Jeremy and I

I sent Jimmy--- THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE THAT HASN'T YET STARTED
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

Jimmy: This is the best article yet on the face of our political nation. I agree - I can't wait for the debates to find out from their own lips what their positions are on the important issues. I have to admit that I know very little on both candidates, and I follow politics! It's hard to find unbiased descriptions on their positions, so bring on the debate! I want to hear it for myself.

JM: What did you think about that informal town hall interview with McCain and Obama recently? Everyone says McCain came out far on top. You know, McCain has a long track record in Congress. His views are pretty well documented. It is Barack who is a great unknown. He says nothing better than anyone in Washington. I hear he has spent somewhere around 140 days actually voting on bills and working in general in Congress. I'll be honest, he scares the hell out of me. When he does come down solid on an issue, his views are ill-informed and radical to say the least. There are more than a few books on each guy; just go to any Borders or Barnes bookstore. Read the one on Barack by Shelby Steele...very interesting.

Jimmy: I know - I started reading Barack's book, and it's just all fluff. I know I'm still leaning his way, and I'll be honest & tell you why: it's the Republican Party that scares me, just becuase they have been in power in Washington for SO LONG with the big 3 (President, congress, senate), and yet our country is worse now than from 8 years ago. So here is a challange: Tell me 3 things that the Republican party has done good for our country over the past 8 years. I can't think of anything...

JM: The most glaring example is around 2500 days since an attack on U.S. soil.
The cutting of taxes is #2.
Some progress has been made on the southern border but not nearly enough.
More corrupt CEOs who fleeced their stockholders have been put away under Bush's reign than any were under Clinton's.
Remember, although Bush's approval rating is only 30%, the Democratic controlled Congress if half that!

Jimmy: I don't think anyone in politics is free from scrutiny in their speeches: Gore, Bush, Obama, McCain... they all get criticized, but at least Obama doesn't sound like an idiot. I still cringe every time Bush speaks.

> Thanks for the one link you sent about comparing the two candidates. Even though it was written from a republican, at the bottom it had a link to the cnn site, which shows the facts on how the candidates stand on a variety of issues. Very interesting & based on facts. Exactly what I have been looking for.

> As for your top 3 Bush items:
> 1. When was the last attack on American soil before Bush & 9/11? Pearl Harbor? Although I won't blame Bush for 9/11 because it was a lot of people's fault, on both sides of the aisle.
> 2. True - he did lower taxes.
> 3. True - borders are better. And I have to admit that I lean way on your side when it comes to immigration: English SHOULD be the American language, and to be a citizen you should have to pass an English test. Illegal immigrants need to either go home or join the military, not get a free ride from true Americans.
>
> But, when it comes to guns, abortion, same-sex marriage, religion in society, the War, Big Oil, and European impressions of the US... yeah, I have to go with Obama. I just can't deal with another 4 years of old, white, Republican rule...

JM: Barack sounds intelligent?
-- Last May, he claimed that tornadoes in Kansas killed a whopping 10,000 people: The actual death toll: 12.

-- In Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: "Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."

-- On Memorial Day he mentioned fallen heroes, and then said, "Some of which I see here today."

-- In front of a roaring Sioux Falls, S.D., audience, Obama exulted: "Thank you, Sioux City. ... I said it wrong. I've been in Iowa for too long. I'm sorry." Recently while in Kansas City he said he was in St. Louis!

-- Explaining why he was trailing Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama again botched basic geography: "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle." On what map is Arkansas closer to Kentucky than Illinois?

-- Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Ala., he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965.

-- In Cape Girardeau, Mo., Obama showed off his knowledge of the war in Afghanistan by homing in on a lack of translators: "We only have a certain number of them, and if they are all in Iraq, then it's harder for us to use them in Afghanistan." The real reason it's "harder for us to use them" in Afghanistan: Iraqis speak Arabic or Kurdish. The Afghanis speak Pashto, Farsi or other non-Arabic languages.

