jump to navigation

Dick Cheney Has No Feelings March 20, 2008

Posted by justingerman in George W. Bush, US Foreign Policy.
Tags: , ,
2 comments

In an excerpt from an ABC News interview today in the Washington Post, Martha Raddatz asks Vice President Dick Cheney about public opinion and the war in Iraq.

Raddatz: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly and Iraqi lives.

Cheney: So?

Raddatz: So you don’t care what the America people think?

Cheney: No, I think we cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there.

Frankly, this is so infuriating I’m not sure where to start.

To me the most troubling part about this is not necessarily his lack of respect for representative government but the hypocrisy of the Bush administration when it comes to this idea of a “culture of life.” Cheney wins elections by talking about protecting life, but when a reporter asks him about the soldiers who have given their lives to the war he helped start he barely bats an eye. “So what,” he says. Also keep in mind Cheney was differed from military service five times during Vietnam.

(more…)

Why You Might Be Wrong About Barack Obama March 4, 2008

Posted by justingerman in 2008 Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Why You are wrong about Obama.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
1 comment so far

*This is the first in a series of indeterminate length, in which I will address the often-made arguments against Barack Obama and his candidacy for president.

The first argument is probably the most popular amongst people, particularly Democrats, who are unable to really challenge him on policy. The argument is something along the lines of Obama reading poetry while Hillary is running for office. I say that people make this argument when they can’t attack Obama in another way because, in truth, I don’t think it’s possible to draw a clear distinction between Obama and Clinton on the amount they talk about substantive policy issues. But it will be interesting to see the kid of analysis that is produced after the election is over.

Obama has defended himself against this argument by saying that throughout American history, words have meant great things to millions of people and that he is the prime example of a product of hope. However, I’m going to come at this argument from a different angle.

(more…)