In The Halls Of Liberty

Afghans in line to vote. (Courtesy of Power Line)

Who would have believed it possible that Aghans would be voting in a free election? Even with accusations of fraud and of being imperfect, freedom marches on.

Presidential Debate Deux

Wow! A great debate and a win for the president. Not just a win but a GOOD win. He was not perfect but he blew Kerry away on foreign policy and more than held his own with domestic policy. The atmosphere seemed a little more electric than usual with the breaking news of another memogate media bias at ABCNews. Would Gibson follow his boss's directive to favor Kerry? Overall, though, I thought Gibson did well as moderator. The town hall format probably favored Bush because his style fits better when he talks to people.

Key moments:

Iraq: While defending himself against flip-flopping about Iraq, Kerry says, "I always believed Saddam was a threat...but I would have used that force wisely. I would have brought our allies to our side." The president was able to come back with the "global" test and explaining how you can't build alliances by calling Iraq the wrong war at the wrong time. Great follow up. He also expresses his optimism about Iraq, historic elections in Afghanistan, and reconstruction. I liked Bush's statement about the GWOT being world wide the success in tracking down most of al Qaeda. The references to Saddam gaming the UN to reconstitute his weapons programs were perfect! I can just see old Kofi and Jacques cringing and scowling at that one!

World opinion: Bush emphasized his leadership and referenced Reagan's unpopularity in making the right decisions for Americans even if the decisions were not popular in Europe. So what if Europe thought Bush should treat Arafat like a leader? I am so GLAD that the president considers the International Criminal Court a pariah! A president should never make decisions to be popular in European capitals, regardless of popular opinion OR alliances.

Lies!: Geeez! Kerry apparently hasn't heard how his lie about General Shinseki was refuted by even the New York Times when it said, "But General Shinseki retired, and was not fired, although it is unclear whether he acted under pressure." It AMAZES me that Kerry gets away with this stuff! He is a pathological liar! Kerry goes on to blame the president about Iran and North Korea while expressing disgust that our own country would even think about developing bunker-busters. (Where's my upchuck bucket?) He says he would get tough on Iran but without bunker-busters that may incinerate biological agents he would make our military use harsh language since he has shown his disdain for all major weapons systems in the past. Bush had a question about the draft and hopefully, finally put any doubt about it to bed. I was hoping that he would also discuss how Democrats had authored the bill about the draft and how badly it was defeated in Congress. So how is Kerry going to add 40,000 regular troops?

Bush at a great moment: The president passionately defended the coalition. It reminded me of his great speech on Wednesday.

Domestic policy: Bush FINALLY gets to Kerry's missing 20 year record in the Senate, Medicare, homeland security, intelligence, and tort reform with cuts and non-votes at the wrong times. Again, Kerry goes to the plan! plan! plan! he and Edwards have. He also said, "I'm giving you a tax cut, and I'm giving you health care." Sorry, John. That dog don't hunt, even if the deer DID have 16 points. Bush did OK on medical costs & lawsuits, but cracked me up with the "most liberal Senator" line, saying Kennedy instead of Kerry. Intentional slip? Bush could have hit harder on Kerry's non-votes in the Senate but I was glad for at least a couple references to it. Bush also told everyone about the 1.9 million new jobs created in the last 13 months. Non-defense spending is rising less than 1% a year. Good information for the concerned fiscal conservatives.

More Lies!: Kerry's bizarre look-in-the -camera pledge to not raise taxes on families earning less than $200,000 per year. I'm glad Bush discussed Kerry's record about all the votes lifting ceiling caps and raising taxes. I hope he keeps that message up about Kerry's flaming liberal record...

Environment: Kerry endorsed Kyoto. The president defended his position about it by mentioning how it threatens American jobs, My friends watching with me thought Bush stumbled with this but I thought he handled it OK and held his own. His information about the forests and managing timber was good information.

Ethics: There were questions about stem cell research and abortions. No home run here for Bush but he reaffirmed his character by trying to emphasize life and ethics over science. Kerry goes on some insane comments about protecting a teen girls' right to not tell her father about wanting to abort a baby conceived by the father raping her. HUH??? Bush mentions Kerry's vote against partial birth abortion and comes back with, "You can run, but you can't hide."

Supreme Court: This could have been a great opportunity for the president to talk about the obstructionist attitudes in the Senate that blocks his right to appoint judges. He didn't do it. He did discuss the need to appoint judges that interpreted the Constitution and not make law. He cited about the need for judges to not do things like take "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance. Kerry attacks Scalia and Thomas on the Supreme Court but says he wants judges that make totally neutral decisions with no particular political or religious point of view. Kerry won this on style but lied through his teeth. This election is a huge moment in our country since the next president will probably get to appoint two to maybe four justices. With Kerry's liberal record I am fearful of the the kind of decisions a Kerry Supreme Court would render.

The last question: What were President Bush's three biggest mistakes? Silly. A president that understands what real leadership is will not show weakness and admit fault to enemies around the world by answering a question that has at it's heart criticism of the president's foreign policy in a time of war.

