Wow, he’s not the insensitive prick I thought he was afterall.
I thought this was a fine jesture on his part. I wager the man (woman) on the ground in Iraq gets significant inspiration from this. It is remeniscent of Bush’s incredible visit to Baghdad, the first American President to visit Iraq- ever.
I read that Rumsfeld actually visited Fallujah. That is impressive. Brave man, bad neighborhood. I was wearing my green “W” Bush Farm Team ball cap earlier from the Crawford Ranch… Where’d that go???
What a brave guy, going to Iraq and then being flown around in a helicopter, in total secret, landing in various spots for few minutes at the time, perfectly time so the news hits home just in time for Christmas Eve…
That’s very brave of him, very brave. Not only is he brave, but he also stays up at night worrying about the troops in Iraq. What a great leader. I hope he becomes the president one day.
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Hey haris,
Please don’t take this as rude or mean, but unless you are posting to slowtwitch from a 802.11B network on a satelite uplink from Fallujah then might I suggest you not judge the man until you walk a mile in his shoes.
If you are, my apologies in advance.
Tom no, I’m not anywhere near Iraq. I’m in the warmth of my cubicle, typing away, quite safe. It’s easy for me to judge the man from here.
I know what you are saying about Rumsfeld being brave just for visiting, and I’m sure the soldiers on the ground appreciate the visit.
I’m also sure they would really appreciate if some of the high ranking officials actually stayed for few days with the soldiers, shared their meals and shared their everyday fears.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to everyone!
I agree with you about that Sir. I think that is true.
Bottom line is this: I don’t like Rumsfeld, but he should stay. America re-elected Bush just last month, and, if the election was also a referendum on any cabinet members, it was people like Rice and Rumsfeld. Nothing, in terms of policies and their execution, has changed since the election. The war plan is the same this month as last. And Rummy’s attitude/approach is the same. The only thing that is different is that the election is now over and some republicans, who praised Bush and his team just last month, now want to position themselves for 08 and they’re doing it by sacrificing Rummy. (Shame on you McCain!) But I look at this way, the majority backed Bush and his team, and we should leave this mediocre team in tact and let it acheive the same mediocre results that it’s been acheiving all along. You get what you pay for – and you also get what you vote for. Stand back America and get ready for 4 more years of the same. You earned it.
Well, Rumsfeld’s visit to Iraq made you change your opinion of his being an “insensitive prick.” So maybe, during the course of the next four years some things might also work out and cause you to change your opinion of the team and its policies.
I’ll put you down as a swing voter, whose mind is open enough to be persuaded by good arguments and real results. Maybe we will do that by '08.
Merry Christmas.
Hmm, don’t you recognize sarcasm when you see it?
I don’t think you are trying to tell me that your mind is closed to good arguments and an analysis of future events on the ground, are you?
Until you do, I will put you down as a possible to persuade.
Merry Christmas.
I can tell you that knowing what I know about this administration and its track record, about the general direction of the right, and about my own personal beliefs, there is next to zero chance that I would endorse Bush and company. That doesn’t mean that I would oppose every decision it makes (some things I will agree with), but could I imagine giving it the nod with my vote, absolutely not.
Fortunately for you (but to the detriment of the great American project), the US will almost surely be red for years to come.
“…the great American project…”
Was/is all about limited central government, self-determination, individual responsibility, and the rights of the states and the people. Something you “blues” have been trying to undo for the last 70-some years. That’s why you’re losing, BTW.
As for Rumsfeld, he is the most open SECDEF we have had in the last 24 years for sure (I have wroked for all of them) and maybe ever. He makes far more visits to the troops and gets far more input from the grunts in the field than any SECDEF I have ever seen or heard of.
“…Bottom line is this: I don’t like Rumsfeld, but he should stay…” Yes. In Iraq.
Agreed!
I, too, am in favor of States rights. If the damn Federal government had kept its damn nose out of it, we wouldn’t be stuck with those damn ex-Conferate states! Think of what a great(and, btw, much richer) collection of states we would have without them.
Please repeat this philosophy early and often. Especially as Nov, 2006 approaches. This should persuade voters what open minded, generous, and inclusive people constitute the modern Democratic Party.
Being open-minded, inclusive and generous hasn’t worked lately, has it? So perhaps a change is overdue. But surely you can’t possibly think that the adjectives open-minded, generous and inclusive belong in the same sentence as the nouns republican, red state and Bush…can you?
Frank
Yes, that is exactly what I believe.
You guys have no use for someone like Lieberman, a religious person who believes in a strong defense. Why not give him to us? He has no place in your party. He would be very welcome here.
Being open minded, inclusive and generous has worked very well lately. You might want to check all the papers from about seven weeks ago.
Just curious, are you old enough to remember the term Solid South and do you know what it meant?
I’m more than old enough to remember and yes, I do know what it meant? But I still don’t believe you know what it means to be inclusive, open-minded or generous. No use for Lieberman? Are you incapable of cogent thought? He was the Dem’s VP candidate. You guys put up Chaney!!! Now there’s an open minded, generous and inclusive man. Yeah, he had an open mind when it came to taking those stock options. And he sure has been generous to the ol’ boys at Haliburton with all those government contracts.
Yeah, that whole anti gay movement that Rove exploited to win the election – that whole thing where republicans want to use the constitution to discriminate, not to abolish discrimination – yeah, that is good old republican open-mindedness, inclusiveness and generosity for you.
And then we can look at the great example of generosity and inclusiveness that Alabama (Art’s neighbor) has recently provided us. They just voted to to keep segregation in their state constitution. I guess it’s not enough to discriminate against gays. It would be best to bring back the old days of putting blacks in their place – or so that is how inclusive Southern GOP thinking goes, right?
You shouldn’t confuse a majority vote with a moral highground. Demagoguing an undereducated public is not hard to do, and I suspect that is partly what Churchill had in mind when he said, Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have
been tried.