Redstate

Probably for constructive dialogue. She might pack John Kerry in her suitcase and between his medals and the combined volume of their botox who knows what wonders of statesmanship will be wrought. This will be hailed by the NY Times and will accomplish zero, which at best is what liberalism is all about.

Was there ever an enemy of America in the past fifty years that liberals couldn't relate to?

Painful but necessary and important post. It didn't take long for the chickens to commence their trip home to roost.
As the media is forever questioning and polling our troops in Iraq, when they're not torturing civilians, they may inquire into the reactions to the Congressional vote. Poll selection may have to be managed and pruned very carefully.

"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville

it will be a hundred years agian before the U.S. will be able to have any kind of influence at all what so ever. And when we are attacked again, do we really think any nation will assist us in retaliation? Why should they? We will only leave them hung out to dry.
I don't understand. Don't the Dems want to win? Why on earth do they want to do this? For power? What power will be left?
God help President Bush.

"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way."
John Paul Jones (letter to M. Le Ray de Chaumont,16 Nov.1778)

I think the devastation it would leave in it's wake would make Saigon look tame by comparison, at least in the respects to what it does to us internationally, and psychologically as a nation. The Democrats and the Europeans have their heads so far far down the hole of denial, they do not see it coming either.

The absolutely only bight spot is the devastation it will do to the Democrat Party for bringing it upon us. However, that will be absolutely no consolation, and not worth the price we will pay.

That is my opinion anyway. Take it for what it's worth.

"Wubbies World" - MSgt, U.S. Air Force (Retired): Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know. -Jer 33:3-

While the Dems are busy sucking up to the various looneys and islamofascist fellow-travelers that comprise the anti-war movement they are also destroying hard won American credibility in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.

The Gulf States are already making their accommodations with Iran because of what they rightfully see as an imminent US departure from that area. We’ve given al Qaeda an incentive to harbor its resources, retrain, re-equip and emerge after March 2008 as a force to be reckoned with. Any influence we may be able to exert in Darfur and Somalia wanes.

Most importantly people who we should be cultivating as friends have ceased to trust us.

Qubad J. Talabany, representative of the Kurdistan regional government to the United States, says the Kurds are fearful that the pro-defeat Defense budget supplemental winding their way through the Congress will leave the Kurds exposed and betrayed by the US for the third time in three decades.

Read on: http://snipurl.com/1enti

I have beeen watching this thing closely since it began, and one thing is abundantly clear. There are people in this country, in places of power who would love for us to be defeated on the simple basis that more Americands would come to hate their homeland. Look at what those who hate what this county stands for are doing now. This has become a war for the hearts and minds of Americans. If this war is lost we will only have more who think we deserve another 911, and it won't be simply Americans. It will be an enegized radical Islam. It will be coutries who we once counted as friends. They will come to realize the country that once shined the light of freedom across the globe no longer cares about freedom. We will be seen as weak and unable to espouse those beliefs which we have always held so dear. Do those who despise this country realize that this is how we will come to be viewed, and is this what they really want?

We have plenty of things in our national past to feel guilty about, as does every other country on the planet. Here is another situation where the we have a chance to feel really good about what our country is doing, yet we can't have that, oh no, that would create more patriots and American spirit. This by far is the greatest country on the face of the planet. We have the most of everything. Even our poor live well. Yet all these little episodes of failure taint all the good that has been accomplished since our inception. I don't want to see us lose this thing, but I know if we do we wil have another thing to feel guilty about. Thousands a year are being killed over there, and I shudder to think what it would come to if we pull out.

Playing with the lives of millions of people for power has brought the Democrat Party to a very dangerous place. I sure hope the American people understand what they are offering.

He has to launch a PR offensive. Literally. Here's why.

The Dems are bound-and-determined to keep sending bad PR images to the rest of the world. Non-binding resolutions to quit, defense supplementals like this one, Nancy and Bill Nelson et.al supplicating to the likes of Bashar Assad, etc... In so doing, they make it seem to the Arab world as if Bush has lost control of US foreign policy. To Arab observers, I'll bet it seems as if Team Pelosi is thumbing its nose at President Bush, and he's powerless to do anything about it.

That's a bad image to send worldwide. It's an image of an American leadership being weakened internally by its own people's irresoluteness. That's the image I have of most of the "advanced" nations of Western Europe. They don't even strike me as "paper tigers"---because no one would compare any Western European fighting force to a tiger nowadays. (With the fast-fading exception of the Brits, and the isolated courage of some of the former Eastern European nations, I suppose.)

If you were the modern-day Arab version of Machiavelli, would you quake at the fear of an approaching Pelosi? No---you'd laugh out loud. The Dems know they are portraying this bad image, they've been told time and time again the danger in such an image...and they keep doing it.

I return to my favorite analogy: Maximus' comment to his lieutenant Quintus, as he watches the beheaded Roman peace envoy riding from the Hun lines in Germania: "Well, we have their answer."

We have the Dem Congress's answer. Let's not kid ourselves.

If the President wants to retain control of his image as Commander in Chief, he now must fight. The Dems do not want cooperation---they want confrontation. They want to usurp his prerogatives as our nation's elected CINC. They will, if he lets them. And I, for one, expect the President to not let them!

The Dems have gone home, on Spring Break. They are scattered from Washington. Now is the time for the President to strike. Here are some things he should do.

- Make some dramatic public addresses, using bold and provocative language which criticizes the Dems for their cowardice. CALL THE DEMS OUT! Matter of fact, GOAD THEM! I'll bet they say stupid things, if you give them the chance.
- Go to Baghdad. Visit the troops. I'm SURE the President's photo op will be better than John Kerry's or Nancy's.
- Have Condi start busting publicly on Pelosi and Wolf and these freelance diplomats on Capitol Hill. Call THEM out in public. Let THEM explain to--and convince--the American people that their supplication...er, visits to Bashar Assad are constructive affairs, which do not dilute the State Department's message. (It wouldn't hurt to have Tommy Franks or other generals comment publicly that, when our foreign policy efforts lead our enemies to think we're a weak and divided nation, our military must compensate by fighting harder---and bleeding more). If Condi wants foreign heads-of-state to ignore her, then leave Team Pelosi alone. But, then she shouldn't complain when they do ignore her.
- When called to Congress to "testify," fight! Think Oliver North.

Mr. President, you can't do much to stop Henry Waxman. He's going to conduct his show trials. You can submit or fight---your choice. Personally, if you wish to sentence your non-DOD and Intelligence Community executive branch to eighteen more months of Waxman-style Inquisitions, well, that's your choice. To be honest, as I don't think you have much of a window for a domestic agenda in the time you have left in office, I don't see that as much of a loss.

But, you DO have a war to fight, and hopefully win. We elected and then reelected you to do just that. An inherent task in executing command is protecting the authority of your command. Team Pelosi and the MSM are trying to siphon away as much of your command authority as they can. They'll take as much as you let them have.

It would be a crying shame if GEN Petraeus came to feel that he had to win some big, splashy battles to counteract the erosion in PR momentum caused by the Kung Pao Congress and its PR follies. For, in this kind of war, there are no Atlantas for him to seize, and no massed Al-Qaeda carrier fleets (a la the Japanese fleet off of Midway) waiting to be struck by the modern-day Wade McClusky.

Sir, that headless body that just rode by was your last attempt to reach out to this Congress. We have their answer. We can no longer fool ourselves. We now know what they mean to do.

Sir, with all due respect, what are you going to do about this? FYI, again with all due respect, your troops now enmeshed in Baghdad are watching, and wondering.

"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)