Oh please, “deceptive advertising”, just face the facts and the truth will set you free. This action was not only necessary and a long time coming, but totally justified by Saddam’s 12 years of defying UN resoloutions. That is a fact. As someone who lost several friends in 9/11, I believe that we must be proactive against those who would do us harm in order to prevent another tragedy. I just dont understand why normally rational and educated people dont realize that we live in a very dangerous world with evil people. When you finally realize that you will do yourself a big favor. As for Wesley Clark, I dont know much about his politics other than he is obviously a democrat. He was not really that well regarded when he was Supreme Nato Commander and seemed (according to people who I know that were close to the situation) to have served in that post without much distinction. Also during the was he was one of the worst arm chair quaterback/generals on TV. He was so quick to talk about quagmire and failure when in fact the military plan was executed rather well. And finally, Dean and Clark, you only need to look at California and the sorry shape its in today to get a possible view as to how the US would be under their leadership.

Likewise, Don, I don’t understand why normally rational and educated people don’t understand that preemptive wars based on the unsubstantiated (and often patently false) say-so of an unchecked executive, in contradiction of Constitutional norms, set a precedent that makes the world far more dangerous, not safer.

Also, California is in bad shape because of companies like Enron and their demands for deregulation to the point of giddy, market-gouging insanity, which falls squarely in the lap of the Republican party (and, not to put too fine a point on it, the sitting president), not the Democrats. But hey, if you want to make the argument that California is in bad shape because the Dems let surpluses turn into massive deficits, I’ll concede that point–if you explain how the United States as a whole is not heading in exactly the same direction under the Bush administration.

I meant to add an on-topic comment as well, but was called away for a moment.

I think Clark would be a competitive candidate. He brings a great deal of credibility on security and foreign policy issues to any ticket. I’d most like to see a Dean/Clark ticket, followed closely by Kerry/Clark. I list Clark as VP because that’s where I think he would be best placed. He doesn’t have the established organizational backup or the political experience to jump into the race as a presidential candidate at this late stage in the game (although he could create a lot of trouble by pulling support from other candidates). Still, if he does run, I’ll support him at least as much as I have supported the other top-tier candidates so far.

Oh please, “deceptive advertising”, just face the facts and the truth will set you free.

Deceptive advertising it was. Do you forget the “16 words”? The nuke program being “reconstituted” and Saddam on the brink of having a weapon fabricated? The imminent danger he was supposed to be? The “massive stockpiles” of chemical and biological weapons? The ties to 9/11 and the Al Qaeda training camps under Saddam’s protection? And so many other lies… If the truth sets us free, then what did Bush do to us with all those lies?

This action was not only necessary and a long time coming, but totally justified by Saddam’s 12 years of defying UN resoloutions. That is a fact. As someone who lost several friends in 9/11, I believe that we must be proactive against those who would do us harm in order to prevent another tragedy.

Denying U.N. resolutions does not justify a full-out invasion–unless you want to invade Israel next. And, as we have found out, and what Bush did not allow us to find out with inspections before he charged in prematurely, was that Iraq was no more a threat to us that Paraguay. No WMD, a weak army, a shadow of even the force we rolled over in the first Gulf War. I am truly sorry about your friends in 9/11 (I have family who witnessed it but were thankfully not harmed), but it does not make for objectivity nor accuracy. Indeed, Bush played on exactly those kinds of feelings to push us into a war we should not have engaged in.

I just dont understand why normally rational and educated people dont realize that we live in a very dangerous world with evil people.

Exactly–as you point out, people. Not just Saddam–there are lots of such evil tyrants. Do we go invade all their countries? Or just the ones with oil? Also, I know of no one who believes we do not live in a dangerous world, and most certainly I do not, so please do not try to foist the title on me. There is a difference between knowing the world and knowing how we should act in the world, and it is the second you should be referring to. One thing I do know: Iraq was far less about “dangerous and evil” than it was about “elections and oil.” It was an unnecessary war that the administration had to lie about to get done, and it has cost us far more dearly than we can afford for the minimal payback that it has provided. Not to mention that it has only distracted us from the War on Terror (TM), and cost us money that is more urgently needed at home.

Oh, yeah, the War on Terror. I had quite forgotten about that—as have most Texas Republicans, it seems.

Report Details GOP Bids For U.S. Aid in Tex. Fray
Justice Department Cites 1 Case of Federal Action

Texas Republicans tried to enlist the help of several federal law enforcement agencies…the Justice Department said yesterday.

In a report on the findings of an internal investigation, the department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) said that it documented nine instances in which GOP or state officials had sought federal law enforcement assistance.

The report suggested that the search for the Democrats briefly interfered with anti-terrorism activities in Texas. It quoted a Texas DPS sergeant as telling an FBI agent that he could not work on a joint anti-terrorism assignment because most of his unit had been reassigned to search for the missing Democrats.

Howard Fineman seems confident:

“Another sure thing: Wes Clark is in.”

from Waco to Kosovo….great leadership…NOT. That’s Clark.