politics

As we move into fall, I have decided to take a stab at sharing a few political thoughts. We are coming up on the mid term federal elections, and then after that we will soon be in the middle of the 2008 Presidential Campaign. I believe this will be the first presidential election without at least some sort of incumbent running in most of our lifetimes. That of course assumes that Dick Cheney does not develop further heart problems that will lead to his resignation for “health reasons.” I am aware that politics is supposed to be one of those things you don’t discuss amongst friends. The other being religion. But as a firm believer in the American system of democracy, and a lover of the battle, I cannot resist. All of that being said, allow me to give you a little history of where I am coming from. I was born in 1958 and raised in the 60’s. I remember exactly where I was when President Kennedy was killed. I remember the killings of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. I grew up in a middle class Los Angeles area and have one brother who fought in the Vietnam War and another who probably would have gone to Canada to avoid the draft if he hadn’t received a student deferment. I wanted Humphrey to win in 1968, but worked as a Young Republican for Nixon in 1972. I supported Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy Carter in 1980, Mondale in 84, and Bush the Elder in 88. I voted for Clinton twice, but could not vote for Gore or “W”, choosing instead to support Ralph Nader, believing, as I do today, that the US needs a viable third political party. I have never been, nor will I ever be, a straight ticket kind of guy. That is the background. This is where I would like to begin. With a series of quotes from the current Bush Administration. I am not providing direct source links because most of these quotes are easily recognizable and you can find thempretty quick yourself with Google. We now know that each of these was either untrue, or just wrong, whether, and here is the key, they believed it to be true or not. As you read, please ask yourself this question, "Was what these people said wrong, or a lie?" "British intelligence has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production." President Bush, 2003 State of the Union Address "Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of other countries." Secretary of State Colin Powell, testifying about Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons capabilities before the United Nations Security Council, Feb. 2003. Speaking of Saddam Hussein, VP Dick Cheney said on “Meet the Press” in March of 2003, "We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons." "It's a slam-dunk case!" CIA Director George Tenet, discussing WMD and the case for war during a meeting in the Oval Office, Dec. 2002 "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, when asked about weapons of mass destruction in an ABC News interview, March 30, 2003 When asked about Iraqi nuclear weapons in June 2003, Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld responded, "I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons." "We found the weapons of mass destruction." President Bush, in an interview with a Polish television station, May 2003. "It's hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam’s security forces and his army. Hard to imagine." Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, testifying before the House Budget Committee prior to the Iraq war, February 2003 "I believe demolishing Hussein's military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk." Former Defense Department Aide Ken Adelman, February 2005. "I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency." Vice President Dick Cheney, on the Iraq insurgency, June 2005 “There’s a lot of money to pay for this that doesn’t have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people…and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.” Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, March 2003. Now that you have made it to the bottom of all this, let me say I do not believe the Bush Administration intentionally lied to us. That means I must accept that they were wrong on every one of these critical issues. So here is your question, "Do we want to continue "staying the course" with the leaders we now have, or is it time for a mid-course correction? " Just something to think about. technorati tags: Bush, Iraq, Mid Term Elections, Politics, (as always you know the rules, take all you want, just give us the credit.)