The Sunday Morning Talk Shows - The Review
New Hampshire's next.
By Mark Kilmer Posted in Face the Nation | FOX News Sunday | Late Edition | Meet the Press | Special Features | This Week — Comments (42) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Sunday, January 06, 2008
On FNS, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney argued that John McCain is not an agent of change because he has been in Washington for too long and boasted that the charge of "phony" would not stand up because of his record as governor of Massachusetts, including, he boasted, working with the Dems to fashion the nation's first Universal Health Care program.
On FNS, Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee proclaimed: "I think the Republican Party needs some repair." He said that he does not want the rich to become poor, but would like for the poor to be given the opportunity to become rich. Whatever that means.
On TW, Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards said that he would continue is fight until the Dem convention.
On TW, Huckabee mentioned about disagreeing with the President in order to "distinguish" himself from the President.
On TW, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said that he erred in calling the McCain immigration plan "amnesty" even though it was "amnesty." You see, he said, though it was not "amnesty" by the dictionary definition, it was "amnesty" by the "normal, colloquial definition." (Would he know it if he saw it, under the alternate definition of "saw"?) Steph argued that after Saturday night's debate, it seems the term "flip-flop" had suck to Romney. Romney blamed McCain.
On MTP, Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain defended his vote against the Bush tax cuts, promised tax cuts only with concomitant spending cuts, attacked Donald Rumsfeld, and defended Ronald Reagan. McCain told Russert that he expects to win New Hampshire, but he refused to classify it as a "must win."
On FTN, McCain pointed out that he and Huckabee differ on a number of issues but can have a "respectful debate" in South Carolina. He said that we can stay in Iraq for 100 years, as we've had a presence elsewhere in the world for long periods of time, if we eliminate American casualties.
On LE, Blitzer asked Huckabee about an exchange at last night's debate, where Romney denied ever having supported a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Huckabee pointed to The Hill newspaper. Huckabee also called Romney on claiming that he had called the President, "arrogant." No, Huckabee argued, he had called the foreign policy of the Administration, "arrogant."
Read On for the Show-by-Show review. …
ROMNEY ON FNS. Host Chris Wallace's first guest on FOX News Sunday was Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Romney has been asserting that Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain is not an agent of change. Wallace pulled out Romney's words from 2002, when he called Senator McCain one of Washington's leading agents of change. Romney said that he stood by what he had said but that McCain had been in Washington for too long and was ineffective at making change.
Wallace brought up the charge that Romney is a phony, mentioning the powerful editorial from the Manchester Union-Leader of December 26. Romney argued that this charge would not stand up because of his record as governor, including his tax reductions. (There was no mention of the increase in fees.) Romney also boasted that he was able to work with Democrats to achieve the nation's first universal health care.
Wallace asked Romney about his false claim that John McCain's proposed legislation would have granted amnesty to illegals. Romney said that McCain would have offered a "form of amnesty." Wallace asked Romney about his false assertion that McCain would have granted Social Security to illegal immigrants. Romney argued that he had read in newspapers that this is what McCain's measure did. He further argued that the McCain bill he had called "reasonable, quite different from amnesty," was not the same as the one which passed. Romney said that he has opposed McCain's bill "from the outset." He reiterated that he thinks McCain's bill offered a "form of amnesty, though technically it is not." [NOTE: See the notes on Romney's TW interview, below.]
Wallace asked Romney how much of his personal fortunate he had spent to try to secure the nomination. Romney answered that he'd spent "more than I'd like, but not as much as I'm willing" to spend to get the nomination. Wallace asked him if there were a limit on what he is willing to spend, and Romney replied that while he had no limit, his wife did.
MIKE HUCKABEE ON FNS. Host Wallace next spoke to Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, asking if he were in this to repair the Republican Party. Huckabee answered: "I think the Republican Party needs some repair." It must be more concerned for the "little guy," he argued, adding that he does not want to make the rich into the poor; rather, he said, he wants to give the poor the opportunity to get rich.
The economy is not good for all, he argued. The GOP has to talk to the guy who gets laid off from a factory, etc.
Something was said about the Fair Tax.
Wallace mentioned Huckabee's campaign chair, Ed Rollins, proclaiming that the Huckabee and McCain forces were ganging up on Romney. Huckabee said that sometimes he has to reign Rollins in a little, and he explained that both he and McCain have been "viciously attacked" by Romney. He added that being victims of Mitt built a bond.
