It's All About the Positioning.

There is an old saying, "Perception is reality." In Iraq, its never been truer.

In conversation with one who is rabidly anti-Bush/Iraq I was attempting to position my colleague to accept the notion that we should pull out of Iraq and claim victory, but this person would have none of that. For him, Iraq is a debacle in ruinous progress with no end in sight and a selfish murderous ambition of the President who himself is a colossal failure.

OK, you can have your grapes and eat it too. Mr. Bush doesn't show any inclination to defend himself, and I don't feel any obligation either.

However, I do think that there is a perception of events that the President's domestic opponents refuse to entertain, and in so denying this position, all the while unable or unwilling to provide an alternative reality that would herald the achievements of this war for and towards our nation's advantage, they expose the shallowness of their words of "I am a patriot, I support the troops. But not the war."

They can't have the War end with an elevated Bush! They'd much rather lose in Iraq, than accept the idea that our troops have done enough to claim victory, and thereby allow George Bush to claim achievement.

In fact this is putting pressure on Bush to continue until there is that moment when his critics turn and acknowledge success, its at that point that leaving Iraq is at its most appropriate. But it will never happen because Bush would gain platitudes, something his domestic opponents have never done since day one. That's the outcome we all should want however, expect, and require from the politicians -- Victory. But it seems unlikely that this will ever happen, and what good is that?

You or I may have doubts and opinions about all things Iraq, but the elected officials should be thinking a little deeper about national security, prosperity, and relevance. Quoting NBA Commissioner David Stern on this, "I'm going to wrestle with you on this," if you think the domestic opponents of Bush in D.C., who were elected to national government, have in our nations best interest to continue denigrating the administrations handling of affairs(to a point) and the success of the surge even.

Surely they have opinions, but if they think things are going wrong, do something more than snipping in the press, its harmful. Certainly.

Here is one truth that is, at this writing, undeniable. As goes Bush, so goes the country. The two are intertwined for the immediate future.

Bush's repute is tied directly to the success of the Iraq War, and thus the outcome of the Iraq War is either going to diminish or strengthen the United States in the world. Also this marriage will persist beyond the President's last days in office. Its reality, its true.

I suggest another truth, as defined on Dictionary.com, being a patriot is marked by the love and support of the nations interest.

So like it or not, insisting on supporting the troops, but not the war while claiming to be a patriot is logically unsound.

If its unacceptable for Bush to win anything, neither will the nation. That's not a patriotic position and the only people who win are our enemies on the battlefield and the politicians who prosper at the cost of the country.

I'm not here to tell you your wrong in your position, I'm just trying to incite some thought. One can be against the war or not. Support the troops, or not. Be patriotic, or not. Or any combination of the three. Its your video, watch it however you want.

My perception of events is that we did what we had to do, and what we could do in Iraq. If we can't civilize or democratize these people, then we ought not to waste more resources on doing so. Our military did what its trained to do, and what it was asked to do originally. We have demonstrated strength where it matters most and its should be a trumpeted as a triumph. Frankly, we ought to be scaring the shit out of other rogue nations with the truth.

But here's the rub of the position that those who can't see Bush winning excrete on reality. The message of retreat and defeat that the domestic opponents of Bush are pushing only damages the nation. Consider this -- in an ever devolving effort to secure an unattainable recognition of triumph from the left, the President has to continue to put our resources to uses that are becoming increasingly unreasonable.

With every step down that sinkhole, or resolve weakens and the enemies of our state grow more emboldened. We are reaching the point where our strength becomes our weakness, our military will have to face the consequences on the battlefield, not the politicians who incite and encourage the perception that it is unpalatable for Bush to win.

Of course its not that easy to just pull out, and I have admittedly over simplified the message of claiming victory all the while laying an onus on the Iraqi's to act civilized. There is just too much investment in Iraq right now to expect total withdrawal, with or without a banner of glory.

But for the benefit of us all, I think some people ought to start seeing things in terms of the good of our nation, and what accolades come to Bush, so be it.

I'd like to see one of those politicians with all the criticism and fervent desires to quit the war, stand up for our interest and claim a victory first, then talk of withdrawal.

But they won't do that, because if the nation wins the war, then Bush will too. Oh what patriotism.

The Many Faces of Al Gore

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64

Al Gore has fascinated me for quite a while now. Not too long, and not obsessively, but since he lost the 2000 election he's been everywhere, minus the teaching semesters following that November/December 2000 loss, so it really hasn't taken much effort. Which is good, because otherwise that effort would be wasted.

There is quite a lot of fascinating words, actions, boast, business endeavors, etc. surrounding him that he is an unqualified walking hurricane of global change. Honestly, I can't find fault with some things he does, and in particular the global warming crusade, despite the religious-esque intolerance of dissenting opinions, has much value for all of us. I don't buy into some of the hysteria surrounding global warming, but I feel that the goals of reforming how we use and re-use the Earth's natural resources are an absolute necessity for our progeny to maintain the "good life" that we enjoy today.

I wouldn't trust him with the real power to change that is the Presidency though. Not because I'd be especially nervous of what he'd do, but because I don't think he be effective at all, his track record in politics demonstrates that. He's great at media relations, and he is quite apparently driven to change the world, but his track record, when compared to his own words and promises doesn't give me anything to elect him for.