Closing: Kerry did his talking points and his plan! plan! plan! Bush talked about the economy and finished with a good comment about freedom. Very believable.

Kerry still comes across to me as a pathological liar that knows how to debate and come across as someone that is slick and able to say whatever is needed at the moment. He keeps repeating sound bits and talking points even when they have been debunked. His ego and thirst for power will get a lot of us killed. I'll give him this: He has the style but he has no game. He's always saying "I'VE GOT A PLAN!" like it's some kind of mantra or something. It's almost creepy now.

Bush finally started to hammer on Kerry's 20 empty years in the Senate and his liberal voting record when Kerry WAS there. This seems to be a major shift in the Republican's campaign strategy. The "flip-flop" strategy made for good sound bites during the last few months but perhaps was getting old in the ears of the electorate. President Bush also has great ammunition now with the Duelfer report as it continues to digested and shows how wise the president was in invading Iraq. The president was also in command of his delivery and demeanor tonight. He did not look so tired and (thankfully!) was able to control his grimaces and pained expressions. Bush came across early in the debate a touch forceful but showed he was ready. As the debate went on, he relaxed a little and was able to interject some humor and connected with the audience. One of the best lines of the night was "I own a timber company? That's news to me! Need some wood?" Cracked me up and showed a very human side.

I'm looking forward to the last debate. Being about domestic policy makes it look to be Kerry's advantage but Bush tonight showed he can be comfortable with those issues and hold his own. It would be great to hear the president explain how home ownership is way up thanks to the record low interest rates. I really hope he hammers at the 20 year tax and spend record of Kerry to highlight the senator's lack of credibility along with all the missing votes.

The last three weeks of this presidential campaign promises to be a wild ride.

No Media Bias? - Part 3

Media bias? At ABC? Nahhhhh.... Just another wingnut attack by neocons. It's almost incomprehensible to think that a major media network like ABC would actually put words into print that directs their staff to not to hold each side in the presidential election equally accountable, but that Bush needed to be held MORE accountible. Why? Because elitest liberals in the media want to influence the election and are not happy just to report about it. It really should not be all that shocking anymore. Drudge has the actual memo that went out from ABCNews Political Director Mark Halperin taking exactly that position. It used to be that networks REPORTED the news, not MADE the news. Media bias? At ABC? Nahhhhh.... Shame on ABC. I hope stockholders of ABC take note.

Kerry Dumps Edwards For Beeker!

Kerry and Beeker

In a surprise move to respond to criticism that he is as stiff as a basalt monument, Kerry adds a little life to his campaign by dumping Edwards and taking on Beeker as VP.

Who Does Kerry Think He Is?

I was so disgusted listening to Kerry's pompous, elitist, self-serving attitude in his discussion with reporters about the Duelfer report . I disagree with Hugh Hewitt about some of his assessment of Kerry. Kerry is not stupid and merely holding on to a pre 9/11 world view. He is very crafty like a weasel and knows EXACTLY what he is saying. His character and world view is shallow and phony because inside he hates the fact that America CAN go it alone if it has to. He seeks to denigrate Bush and those under his command to create an atmosphere of uncertainty among Americans. Kerry emboldens our enemies by tearing down resolve. He therefore puts our troops into harms way. Everything he says, EVERYTHING, is calculated to do one thing....to somehow beyond belief rise to the top of power in the greatest country on earth. Kerry will jeopardize anyone in his way because this moment is what he has been training for ALL HIS LIFE. In my opinion, his ego and lust for power drives him to lie, say everything out of context, do almost anything to get that power. Kerry comes across as a psychopathic liar by all of the lies he has told. The CIA man's hat, the Cambodia excursions, the 16 point deer, and all the other goof ball, stupid things he says just comes across as weird and wacked out. But worst of all, by giving comfort and aid to our enemy qualifies him in my mind as a traitor of the worst kind. Kerry will get a lot of people killed and turn over a lot of our country's sovereignty to the UN in the name of alliances and diplomacy. He lacks the vision, strength and intestinal fortitude necessary to fight a world war. The real John Kerry finally showed himself at the debate and it scares me to death to think he could be president.

Cheney Teaches Edwards the Meaning of Politics

The Learner and the Master

A picture is worth a thousand words...

The Real Danger

This presidential election is a pivotal point in history. It is not only a referendum on the global war on terror but is also a referendum on two distinct world-view ideologies. One ideology says tyranny and terror must be met head on with force and no compromise. The other ideology says you placate, negotiate and use diplomacy with those that want to kill you and use murder and terror as a weapon of choice. This ideology also says it is somehow the fault of those being terrorized which causes murderers and terrorists to act the way they do.

Iraq is presently the center of the war on terror. Islamic jihadists pour into Iraq to make war on Americans. Those who claim that Iraq is "the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place" are fools if they somehow think America should only be hunting bin Laden in Afghanistan. We ALL want bin Laden, but Islamofascists aren't bound by countries and borders. Our military is killing these murderers and terrorists by the hundreds if not the thousands in Iraq. But the war in Iraq is only a prelude in the real war on terror. To be sure, the struggle in Iraq is real and the cost is terrible in human lives. The willful slaughtering of innocent civilians with car bombings is incomprehensible to any civilized person. The lives lost in Iraq is tragic but pales in comparison to what will happen when the mullahs in Iran actually have nuclear weapons.