-- And in perhaps the most seriously troubling set of gaffes of them all, Obama told a Portland crowd that Iran doesn't "pose a serious threat to us" -- cluelessly arguing that "tiny countries" with small defense budgets can't do us harm -- and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave."

1. The Twin Towers were bombed in 1993 under Clinton's watch, they just didn't fall. Terrorists also attacked the U.S. Cole, and our embassies also under Clinton's watch.

From what I understand, the cities with guns bans are the most violent, which I suspect is why D.C. lifted theirs. Guns are the great equalizers for women who would otherwise be easy rape or mugging targets. Like illegal drugs, the criminals are going to get them regardless, banning them only takes them out of the hands of defenders.

If we open the door to same sex marriage, then what is to stop the Muslims from demanding legal marriages to 17 wives, all of which require welfare assistance?

Religion in society? Please explain further, but before you do read the wording used in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. By the way, I am a deist.

I hate war, but not this one. Periodically we must remind the world that we will not be toyed with. All that is required for evil to prevail is for good to do nothing. In the eyes of our enemies we are weak for not defending ourselves. Osama Bin Laden said just that after 9/11 by pointing to our cowardly withdrawal from Somalia.

Big oil? What's the alternative?

Honestly cousin, I could care less what the Europeans think of us. What model of theirs is worth emulating? Besides, they are beginning to elect more conservative leaders- France is a prime example. You gotta read America Alone by Mark Steyn. Promise me you will.

"...old, white, Republican rule?" What are you, some kind of racist? :)

(JM) I’m thoroughly enjoying this give and take. I look forward to this exchange of ideas…indefinitely. Here’s some of my responses to your latest…

(Jimmy) Sarah was a very good speaker and actually impressed me last night.  I can see her leading a republican ticket down the road.  That being said...  What are they going to do to improve the country?  The government needs fresh blood, not an old guy who's been in politics for 50 years.  Experience doesn't equate to excellence. 

(JM) “Experience doesn't equate to excellence.” Neither does inexperience.

The question is, when is it prudent to go with a rookie? These are scary times. Based on what I hear from Obama’s campaign, he seems to recycle much of the playbook from old Democratic party politics. He’s a ‘community organizer’ who has never demonstrated anything that qualifies him for the most powerful office in the world. He’s a learner, not a thinker or leader. He says the same things that have been said before from Democratic leaders, only further to the left. What has he done to show that he is not part of the Washington establishment? Is he a maverick? Has he ever said anything that wasn’t straight party line?

(Jimmy) What is McCain & the Republican party going to do to fix the problems in America.  Nothing besides drilling for more oil and keeping their "who cares what the rest of the world think" attitude.  Makes me sick.... 

(JM) McCain is regarded as a maverick by all politicians from both sides of the political spectrum. He has reached across the aisle to his own detriment. The conservative base has been upset by him more than a few times for his willingness to compromise with the left. When has Barack ever shown the same effort? He has the single most liberal voting record in Congress. He is even left of Ted Kennedy! And didn’t Palin say last night that drilling was needed now, but is not the only solution? She mentioned other sources of energy, nuclear, wind, etc.

(Jimmy) Anyway, isn't the Republican motto "Every man & woman for himself/herself"? 

(JM) Bush passed the Medicare reform…a huge entitlement program. While he did try to rescue Social Security from bankruptcy, only to be proudly defeated by the Dems, spending under his administration has gone up as much or more than under Clinton’s. He’s not very conservative in this regard.

(Jimmy) Yes - it's much better to take a firm stance on forcing American people to pull themselves out of whatever gutter they are in than to give them a hand up & out. 

