Damn!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/0...008.barackobama

All I can say is......Wow!

Obama dosen'tt take any mess from anyone does he? Soo the Head of Fox "news"admitts that their trashing Obama because he won't go on their Network where more than likely they woud trash him. lol

If Obama wins do u think he will shut Fox "News" out?

Sorry. My thoughts are jumbled and I'm not expressing myself clearly. I meant "record" in two different senses. To Obama's people, I say attack the details of her record, to be sure, because these deserve close scrutiny. But don't suddenly turn around and say "she has no experience" because the Republicans will hold up the governorship card and declare that this carries more executive power than Obama's senatorial post.

IA about your quality vs. quantity argument. Unfortunately, at this point, pundits will use quantity to attack the candidate they dislike and pretend that it means quality.

They've already been doing that. They've also tried to make her sound more qualified than Biden who I believe has had qualitative experience. I got a kick out them saying that a fuel stopover in Irelend constitutes her visiting Ireland.

And IA with you about the Republicans needing to overhaul their party. I have voted for both Dems and Reps at local, state and national levels, based on the issues at hands and the candidates' respective mission statements. I guess you could say that I was one of those "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" voters during the Clinton years. IMO, the Republican party has been highjacked by agendas which should not be part of the government's remit at all -- and that includes this question of who is "truly" American and who isn't. Love and loyalty to your country is not a political affiliation! Your choice of religion (or lack thereof) should not be a question of political affiliation!

That and the fact that the one area in which the Reps once dominated -- foreign policy -- has been reduced to ashes thanks to Dubya's shenanigans. He has set the Republican party back about 30 years.

I look at the individual candidates as well and vote for who I think will best do the job regardless of party. I've just been very put off by what I've seen lately.

Obama needs to sit back and let this Palin stuff play out and keep his hands out of it. It's very wierd that McCain picking a woman RM is what causing Obama to get of his hurdle with women!

The VP debates will be interesting because the GOP are already putting out there that if Bieden is hard on her it's because he's sexist. IMO that dog won't hunt.

I think this immunity was in part a factor for her selection. It looks like sort of a twofer where they thought the novelty of having a woman would get McCain's campaign buzz and also it would give him the luxury of having a new reason why he be grilled on anything: former POW status and sexism.

Now I'm only interested in seeing how well he does ratings wise the huge gift he's been given on NBC in following the NFL season opener.

Casey, I sure hope that you reconsider: I'm a McCain supporter, and I think it is wonderful that you are arguing on behalf of him.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to praise Ryan, who happens to be an Obama supporter. Despite his own political views, he has always been so tolerant of what McCain suporters have had to say. Perhaps because Ryan is a solid moderate, he has also never engaged in any nasty personal attacks against McCain. Political discourse in this country would be so much more civil if everyone was a class act like Ryan.

Thank you Max. I enjoy reading this thread. The vast opinions and arguments that people put forth for their candidate is a great read.

Before I begin, I'd like to say one thing...I understand why we're doing this, but I have serious disagreements. Why is it that our country is sending $1 billion dollars in aid to Georgia, when that $1 billion dollars can be put to good use here in America.

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Bush announces $1 billion in aid for Georgia

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago

Pushing back against an increasingly aggressive Moscow, President Bush said Wednesday the U.S. will send an extra $1 billion to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic in the wake of Russia's invasion.

"Georgia has a strong economic foundation and leaders with an impressive record of reform," Bush said in a statement. "Our additional economic assistance will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy."

Vice President Dick Cheney, due in Georgia on Thursday, planned to make the massive aid package a major highlight of his discussions with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Cheney is on a tour of three former Soviet republics that are wary of Russia's intentions in what Moscow likes to call its "near abroad" sphere of influence and what Cheney termed while in Azerbaijan on Wednesday "the shadow of the Russian invasion of Georgia."

"The free world cannot allow the destiny of a small independent country to be determined by the aggression of a larger neighbor," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at the State Department in a simultaneous announcement with Bush.

She mocked Russia for its recognition of the two separatist regions in Georgia that are at the heart of the conflict that broke out last month, and for its failure to garner international backing.

"Almost no one followed suit, I might note. It isn't really an impressive list to have Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognize each other," she said.

Also in tandem with Bush, the International Monetary Fund announced it has agreed to lend Georgia $750 million for economic recovery.

The administration is delaying an announcement on some sort of punishment of Russia for its actions against Georgia and its refusal thus far to comply with a French-brokered cease-fire. However, the decision to shower tiny Georgia with such substantial aid and have Cheney talk about it in Moscow's backyard will likely be seen by the Kremlin as highly provocative, if not a punitive measure in and of itself.

The dollar total is half the $2 billion a year the U.S. gives Israel, its largest aid recipient. But the sizable amount still shows the strategic importance the U.S. places on both supporting Saakashvili's Western-leaning government and countering the desire by a newly resurgent and energy-rich Moscow for greater regional influence.