Huckabee said that he's "setting new records" with his fundraising. He would accept a 4th place finish in New Hampshire but expects to win in South Carolina.
JOHN EDWARDS ON TW. Host George Stephanopoulos's first guest on ABC's This Week was Democratic Presidential hopeful John Edwards, who began railing against "corporate lobbyists" and how "Hillary takes their money." Steph asked him if trial lawyers, who play a large role in both funding and staffing the Edwards campaign, were to be included in that, and Edwards promised that trial lawyers would be barred from working in the White House if he becomes President. There will be no lobbyists of any kind in a John Edwards White House, he promised.
Edwards boasted that he came in second in Iowa despite being greatly outspent by his two main rivals, Barry and Hillary because his message of fighting for the people got through.
Edwards promised that he is in this race "through the convention."
MIKE HUCKABEE ON TW. Republican Presidential hopefully Mike Huckabee was next for Steph, who asked the candidate about his publicized disagreements with the policies of President Bush. Huckabee replied that he does agree with the President most of the time, but he has to distinguish himself from the President. Steph questioned Huckabee's assertion that he'd always supported the Surge, playing an earlier interview of Huckabee in which the governor said that the Surge was fine so long as it didn't put too much a strain on the Guard and Reserves. Huckabee explained that as governor of Arkansas, his Guard and Reserves had to do duty in Iraq, come home and do duty in Katrina cleanup, and then return to Iraq.
Steph tried to play gotcha with Huckabee, thinking he'd found this or that set of contradictory statements. Huckabee explained that he'd won in Iowa because people wanted "clarity" in stances on issues, and he'd been consistent on every major issue.
MITT ROMNEY ON TW. Steph asked Romney about his use of the term "amnesty" to describe John McCain's immigration plan. Romney admitted that he "was incorrect," then he made the case for why he was correct.
"You're going to have to define the word for me," Romney said regarding amnesty. (There you go again.) He said that under the dictionary definition, it wasn't amnesty, but it was amnesty under the "normal, colloquial definition." Well, "is" is what? Would we know it if we saw it, under the alternative definition of "saw"?
Steph played a few clips from last night's debate, some of the various jabs at Romney for his position-changes, and proclaimed: "It seems 'flip-flop' has stuck." (It certainly was underscored at Saturday night's debate.) Romney blamed McCain.
MCCAIN ON MTP. Host Tim Russert, on NBC's Meet the Press, spoke talked to Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain. They sat at a little, round table in Manchester, and Russert displayed an MSNBC-McClatchy poll (January 2-4), showing McCain at 32% and Romney at 24%. McCain's reaction was that more than half the voters were still undecided.
He said that he is pleased but not surprised that his candidacy turned out not to be as dead as some pundits had argued. He said that when his campaign was at a low point, they can to New Hampshire and they "told people the truth."
Russert played a clip of McCain in Iowa saying that people had lost their trust in government because of Iraq, Katrina, and governmental corruption and spending. Russert argued that this was a "denunciation of George W. Bush." McCain countered that it was a "criticism" and that the President deserves credit for their not having been another attack on the United States since September 11. The biggest mistake the President has made, McCain argued, is spending.
He blamed Rumsfeld, say that "he should have resigned long before the war." (Why?)
McCain favors tax cuts if they have concomitant spending cuts.
McCain stood by his vote against the Bush tax cuts because there were no spending cuts. He asserted that under President Reagan, the tax cuts were accompanied by spending cuts, "but unfortunately, later on, we did away with Gramm-Rudman."
Russert read a quote from John McCain published by Arizona's Tucson Citizen newspaper on May 29, 2003 in which McCain explains that "amnesty" had to be a component of any immigration bill. McCain countered that he has repeated time and again that we cannot "reward illegal behavior." He will, he said, deport the two-million people here who have committed other crimes. Russert didn't think McCain could find them. McCain talked about securing the borders and having the border State governors certify this security.
Russert declared that McCain doesn't like Romney. McCain said that he doesn't know him well, but what he knows of him seems nice. He admitted to disliking Romney's "negative attack campaign," adding that "it's clear that the voters of New Hampshire have rejected" Romney's strategy. That being said, McCain reiterated that he thinks Romney is "a good man [with] a good family." Russert asked if Romney has been "consistent in his views."