(JM) Free hand outs sound compassionate, but good intentions often backfire. Michelle Obama’s father worked his butt off to provide for his daughter, and was proud to do so. Why replace that with a government nanny state vis-à-vis taxpayer dollars? Do we not create dependency that way? The Republican Congress under Clinton eventually passed welfare reform, despite his three vetoes, and the results were positive. The main problem is, there is never any check on fraud. I can’t tell you how many Medicaid patients I see on a daily basis who flatly are scamming the system. I can delve further here if you’d like. I look at is as tough love. Is it better to hand someone a fish every day and thereby create dependency, or teach them how to fish for themselves and create independency? Until welfare reform, you had generations of families depending on govt. checks. People feel worthless, and resentful. The best thing to do is provide them the tools to take care of themselves. The most condescending thing one can do to another is to have absolutely no expectations of them whatsoever.

(Jimmy) And the environment - who cares!  It's big world, and the strong will survive. 

(JM) Who says the right doesn’t care about the environment? We just don’t by Al Gore’s apocryphal global warming bologna.

(Jimmy) And hey - let's let big business keep doing what they have been doing.  Great idea... 

(JM) Why the resentment toward big business? There is a lot of class warfare propagated in our country by the left, but isn’t the American dream to become rich? By creating government entitlement dependents generation after generation we stifle their drive and eventual personal pull upward? Just as many, if not more, Dems are in business scams than Repubs. (see Barack and Rezko).

(Jimmy) Thoughts like that are ruining our country & the economy.  Our country is worse off than it has been in decades. 

(JM) Our economy is not as bad as the media perpetuate. They keep talking about recession. You need two consecutive quarters of negative growth to qualify for that. We have had one yet from what I understand. Bush inherited one from Clinton when he took office. The unemployment rate has been 5% or below for the last 8 years. This is not soup line America from the 30’s like the media pretends.

(Jimmy) And why are we still in Iraq, when we should be in Afghanastan? 

(JM) We are still in Afghanistan.

(Jimmy) And why do we have to pick a fight with every country that has a problem? 

(JM) Pick a fight? Saddam was a terrorist enabler, and Bush made it clear in his State of the Union Address right after 9/11 that we were fed up and going to go after any state that aids and abets terrorists. Saddam toyed with us for years, defied U.N. inspectors for years more, and had about 7 months warning before we attacked where he could have cooperated. Bush never said Iraq played a role in 9/11…just the opposite, but Saddam was a backer of and funded terrorist organizations. Like Guliani said, we may not want to go to war with them, but that doesn’t mean they are not at war with us.

(Jimmy) Why do we have to be the military presence of the world for every problem?  "If not for us, the bad people of the world will run amok!"  Sure...  OK.  What the heck is the UN for???  It's much better to just go in and kick some butt than to talk first, right??? 

(JM) Not to sound too simplistic, but we are the good guys. America is a noble nation, not an imperialistic one, despite what the academic elites say. Do you really agree with the likes of Ward Churchill? Could you imagine the state of the world without us? The U.N. is a corrupt, useless organization. I have a documentary and tons of books exposing the U.N. I’ll send them to you. Do you know how many ruthless countries are on the U.N. human rights council? The U.N. is responsible for the greatest scandal in history. A total international disgrace.

(Jimmy) McCain wants to send troops to Georgia.  Why? 

(JM) They are our ally.

(Jimmy) No - it's better to keep dumping money into the military & increase military spending so we can just take over the world. 

(JM) Without a strong military we are toast. Where would Europe be today if not for us? We have fought Nazism, Communism, Fascism, etc., and now Islamofacism. Isn’t it good that we maintain our might? Who else will fight these dirtbags?

(Jimmy) Aren't we the strongest country in the world already?  Republicans make it sound as though the Democrats are going to disband the military. 

(JM) Dems always cut the military budget. We must maintain our status as the number one military force in the world.

(Jimmy) But every Democrat idea is taken to the EXTREME by the Republicans.  Gun control - They're going to come in to your house and take your gun!  

(JM) Article II of the Bill of Rights has been a thorn in the side of the Dems for ages. Don’t gun bans do just what conservatives fear?