Cheney made a point in Azerbaijan of saying that Washington has "a deep and abiding interest" in the region's stability.

That said, the U.S. has found during this conflict that it has little leverage with Russia. Moscow has drawn condemnations from the United States and Europe, but little else. Meanwhile on Wednesday, Russia closed its embassy in Georgia, following Georgia's severing of diplomatic ties with Moscow.

After years of tensions, the recent fighting began Aug. 7 when Georgian forces went into its breakaway province of South Ossetia in hopes of re-establishing control. Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed deep into Georgia proper.

Both sides signed the cease-fire in mid-August, but Russia has ignored its requirement for all forces to return to prewar positions.

Bush said the money will meet humanitarian needs, such as helping to resettle families that were displaced. The U.S. already has provided $30 million in humanitarian relief since the conflict began.

The United States has sent two military ships bearing aid to Georgia, and the USS Mount Whitney — the flagship of the Navy's 6th Fleet — steamed through the Dardanelles early Wednesday and was expected to pass through the Bosporus later in the day. The two Turkish-controlled straits link the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

The new funds are also aimed at helping impoverished Georgia, wedged between Russia and Turkey on the Black Sea, to rebuild infrastructure and boost an economy that has been growing but is nowhere near grown.

Georgia wants to rebuild and modernize its badly routed military. Though U.S. officials emphasized that none of the current package was for military aid, there was no effort to rule that out for the future. Russia has accused the United States of delivering arms on the U.S. warships that have docked in Georgian ports with humanitarian supplies.

Rice said that $570 million of the funds will be made available in the remaining months of the Bush administration, though Congress will have to approve $200 million of that. That also leaves a sizable portion — $430 million — up to the budgeting discretion of next year's Congress and the new president.

But Bush feels confident in that area, as both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, have expressed strong support for Georgia's embattled government and Bush's approach to Russia's invasion.

On trade, Bush said the United States would negotiate a deal to provide preferential access to Georgian exports. The president said his commerce secretary would dispatch a trade mission to Georgia in the coming weeks.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Desmond Butler contributed to this story from Washington, and Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili from Tbilisi, Georgia.

Before I begin, I'd like to say one thing...I understand why we're doing this, but I have serious disagreements. Why is it that our country is sending $1 billion dollars in aid to Georgia, when that $1 billion dollars can be put to good use here in America.

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It's all about the L word. Legacy. Bush want's a good one. I'm sorry to say it, but he blew that years ago. Either that or he's an idiot who thinks with his mouth and pen and not his brain. Wow, I'm stummped. I actually am not sure which one it is.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingto...alin_as_sp.html

I am very interested in Palin's speech tonight to see not only what she will say, but how she can deliver it.

Before I begin, I'd like to say one thing...I understand why we're doing this, but I have serious disagreements. Why is it that our country is sending $1 billion dollars in aid to Georgia, when that $1 billion dollars can be put to good use here in America.

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That is like saying all of the money that was used to build Obama's stage could have been used for better purposes.

IMO, it sends a strong message to the Russians as to whose side we are on.

Running a government is much more complex than just spending money on domestic programs. Generating good foreign policy and reaching out to another strongly democratic country is the right thing to do imo.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/...1837918,00.html

Before I begin, I'd like to say one thing...I understand why we're doing this, but I have serious disagreements. Why is it that our country is sending $1 billion dollars in aid to Georgia, when that $1 billion dollars can be put to good use here in America.

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If that is how you feel, right on.

I happen to think that money like that, no matter what party the president belongs to, is unacceptable when we are borrowing money from China and are neck-deep in debt. This ra-ra crap with Russia is a dead issue, especially when they are no longer the superpower they once were. I truly feel that the Eastern Bloc nations will not let them get out of hand again......

Besides, let's bring our men and women back home first before we start something else on a third front.

I just watched a little bit of a political show and listened to the governor of Utah list being a mother a five and a mother of a Down Syndrome baby among the qualifications for being VP or ready to lead the country. Does that mean men should now include being a father as part of their qualifications when running for office?

I just watched a little bit of a political show and listened to the governor of Utah list being a mother a five and a mother of a Down Syndrome baby among the qualifications for being VP or ready to lead the country. Does that mean men should now include being a father as part of their qualifications when running for office?

So, nothing on qualifications.

Maybe so, since this BS apparently is more important than how much experince one has going in.

Before I begin, I'd like to say one thing...I understand why we're doing this, but I have serious disagreements. Why is it that our country is sending $1 billion dollars in aid to Georgia, when that $1 billion dollars can be put to good use here in America.

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I concur....especially since that will probably lead to borrowing more money from China. The whole situation with Russia is tricky since this country paid for the Soace Station but Russia controls it and could easily bar access to it.

I think politicians waste a lot of money on campaigns and inaugural balls, etc. but since Obama isn't taking public funds then whatever is being spent isn't coming directly out of the taxpayers' pockets. If his contributors have an issue with the excess then I am sure they will take it up with him or stop contributing.