress, the 112th Congress, than the 80th Congress was!

So the ultimate conclusion is that the Republicans who decided not to run assume that Obama will win, and are holding their future to 2016, when it is likely MANY of the above will be running for President in a year they project as a year when the incumbent President will NOT be able to run, an open year which maximizes their opportunities for the White House!

Finally, the reception that those candidates for President who are running are receiving is NOT a good sign for any of them, that they will somehow unite the Republican Party and defeat Barack Obama in 2012! There is great discontent over the choices, and that is the reason why there has been a clamor, unsuccessful, to get others in the race. And of course, the Tea Party Movement is also destroying any chance for GOP unity, so if the Republicans want a future, they must divorce the Tea Party Movement after what will be a likely debacle in 2012, if they wish to succeed Barack Obama in the White House in the Presidential Election Of 2016!

Barack Obama’s War On Terror: Reason Why, No Matter What The Economy, He Will Win Reelection In 2012!

Ronald 2 Comments

Barack Obama decided early on in his administration that he was NOT going to use the term “War On Terror”!

But forget what it is called: Barack Obama has waged a very effective “War On Terror”, has shown he is tough and decisive, has demonstrated aggressiveness in military matters, and has protected the homeland more effectively than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney before him!

His military and intelligence people have hunted down and eliminated dozens, if not more, terrorist leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and related groups. Of course, the most famous is Osama Bin Laden!

He has utilized drones effectively, and made arrangements for new drone locations to go after terrorists in Somalia and Yemen.

He has given private warnings, now becoming public, to Pakistan and Afghanistan about connections to terrorists.

He has made Iran aware that we will not tolerate their connections with Hamas and Hezbollah in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and while we are trying to withdraw our involvement with ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are not abandoning the fight against terrorist elements.

Barack Obama is often called too nice, lacking in aggressiveness in dealing with Republicans, but even that is starting to change as he pursues an economic plan to promote fairness in taxation, and stop victimizing the middle class in favor of the rich!

He cannot quickly create jobs, but he is showing his intent for the long term, and while he is doing this, he has made perfectly clear his aggressiveness and single mindedness to protect us from terrorism and root it out wherever it exists!

This is a long battle that may never fully end, but the waging of the War on Terror worldwide is the ultimate reason why, no matter what the economy, he will win reelection in 2012! The Republican Party will be helpless on this issue, unable to criticize Obama, and they will lose the election and seats in Congress, and possibly control, because of that reality!

September 11 Ten Years Later: Its Long Range Impact!

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Tomorrow will mark ten years since the greatest tragedy in American history–the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in suburban Virginia outside Washington, DC; and the heroism of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 who prevented that plane’s hijackers from attacking the US Capitol Building or the White House by rebelling, and forcing the plane into a crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania!

Over 3,000 people died as a result of September 11, most in the Trade Center, but some in the Pentagon, and also on the the four planes involved in the terrorist plot.

Additionally, about 5,000 soldiers have been killed in the wars In Iraq and Afghanistan, and about 45,000 wounded, including a few thousand severely wounded, making more than 50,000 killed or wounded as a result of September 11.

It has been very difficult to conceptualize and cope with the tragedy of that day, and ever since in the never ending involvement in the wars against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Words cannot describe the torment that most Americans feel about this greatest of all human tragedies in American history, other than the tragic battles of Antietam and Gettysburg in the Civil War, along with the losses of our troops at Pearl Harbor which led us into World War II.

September 11 changed the American Presidency forever, making it that all Presidents in the future will have to be prepared to deal with a terrorist attack that could come at any time, no matter how much preparation and alertness Americans have. This is a never ending war that will cost us plenty in national treasure, and already has put us into economic straits worse than any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Socially, September 11 has made the country fearful of the religion of Islam, and made Americans suspicious of immigrants in general, an ugly revival of religious intolerance and of nativism, which is a massive problem for the long term, and could subject us to more danger because of hate mongers who can incite reactions by people who have no connection to September 11, and yet feel victimized.

September 11 united us briefly, but now it has led to political divisions that endanger the future of the country both domestically and in foreign policy dealings.

September 11 has also made us realize, like at the time of Pearl Harbor but then forgotten, that we are vulnerable to attack, and have been too self assured and cocky about the greatness of our nation, leading to the wrong headed attitude that we are superior and cannot be touched or threatened internally. We have learned the hard way the folly of our self proclaimed “exceptionalism”, a super nationalism which endangers our relations with other nations and makes us feel that we are best in every way, which is far from the truth!

September 11 has also endangered our Bill of Rights and civil liberties, some of it understandable, but much of it dangerous and unacceptable violations in the name of security. It has created an intrusive government which can spy on us with cameras, phones, internet and other forms of technology, and has caused the growth of so many intelligence and spy agencies that the Washington Post has published about secret governments and expenditures that we have no concept of, or ability to gain awareness of in detail!

In many ways, while we have fought the terrorism successfully, we have also become the victims, in the sense of losing our freedoms, security, contentment in being Americans, and sense of well being.

So September 11 has done great harm to us, and its impact will never dissipate, sadly!