McCain answered: "He has changed his positions on almost every major issue. That is a fact. I could chronicle it for you, but that doesn't mean he isn't a good person."
If Romney is the nominee, McCain said he would "of course" support him, and he would never run as an independent.
McCain pledged to capture Osama bin Laden. He promised to "improve our human intelligence."
Russert asked him if our intelligence had told him that Saddam Hussein had no nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, would he have still voted to go to war. McCain measured his response but explained that Saddam was still a threat. He blamed not the invasion itself, "but the mishandling afterwards."
Russert said that there would have been a debate in this country if we had known that Saddam Hussein did not have… "If frogs had wings," McCain interrupted, and he belittled the fruitless, navel-gazing hypotheticals of waste-of-time journalists like Russert. (No, he did not characterize it in that manner.)
Russert said that Governors Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush came to office with no foreign policy experience yet handled the nation's foreign policy just fine. (EXCUSE ME?) He asked McCain why he is saying that Romney would be incapable of conducting the nation's foreign policy. McCain responded that he was not saying Romney would be incapable, just that he is more capable. He chastised Russert for asserting that Governor Reagan had no foreign policy experience when he became President when "Ronald Reagan had fought against communism for thirty years. Ronald Reagan had visited sixty countries as the President's special emissary and in other ways before he ran for President of the United States."
McCain expects to win in New Hampshire, then it's off to "Michigan, South Carolina, etc." He would not classify NH as "must win."
MCCAIN ON FTN. Host Bob Schieffer's guest on CBS' Face the Nation was Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain. Schieffer pointed out that he never would have guessed six months ago that McCain would be in the lead, and McCain pointed out that there were huge numbers of undecided. But he credited his lead to his "telling the truth."
As for change, McCain took credit for the "change in strategy in Iraq." He called it a change from the Rumsfeld strategy to the Petraeus strategy. He guffawed: "You might want to ask former Secretary Rumsfeld if I'm an agent for change."
Schieffer asked him about Romney claiming to be the agent of change. McCain said that Romney has changed his position on a number of issues so he can understand why he would make that claim.
McCain said that he can offer a contrast between himself a Senator Obama, in that he has experience and understands how to deal with fundamental Islamic extremism. Schieffer pressed McCain about Obama, gushing about the "excitement" at Obama rallies. McCain thinks Obama is talking about things that America wants: coming together, American success story, etc. McCain said that there would be a clear contrast between Obama and himself and a clear choice.
Schieffer asked McCain about his comment that we could stay in Iraq for a hundred years. McCain answered that no one complains about our other longstanding missions. He said that what we have to do is to eliminate American casualties, then people won't mind.
McCain thinks we have experienced "enormous success" in Iraq but that the enemy "on the run, but they're not defeated." He said that if we continue down this path, not withdrawing for political reasons, we can succeed.
[BREAK]
Schieffer said that it is obvious that he and Romney disagree about what "amnesty" is. Isn't Romney hammering hurting him? McCain answered that it was, but so has his "straight talk" about illegal immigration. McCain pointed out that he does not favor rewarding illegal behavior. We have to secure the borders first, he urged.
People have lost confidence in government, McCain argued: "because of Katrina, because of Iraq, because of government spending and corruption."
McCain explained that he has difference with Mike Huckabee on some issues but that they can have a "respectful debate" in South Carolina. He would not answer whether or not Huckabee would be a good veep candidate.
MIKE HUCKABEE ON LE. To open CNN's Late Edition, host Wolf Blitzer brought out Republican Iowa Caucuses winner Mike Huckabee. Wolf played a clip of Romney demanding that Huckabee not characterize his position. Huckabee asked, "Which one?" Wolf let that stand and asked what the two would do differently about Iraq. Huckabee pointed out that Romney took a position in favor of a "Timed Withdrawal" from Iraq, a secret plan, which Romney denied last night. ABC News and The Hill newspaper both report that Mitt did take that position.
“There’s no question that the president and Prime Minister al-Maliki [of Iraq] have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about, but those shouldn’t be for public pronouncement. ... You don’t want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're going to be gone,” Romney said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Huckabee pointed out that he calls his personal attack ads, "policy differences," yet Romney calls corrections of his own record, "personal attacks." Huckabee said that Romney's problem from Saturday night were due to his own attacks.
