Apr 11 2008
Is America A Nation Of Defeatists Or Ever Hopeful Fighters?
Margaret Carlson, die hard founding member of the liberal SurrenderMedia, is starting to wake up and see how the race for President will unfold, and why the dems have no chance of winning. She realizes that the race depends on your view of America, and your view of where you want to see it go:
pril 11 (Bloomberg) — As I was watching General David Petraeus being questioned in congressional hearings, I finally got why Senator John McCain has an even chance of being president in spite of supporting a war that most Americans are against.
As he’d done so many times before, McCain said we can win if we just pull up our socks and banish our defeatism. “We can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success,” he said, ensuring “that the terrible price we have paid in the war, a price that has made all of us sick at heart, has not been paid in vain.”
Don’t I wish? Don’t we all? I don’t buy his take on the war but, like half of America, I want to.
The signs of success have been building for a year now. If we remain diligent the chances are very high we will win. Last year at this time the fact was if we remained diligent we had a chance to turn things around – nothing more. But a year later al-Qaeda is all but vanquished. And no amount of misinformation about Sadr and his failed Iranian backed revolution can change the fact Sadr’s forces are being decimated and he is being political neutered (in fact, it may have already happened).
McCain can base his optimism on months and months of progress in security and political reconciliation. The Dems have to pretend none of that happened to make their case. They have to create fictional outcomes that have little likelihood of coming to fruition to say ‘get out now before all hell breaks loose’. Sadly, it is clear after this week if we get out now all hell will break lose. McCain is winning over America and it is easy to see why:
Internal polling data, presented privately last week at the Republican National Committee’s state chair meeting and provided to Politico, shows John McCain with a solid lead over both his potential general election rivals. Powered by the same appeal to Democrats and independents that fueled his primary election success, McCain is leading Barack Obama 48 percent to 42 percent and Hillary Clinton 51 percent to 40 percent according to RNC polling done late last month.
And if this is beginning momentum, which I think it is, going into the summer Americans will ponder two options: dark and dismal defeatism sprinkled with payback investigations into Bush’s presidency; a tough fight to succeed and show al-Qaeda democratic freedom is still the winner of all time in mankind’s history. I am pretty sure American are not ready to roll over and quit, not yet. It is even harder to quit when the Iraqis are still fighting the war we started, and Americans know that as well. It was all of us who gave the green light, we need to finish what we started.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/30402/more_americans_want_to_end_iraq_war_next_year
defeatists by your definition.
“65% of Americans either want US troops out of Iraq immediately or sometime in 2009, up from 61% in February of this year. Only 31% want to keep them there ‘as long as it takes,’ and that percentage declined in the past couple of months from 34%. In other words, whatever the success of the troop escalation and COIN techniques in the past year, they have had no impact on the rapid decline in the popularity with the American public of the US presence in Iraq. Most Americans don’t seem to care whether the situation is better or worse in Iraq, they just want out.
Howdy, anyone keep track of the current quotes at the IOWA Electronic market and intrade?
Norm,
I am sorry. The link to the Montly Treasury Statement is http://www.fms.treas.gov/mts/index.html. I hope the link works, otherwise I guess you can copy and go…
You keep referencing a $2 Trillion dollar expenditure. As I posted in an earlier note, based on your extended cost post here are the numbers:
1. Health care for veterans and benefits paid to veterans are paid through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The total annual pre-GWOT annual expenditures were $53 Billion inflation adjusted in FY2001. That includes medical care, PTSD, and pensions.
2. The Department of Veterans Affairs will spend about $87 Billion this year – FY2008.
3. Thus, if there are no additional costs as the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans age, we can assign at most $34 Billion annually to the war effort.
4. The DOD budget accounts for gear replacement. Much of the supplemental goes toward that.
So, the $2 Trillion number you are talking about is spread over about 60 years.
Anyway, using your expenditures we are talking about:
1. 4.6% of the annual budget if no changes for 60 years
2. 1% of GDP if no changes for 60 years
Your numbers – accumulated over 60 years – look huge. That is a common game played by the left. Since it is a game, let me play it as well. Let us assume that Obama’s and Clinton’s expenditures are dead on for their nationalized health care. In that case, the government would spend:
$10,800 Trillion in additional spending in todays dollars over those same 60 years.
And, I think it more likely that the situation in Iraq changes within that 60 years than a big fat bloated government bureaucracy stays within its big fat bloated budget – see Social Security and Medicare.
Ha, ha, ha…
The mighty JAMmies use carrier pigeons as their communication network:
“The militias have their own unique way of signaling the presence of the foes. The Americans say the militias have been using trained pigeons to signal the presence of American and Iraqi troops. The Iraqis wanted to know if they could fire on the pigeon keepers as American troops have done during the bitter fighting here.”
This is a highly funded, professional foe.
We shall be defeated.
The mighty Iranians back them.
Oh my.
Run Away!!!.
Truthy cites the angus column that says “two out of five” and comes to the conclusion that is 65%.
This as “American Thinker” is a good read for those who care about Iraq!
The Success of Iraq Policy
By Jim Hall
‘American Thinker’ is much like AJ’s site…a must read for everyone every day.