The UN is powerless against rogue states that are determined to be a force of influence in their region of the world. Evil does not respond to threats, resolutions and sanctions, because evil only respects power and force. Saddam Hussein toyed with the UN and never changed his ways because of sanctions and summits. Only the power of the American military kept him hedged in after Gulf War 1. Power and force removed him when diplomacy and hot air would and could not do it. THAT is the only way to treat evil. Iran is snubbing it's nose at the world and is determined to pursue it's WMD's. The mullahs desperately want to influence and control the region. It is too late to stop them without force or an internal regime change. Go here for a pessimistic yet hopeful view of how the UN should respond to Iran and go here for a more realistic assessment.

At some point within the next 12 to 24 months our country WILL be faced with the bone-chilling reality of doing something about Iran, not by sanctions and summits, but by force. Once engaged, the conflict could very well make Iraq look the Granada operation. It appears to me that planners in Washington are already preparing for that distinct possibility. Go here. Troops are being restaged out of former trouble spots, in addition to the Korean peninsula, and brought into areas closer to the Middle East.

Hopefully, Iraq will be more secure and on the way to sorting out it's democracy. There will still be problems and violence but Iraq will be focused on it's problems and not on threatening it's neighbors. But now imagine that Gore had won the 2000 election and Saddam was still in power, defying the UN and still laughing at sanctions while desperately trying to implement Iraq's weapons programs. In the past, Iraq and Iran have been bitter enemies. Saddam would have been energized to implement WMD's by Iran's success in flaunting nuclear development. Saddam would also have been stirred to act from his deep distrust of the Iranians. It would have been unthinkable to have these two nations with the bomb side by side hating and distrustful one another. As bad as that would have been, can you imagine our country having to handle both Iraq and Iran at the same time? Both with nukes? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" surely applies here. We see the joining together or at least the mutual cooperation of former foes in Iraq to try and defeat a common enemy, the great satan. If Gore had won the 2000 election we surely would be facing an almost unthinkable nightmarish situation in Iraq and Iran.

Now Kerry wants us out of Iraq. He talks "peace with honor" talk that blinds and weakens a country into pulling back when resolve is needed. Kerry would have us go back to the days of summits, sanctions and no action. Kerry's actions would embolden Iran to fulfill it's desires to be a nuclear power and embolden Islamofascists in Iraq to pursue civil war. Once emboldened and seeing no consequences, Iran will give nukes to Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and the nightmare on our country's soil begins.

Watch Me Pull A Rabbit Out Of My UN Appeasing Michael Moore Hat!

I listened to and watched the presidential debates last Thursday with intense anticipation. Senator Kerry "won" the debate in terms of style and delivery but stumbled badly when he finally revealed his true nature toward the end of the debate. While I was dismayed at how President Bush came across visually to an electorate that focuses on style rather than substance, his sense of urgency and focus on the real issues of this presidential election came through loud and clear.

Our nation's enemies are surely hoping beyond hope that Kerry wins the election when they hear Kerry's response to Jim Lehrer's question about his position on the whole concept of preemptive war: "No president, though all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to preempt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you have to do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."

A global test? A GLOBAL TEST?? Finally...the REAL John Kerry comes out! His real name is Appeasement. He may SAY that he would never cede the right to preempt but in his "more sensitive" approach to fighting the global war on terror he will always cede to the wishes of the UN, France and Germany before acting in the interest of our nation. Appeasement and delay in acting on real life and death issues will only serve our enemies and get us killed.

Fortunately, the president held him accountable for his position when he said: "I'm not exactly sure what you mean, 'passes the global test,' you take preemptive action if you pass a global test. My attitude is you take preemptive action in order to protect the American people, that you act in order to make this country secure."

Another side of Kerry also came out. The inner core of Kerry that wants to identify with those that think the United States is at it's core an evil nation, is always wrong. His looney fever-swamp assertion about the research program for bunker busting nukes drives me nuts: "Right now the president is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons. The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense. You talk about mixed messages. We're telling other people, 'You can't have nuclear weapons,' but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using. Not this president. I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation."

It's OK to offer Iran nuclear fuel that can be converted into weapons but it's NOT OK that our country develop weapons that can destroy hardened underground bunkers containing biological and nuclear WMD'S? Who does he think he is? The unmitigated gall of this liberal senator who flip-flops on any and every issue for the furtherance of his own ambitions! This elitist, arrogant attitude that our country is evil and cannot be trusted sickens me. His Senate record is full of votes against weapons systems that are being utilized by our troops today in the fight against our enemies. He has the audacity to to assert to troops in harm's way: "Help is on the way".

A slim majority in this country understands who the real John Kerry is: an enemy appeasing liberal who believes in big, bureaucratic government running people's lives, and that seeks international approval for safeguarding Americans lives. Much like his imaginary Cambodia incursions and his imaginary CIA man's hat, you can't pull a rabbit out when all you have is a skunk. He stinks.