Blitzer brought up Romney accusation that he'd called the President "arrogant." Huckabee said that he did not; his statement regarded that Administration, not the President. What the President has done, Huckabee said, has been right far more often than wrong. Huckabee said, though, that he's "not running to be George Bush's third term."
Huckabee said that when people look at his record as a "fiscal conservative," he would stand up to those revered by the party. He said that as governor of California, Ronald Reagan raised taxes by over a billion dollars and would presumably be a Club for Growth target if he ran today.
Huckabee said, "We'll surprise some people on Tuesday."
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The Sunday Morning Talk Shows - The Review 42 Comments (0 topical, 42 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now". -White Goodman
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now". -White Goodman
And let's save time: you can either spell it out (without trying to be a smartass about it), or you can not respond further on this thread. Your call.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
Merriam Webster Dictionary says that "bias" can mean "to apply a slight negative or positive voltage to"
So to look for biases I look for any negative or positive addition to the facts. Let me quote some here.
"On FNS, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney argued that John McCain is not an agent of change because he has been in Washington for too long and boasted that the charge of "phony" would not stand up because of his record as governor of Massachusetts, including, he boasted, working with the Dems to fashion the nation's first Universal Health Care program."
He twice states that Mitt "boasted". That is a negative connotation to describe Romney's stances.
"Wallace asked Romney about his false claim that John McCain's proposed legislation would have granted amnesty to illegals. Romney said that McCain would have offered a "form of amnesty." Wallace asked Romney about his false assertion that McCain would have granted Social Security to illegal immigrants".
Again, he twice interjects that Romney's statements are "false". Negative, and again not based on facts.
The point is that it is a noticeably biased piece, I never said that he does not have the right to be biased.
Romney's statement regarding McCain supporting Amnesty was false. Romney's assertion that McCain sought to offer Social Security to illegals was false. Those are not opinions.
You read the rest with a pro-Romney bias. I sought to record the statements of all three without bias.
You are trolling. Stop it now.
Could I have given a correct answer?
"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now". -White Goodman
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the Sunday Morning Talk Shows, either what I've recorded above or what the commentators themselves observed. (For instance, I notice that I neglected to mention that McCain mentioned a guest workers program to deal with those illegals who are already filling spots in our economy which would not be filled by citizens. If someone had seen that, they could have come in and mentioned it.)
You, on the other hand, elected to troll by accusing me of bias, subjectivity, subjective bias, or whatever against... I think it was Romney. That distracts from the discussion and is trolling.
Your correct answer is: "I understand. I shall stop trolling and join the discussion."
Such things as: "I have to disagree. I don't think that Mitt was..." are perfectly acceptable.
The posters on this site were screaming to the high heavens about "Shamnesty" and calling for the heads of McCain and Lindsey G. Now you are calling out Romney for saying the same things that were posted many many times on this site without being called on it. IMO that is the mother of flip flops.
I stayed out of the old immigration threads and had no part in calling the bill "shamnesty" or anything else.
As for Romney, he is running for President and, most importantly, his attack was mentioned on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows. My post concerns those same Sunday Morning talk shows.
There was so much McCain bashing at the time that it was hard to keep track. But I have to tell you that reading this site today and the number of people supporting McCain you would think "Shamnesty" never happened. The term "flip flop" is reserved for Romney only. Mark if you had no part in it then none of the "you guys" was meant for you. The "boasting" part of your post does look like a swipe at Romney IMO. Of course you can do that if you want to.
The posters on this site were screaming to the high heavens about "Shamnesty" and calling for the heads of McCain and Lindsey G. Now you are calling out Romney for saying the same things that were posted many many times on this site without being called on it. IMO that is the mother of flip flops.
If you don't trust Contributors to not be forthright and aboveboard in what and why they write, then DON'T READ US.
Period. End stop.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
I just looked up "troll" and should say that I do not mean disrespect. In fact I have been very impressed with the depth of all of the moderators post. You all are obviously well informed and great spokesmen for conservatism.
"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now". -White Goodman
"Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now". -White Goodman
Did anyone see where Steppy got Mitt to say that his statement last night was false in regards to calling McCain's bill Amnesty in his ads... and that he had never seen his National Review ad which does in fact call McCain's plan Amnesty, and that his aides only made him aware of it after the debate.