Obama Successes In Midst Of Difficult Times!

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Barack Obama has had a rough August, what with the battle over the debt ceiling, the lowering of the Triple A credit rating by Standard and Poor’s, the resulting stock market disarray, and the growing discontent in the polls with the unemployment crisis.

And yet, Obama has succeeded in recent days in a number of areas, which should raise his public opinion polls somewhat.

First, he has accomplished in combination with the Arab League, NATO, and UN backing, with the overthrow of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi, although the leader is not yet accounted for.

Second, the number two man in the Al Qaeda terrorist leadership, after the death of Osama Bin Laden, has been murdered in Pakistan, indicating further disruption in Al Qaeda leadership, and making some think Al Qaeda may never be the same. This comes on top of the successful elimination of numerous other Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives over the past couple of years by the Obama Administration!

Finally, it is already evident that Obama’s government has responded far better on Hurricane Irene than George W. Bush did on Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2006. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is doing a superb job, and the same can be said for the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Janet Napolitano!

So in the midst of much criticism and bad times, there are some developments to applaud, and to prove once again, the ups and the downs of being President of the United States!

The Escalating Extremist Rhetoric Of Rick Perry: Reckless And Irresponsible!

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Texas Governor Rick Perry has only been in the Republican Presidential nomination race for less than 72 hours, and already, we are witnessing escalating extremist rhetoric that makes him the most dangerous and reckless potential nominee of the GOP since Barry Goldwater!

Wait until Perry begins his vicious attacks on Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, and even Michele Bachmann!

This man has displayed already, while Governor of Texas, that he has no limits to irresponsible statements, as witness his threat two years ago that Texas might secede from the Union, even though that is an illegal, unpatriotic, and treasonous statement to make 150 years after the Civil War!

Perry has the gall to suggest that the Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke, trying to deal with the Great Recession, is promoting treason by trying to stimulate the economy and promote investment and job growth. It is part of his desire to strip the federal government of any control over the destinies of the American people, and instead promote the old, outworn doctrine of states rights, despite the fact that Texas and almost all other states have done a horrible job of dealing with the needs and problems of their citizenry!

Perry also has a lot of nerve to suggest that Barack Obama does not love his country, when he has suggested Texas leave the Union. He is promoting a continuation of the “Birther” myth, that Obama is not out to defend his country’s interest, even though Obama has been much more successful than George W. Bush in his pursuit of terrorists, including the massive use of drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the removal of more terrorist leaders of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, including the greatest accomplishment of all, Osama Bin Laden, in two and a half years, than Bush and Dick Cheney could bring about in eight years!

Rick Perry will stop at nothing in the politics of personal destruction of Barack Obama, and soon, his GOP opponents will discover the viciousness of this man who makes George W. Bush look like a moderate!

Lingering Debate About Obama Being A Muslim, And Yet US Is Fighting Al Qaeda and Taliban In Six Muslim Nations!!

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There remains even now an underlying belief of some Americans that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, out to undermine Christian values and American democracy and freedom.

This comes despite the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the addition of troops to Afghanistan by President Obama in December 2009.

This comes despite his constant sending of drones and CIA operatives into SIX Muslim nations, and his cooperation with NATO in fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

This comes despite the killing of more high level Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership than under George W. Bush.

Realize that we are involved in some form militarily in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and now, as revealed this morning, in Somalia with armed drones!

How in the world can critics still claim that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, when he is condemned by Al Qaeda, as well as many Muslim leaders? If anything, he has engaged the United States against Muslim nations and radicals MORE than George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan combined!

And yet the poison and lies continue, and it is not just by right wing extremists, but by so called “responsible” and “sensible” Americans who should hang their heads in shame!

The Senate Advocates Of Intervention In Muslim Lands: Enough Already!

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Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina advocated future intervention to stop the massacres going on in Syria.

Graham, along with Senators John McCain of Arizona and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, continue to travel in the Middle East and to advocate military intervention in Muslim lands.

As if intervention in Iraq, Aghanistan and Libya are not enough, President Obama has authorized drones and bombings be utilized in Pakistan and Yemen.

But whatever Obama does, which many wonder if not already too much intervention, these three Senators want extended military intervention in even more nations.

We can mourn the loss of life and the horrors of the Assad regime in Syria, but every country we intervene in only adds to Muslim hatred of America, and increases the desire of young Muslims in the Middle East and Asia to join Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

America cannot afford such military intervention, whether with the goal of improving relations with the Muslim world which does not occur, or in financial terms.

America is broke financially by these overseas interventions, and we are losing our young men and women to a cause that cannot be won by bombings and troops on the ground.

If we could only understand that we would be outraged by Muslim intervention in American territory, maybe we could see the mindset of the Muslim nations, who want us to get out of their lands, which we started to occupy in the Gulf War of 1991, the turning point for bad relations with that religious group and their populations.

So, Senator Graham, and Senators McCain and Lieberman, enough of your war mongering, and let’s bring the boys and girls home, and defend our own nation, and reinvest in our infrastructure and our education and health care instead of throwing money down a toilet!