In fact he seems a little too political for his own good, and that clip above re-proves it.

I'm not getting into the reasons for war, let the politicians rehash that history, this is all about Al Gore laid bare.

Have you ever wondered what happened to all those students who took his journalism class?

Coincidentally, he manages to get good press coverage most times doesn't he?

In regards to this clip I've provided, you'd think that some industrious & hungry young journalist could of found this address years ago when Gore first began to undermine foreign policy and influence innocent democrats who admire him.

If Al Gore thought this way then, then why did he not influence policy when he had the chance? His criticism of the younger Bush seems odd now doesn't it?

So back to the environment. Its the same story. At about the same time this speech was being made, the ever phrenic Al Gore wrote and publish a book entitled Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit where he proceeded to continue his bashing of Bush, only this time, naturally, on the environment. At the end of the book, he gives us his solutions.

Then he became Vice President and did nothing. Well, o.k., as is always the case with these politicians, their cronies could list quite a lot of accomplishments in the form of resolutions, legislation, or spending bills.

I'll take Ralph Nader's impression of his accomplishments, he seems independent, and he ran for President under the Green Party because he said there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush on the environment.

Its great that Al Gore has another Bush to bash, its easier for him to update his schtick.

Remember he claimed to have invented the Internet too.

He's great. I don't expect most anyone to abandon him on the left, they don't do that sort of thing over there. They hold onto dishonest politicians and disingenuous arguments. Besides, he's putting on a good show. What's the worse he can do? Be elected? We've wasted a long time in solving some of our problems, I suppose another 4 or 8 years tacked on couldn't hurt too much, could it Al?

Please, take a look and listen for yourself and do hear him out entirely, its worth the effort.

These Are Our Democrats?

What an exciting group of Democrat candidates for President we have been gifted! Where do I start in extolling the glories of such worthy politicians. If ever such a noble and unselfish group has gathered before, I know not. A collection of statesman minded individuals that without question any would be an improvement over our current occupant on Pennsylvania Ave.

Hardly. Their almost uniform position on the Iraq War is so betraying to the grand traditions of America that it should not only be an embarrassment to us, but should rouse the ire of unfulfilled expectation. Since when did we become a nation of losers?

Perception is reality. My perception is that all these Democrats would want us to retreat from Iraq and take the loss. Is that an accurate assessment?

That's crazy. What good comes from that?

Oh, without a doubt, Bush has mismanaged this war and its his war, and most of all that criticism heaped upon him. But I got old news that is still relevant, we are all in this together.

Although many would like to have it otherwise, America is in Iraq as one America, there is no George Bush vs Iraq and the terrorist, its all of US. When Terrorist target our citizens and landmarks, they don't discriminate between the doves and the hawks.

If Bush would resign tomorrow morning or if this war persist past his last scheduled day in office its makes no difference. The endgame in Iraq is important and we are in this together, and that is a serious consideration, and its high time the outcome is taken seriously.

I hear more and more people lament the tragedy in Dafur. They want to do something, they think the US should do something. Dafur is the epitome of what international liberal ideology had been designed for -- to stop senseless human tragedies.

For liberals sake, what have you considered will happen in Iraq if the US should pull out? Is this what liberalism has devolved to here, thoughtless retreat?

I'm not even treading on new arguments to combat this thought process that thinks our withdrawal from Iraq is all that is needed for a more peaceful world. Its an old argument, but one that not any of the candidates from the left for President has addressed as yet. I mean seriously address.

What's their endgame plan? What is the message we send the world? Having witnessed the Bush Administration allow his opponents to define his endeavors in the world , I'm not too keen on repeating that again, and also compounding the problem by heaping a self-inflicted defeat in Iraq and a humanitarian crisis there into the mess. That seems senseless to me.

Maybe its a generational difference in perceptions. I didn't experience Vietnam, so perhaps I should count my blessings. From my point of opinion, anything less than victory is unacceptable. America is about strength and getting the job done, not leaving problems, but cleaning up problems. I don't like us being the policeman of the world, but we have an obligation to finish what we started. Who's going to clean up for us?

I think defeat is too readily palatable for too many of my seniors. Having Vietnam imprinted in their world view, they are too ready to quit when the going gets tough, or sadly, when the going gets going by a Republican.

I can take redeploying our troops in Iraq, but its a non starter for me to begin that end by succumbing to political pressures. We lifting some heavy stones over there, we paid a dear price. I think we can make a statement and stand on those accomplishments while at the same time putting the lead ball of failure on the Iraqi people and government for not taking advantage of the gift they have been given.

Some say liberals want America to fail, it does make me wonder about that when we are in this unenviable position of working toward cleaning up a mess we created in Iraq but the left just wants to walk away, while at the same time they are clamoring for intervention in Dafur, intervened in Yugoslavia, and would free Tibet.

William Jefferson Indicted

William Jefferson Indicted.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8PI5SRO1&show_article=1

Above is a link to the story on the indictment of William Jefferson. This is really old news, if its news to you, I'd would take that as a indicator of needing new news filters. In the meantime, I'm waiting with bated breath the response of the institutional Democrats who have always been quick to call for a resignation when a conservative or GOP congressperson runs afoul of the law, or even polite company.