Gautam wrote:
> > That being said...Dan is right, I'm a big McCain supporter. <snip> I respect and admire McCain as well, but... > > > Beyond personal qualities: McCain is the one person I'm sure will make > torture illegal, which is, to me, a matter of national honor and thus > absolutely non-negotiable. I would have agreed with you a week or so ago, but he recently voted against a measure that would have put the same restrictions on "extra measures" that the Army has. As a result, Bush will have a much easier time axing the bill. > I think he will handle Iraq responsibly (Hillary's pledge to start > removing troops in 60 days is, to me, the perfect example of everything > that's wrong with her as a candidate, and a good start at what would be > wrong with her as President). The war has been mishandled horrendously, but > extricating ourselves from it is something that must be done carefully, to > put it mildly. But McCain has been quoted as saying he wouldn't mind if we stayed there for another hundred years and talks about surrender as if there was someone to surrender to. We keep hearing Viet Nam analogies about what might happen if we leave precipitously (though other Viet Nam analogies that are more accurate are dismissed), but there's no NVA in Iraq. Our enemy there, Al Qaeda, wasn't even there before we invaded, there aren't all that many of them there now and there's a good chance that they won't be there after we leave because there are plenty of Iraqis that hate them as much or more than we do. So a picture of Americans being plucked off of an embassy roof in Iraq is a felicitous one. Will there be civil war between Suni and Shiite? Their differences have been exacerbated by the Al Qaeda attacks, but there's been a backlash against Al Qaeda that probably has as much to do with the reduction in violence over the last year as the escalation does. I have a feeling that they'll do just fine without us babysitting them. It occurs to me that the _worst_ thing that could happen to Al Qaeda is if we got the hell out now. This war has 1) given them world wide publicity and increased their stature in the Middle East 2) given them an opportunity to kill more Americans than they ever could have hoped for 3) forced _us_ to restrict the freedoms of our people and to compromise our principals 4) goaded us into committing atrocities 5) cost us hundreds of billions of dollars (much of which has been an absolute waste) and probably contributed to our economic woes and 5) has been the best recruiting tool they could have hoped for. I see absolutely no upside to having gone there in the first place or to stay any longer than necessary to get our people out safely. You can imagine that I felt vindicated when Alan Greenspan said that the war was "largely about oil" > On economic issues - he surely doesn't know them as well as I would wish. > But, look, there are lots of policy issues where we don't really know what > the right thing to do is. I don't _know_ what the right thing to do in Iraq > is. I have some ideas, but I'm really not sure, and I don't trust anyone > who is. But one issue where we do actually _know_ what the right thing to > do is, is trade. Free trade is the right > policy. And McCain is right on that (as, sadly, both Democrats, > repudiating one of the greatest achievements of the Clinton Administration, > are wrong). If I can't trust someone to get the right answer in an area > _where we actually know what the right answer is_, I don't see how I can > trust them to get it right on the issues where it's a lot harder. You have to take into account that the Dems are still campaigning to their base in the primaries. The only objection I have with free trade is if a trading partner violates reasonable human rights and ecological standards and isn't held accountable. > Anyways, all of that being said - I think Obama is fantastic. I don't > think he's quite ready, but he is something special. The best political > talent of his generation, surely, and the best speaker I've ever seen, bar > none. Amazing. I don't see how you can look at him, know that, right now, > a man who _in his own lifetime_ would not have been able to use buses and > waterfountains in half this country, and know that he's the person most > likely to be the next President and not be enormously proud of this country. > I think the searching for the Messiah aspects of his candidacy are quite > troubling, but he is > the incarnation of the American Dream, and I would be proud to have > either as my President. > On another occasion I might not object to strenuously to a McCain presidency, but I feel that the party responsible for the train wreck that is the Bush administration needs to be thrown out on its ear. I would wholeheartedly support an Obama candidacy, but I worry about his safety and the Bradly effect. Hopefully the enthusiasm he generates and the intense fatigue with the Bush administration will overcome the latter, but I think its going to be a tight race. Doug _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