Give me a break. It is getting to be a joke. The guy is like the kid who keeps getting caught lying to Mom.
Furthermore, he proves my point. What are we talking about after the debates? Mitt's immigration plan? No. His ideas about Iraq? No. Instead, we are talking why he yet again did not tell the whole truth. This is what we will be dealing with throughout the entire general election if he is the nominee.
"I believe in grace, because I have seen it. In peace, because I have felt it. In forgiveness, because I needed it."
-George W. Bush
"Wallace asked Romney about his false assertion that McCain would have granted Social Security to illegal immigrants. Romney argued that he had read in newspapers that this is what McCain's measure did."
"Read in newspapers" (read the polls published in newspapers, i guess)? He didn't even care to read the bill and make his own opinion?
"Steph asked Romney about his use of the term "amnesty" to describe John McCain's immigration plan. Romney admitted that he "was incorrect," then he made the case for why he was correct."
I see...
You know, the more I see Romney in person, the more I think this flip-flop and plastic meme is a bunch of bunk being hawked by those who just don’t like him.
What really stood out to me in these back to back interviews – which is entirely unnoticed in your report – is that Romney addressed the interrogations head on and specifically, fully willing to admit error where he had made it. (BTW, in case you sincerely did not understand what he sensibly said he “was incorrect” about, I’ll be happy to explain it to you). And Huckabee ducked, dodged and weaved, by subtly shifting the subject, unwilling to admit his blatant errors or address the interrogator’s question directly.
The consequence is that I can follow Romney’s thought process and I can’t follow Huck’s. That’s what informs me as to who is trustworthy and credible.
Furthermore, I am disturbed that the difficulty related to fairly reconciling our perceptions is damaging our respective credibility.
What you saw this morning was Mitt Romney the conquering hero and Mike Huckabee & John McCain the equivocating scoundrels. What I saw was three politicians running for President.
I've seen that mind set and I fully expected to take abuse from those who demand that I share it. I also expected some abuse from McCain supporters who saw him as the hero and the other two as the thieves. Same with Huckabee supporters.
I report what I see and here.
You really do a great job every week. I can't believe you can sit through all of these shows and recap them week after week.
That being said, if you review the following clips from your article I think you will agree that your jabs at Romney (mostly in parenthesis) are more than reporting what you see and hear.
On TW, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said that he erred in calling the McCain immigration plan "amnesty" even though it was "amnesty." You see, he said, though it was not "amnesty" by the dictionary definition, it was "amnesty" by the "normal, colloquial definition." (Would he know it if he saw it, under the alternate definition of "saw"?)
Wallace brought up the charge that Romney is a phony, mentioning the powerful editorial from the Manchester Union-Leader of December 26. Romney argued that this charge would not stand up because of his record as governor, including his tax reductions. (There was no mention of the increase in fees.)
"You're going to have to define the word for me," Romney said regarding amnesty. (There you go again.) He said that under the dictionary definition, it wasn't amnesty, but it was amnesty under the "normal, colloquial definition." Well, "is" is what? Would we know it if we saw it, under the alternative definition of "saw"?
Steph played a few clips from last night's debate, some of the various jabs at Romney for his position-changes, and proclaimed: "It seems 'flip-flop' has stuck." (It certainly was underscored at Saturday night's debate.) Romney blamed McCain.
Once again, fantastic work. I always make it a point to read your recaps as I rarely get to see the shows personally. Also, I think you are right to include personal remarks. They make it much more interesting.
In every instance but the last, I was reminding the reader of Mitt Romney's record on the campaign trail. I'll agree that the modicum of snark might have detracted from that, but I'm at my wit's end with this candidate.
The last paragraph you cite deals with Steph telling Romney that the "flip-flop image" seems to have stuck. The sentence in partenthesis, "It certainly was underscored at Saturday night's debate," relates to the other candidates comments about Romney's flip-flops; ergo, the debate underscores that the description has stuck.
Thank you very much for the kind words. Man, I needed them about now.
You do great work and a great service for this site.
You are certainly in our prayers through your trial.
Whatever happened to Reagans 11th Commandment – “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican”…I’m up in Concord, NH campaigning for Huckabee and found Walmart and a number of churches covered with these flyers http://www.box.net/shared/hg8oou1s0s
Steve Nichols
"Never Say Die"
It seems really odd that anyone could think your flyers came from the campaign. They look like they were done for a highschool student election.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
Donald Rumsfeld is 10X the man you could ever hope to be...putz.