(Jimmy) Wasn't the whole point of the war to get Sadam AND Bin Laden?  Well, 1 out of 2 isn't bad.  Why would I vote for the same thing???  Tonight McCain is going to kill his chances when he hobbles in front of a camera and looks all of his 72 years (he actually looked & acted about 80 last night).  I would much rather have an inspirational leader than an old bore. 

(JM) If anyone represents change it is the McCain ticket. Barack and especially Biden are old school. See above.

(Jimmy) And I don't want to hear another word about him being a POW.  I have a lot of respect for him, but let's talk politics. 

(JM) Like Fred Thompson said, being a POW doesn’t qualify you for president, but it does reveal character. McCain could have gone home, but chose to stay in that hell hole with his brethren.

(Jimmy) Haven't you heard Obahma talk about meeting the Republicans in the middle & working together to fix some of the major issues? 

(JM) When has he ever demonstrated this? Does any evidence for this exist?

(Jimmy) All I see are the Republicans bashing Obahma becuase he's popular. 

(JM) He’s inexperienced, naïve, and positively dangerous. That’s why he chose Biden…for some foreign policy experience. It’s not b/c Barack’s ‘popular’.

(Jimmy) Oh my gosh - that's horrible!  It's much better to have a president with a 30% approval rating... 

(JM) The Democratic Congress’ approval rating is half that, and not only is Bush not running, but McCain is certainly not Bush.

(Jimmy) I am very tired of all of the bashing from both sides, and when all of the extreme talk & lies (from both sides) go away, what are we going to be stuck with?  Change or the same old thing?  Republicans act like Obahma is an idiot and because he is young with less experience, then he is not fit to lead.  So why have an election?  Let's just pick the person with the most experience every election. 

(JM) Radical Islamofacists want to end us. Barack wants to talk to them, and try to reason with them. He’s playing a chess game trying to come up with some ingenious argument that will convince these terrorists of their foolish ways. I prefer to have a checkers player who, when he sees a terrorist…he jumps him.

(Jimmy) And by the way, just because you have experience doesn't mean you will do a good job.  Bush was governor of Texas for how long? (bad president). 

(JM) Bad in some regards, but at least he took on the Middle East. Clinton’s hesitance was costly. There are a lot of second guessers out there, but at least Bush was a first guesser and had the chutzpah to act. We had to reassert ourselves in the world. These scum were like little tics gnawing away at the sleeping giant. It was time to swat them away.

(Jimmy) So lets stop the downward spiral of America - both here & abroad - and vote for Obahma and change.  Whew - I feel much better now!

(JM) Change is empty rhetoric; a political slogan. What does it mean exactly? Change for the better, or worse? Politicians have been promising change for ages. I have a Biden ad from 1988 that preaches the same exact things that Obama is promising now.

Response:
(Jimmy) Hey cuz - I like it too!  You know it's nothing personal.  I went off becuase my friend was driving me nuts, and he was MUCH more informed than I was.  So I got my facts and was able to lash back at him for weeks worth of abuse on Obama.  I kind of went a little overboard, but it's all good!  It's always fun going back & forth.  It drives him nuts (and probably you too!), but I am SO for Obama.  I always liked McCain and if it was McCain vs. Kerry, I would probably have a tough decision.  First of all I agree with most of the ideals of Obama & the democrats, but I have to admit that I want a leader that can inspire people, not be boring or talk like an inbred.  Kerry (and most other politicians from both sides) are like robots, and Obama brings energy and change to a political system that I think sorely need it.  Plus I look at this election as one of the most important in our lifetime.  Which way are we going to go?  The same path or do we blaze a new one (no pun intended).  I'm all for a shake up.
 
But you, my friend, are an excellent debater, and I would not want to do a political debate against you!  But you also read too much Right-wing fluff...  :)  Read CNN instead of "Red State" and Fox News.