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
Rumsfeld represented an inflexibility and an unwillingness to adapt tactics to meet changing situations on the ground. He had some strength -- his unflagging commitment to the overall goals in Iraq, for example -- but his prosecution of the war was nothing short of disastrous.
McCain complained as early as November 2003 that we didn't have enough troops in Iraq, and that we weren't fighting the sort of counter-insurgent war that was needed to succeed. All this while standing firmly behind President Bush's overall commitment to Iraq and to the GWOT. He turned out to be right, and Rumsfeld was sacked.
There is no President but Lincoln, and Reagan is his prophet
_and supported Rummy. However, ask anyone in the defense department, the present Sec. Def. is 10x the Sec. Def. Rumsfeld was. Rummy worked very hard no doubt. The thing that rubbed me, and many others, the wrong way was how dismissive he was of his own Generals. And yes, his plan did not work.
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Molon Labe!
The one in which he called John McCain a putz? While I agree that whatever one might wish to call McCain, he is certainly not a putz, my attitude is that insulting, within reason, a politician who has insulted another public figure is within bounds.
in Iraq I will tell you there were no tears for the most part in the military when Rumsfeld left. The president should have listened to those who said we needed a much larger footprint and more troops on the ground initially. The administration realizes that now, hence the departure of Rumsfeld coincided with the surge (which worked).
about Rumsfeld but I find him to have been one of the greatest Americans this country has ever had and this President my President trusted him. The Generals Zinni and Batiste have literally worked to undermine this war since 04 and for every General who had a problem with Rumsfeld there are many others who did not.
The best General to my mind Tommy Franks did not have a problem with Rumsfeld and that means more to me than those who opposed him. I include an article that really speaks to all of that. I also suggest perhaps you all might want to read General Tommy Franks autobiography it is quite interesting and is a living history of this war in Iraq.
I apologize if I offended anyone who likes McCain because to me going after Rumsfeld and Cheney recently and making the President sound like a fool who was taken by these men is a little bit more than reprehensible. I know that McCain like to believe he is the "smartest" man in matter of war and torture but he really does embarrass himself and our country and Republican's with his "maverick" attitude.
The Democrat in the general election will just use all of McCains words to show how "inept" Republicans are when in reality war is never perfect and those who take us there are never perfect either but we always adapt and win when allowed to.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008249
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
the offensive part was saying Rumsfeld is 10x the man McCain is. I think if you think about that, you will see the problem. I am not Jewish, but I think "putz" is a pretty bad word. I think it is one of those hard to translate words that can be kind of bad or really bad depending on context.
Having said that, I understand the emotions of this debate. I certainly do not think you should be banned, I have probably said something almost :) as bad under duress.
I do respect Rumsfeld the man for his service to this country.
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Molon Labe!
I am really serious as I have used that word since I was a kid and it to me means...jerk without saying jerk. I was a little harsh in the 10X but to me Rumsfeld and the whole of the Bush Administratin has taken their love of this country and opened a battlefield in the WOT that has worked to kill so many terrorist's who would have loved to come here.....because the idiot's flooded that battlefield.
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
is of Yiddish origin and is considered a vulgar term for, uh, a part of the male anatomy
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/putz
The Unofficial RedState FAQ
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
footprint if Turkey had allowed the 4ID to come in as the tip of the spear....they did not and we needed to adjust...which goes to the heart of adapting to problems.
Freedom of Religion not Freedom from Religion
I think a lot of the criticism - including from McCain - of Rummy is unfounded. but to question the manhood of a hero like John McCain, as exaggerated as I think his comments on Rummy are, is completely and totally out of line. you could have made your point in a MUCH more constructive way.
your 2nd post to which this was a reply was such a way. I agree, though I also give McCain enormous credit for supporting the surge which has worked so magnificently (despite legitimate fears that more troops => more casualties => more vomitous, perspectiveless lies from the Dem/media in their efforts to win the PR war for the terrorists). you should have said that the 1st time.
The man is a man of great service, as is Rummy.
No one that sits in a NVA prison for years as a POA is a putz.
He doesn't deserve that kind of disdain.
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." ~Professor Dumbledore
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”