Fantasy Politics USA

On Suday’s NBC’s ‘Meet The Press’ Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Guantanamo Bay was, “a major problem for America’s perception” and said, “if it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo, not tomorrow, this afternoon.” The next day on CNN’s Late Edition Mike Huckabee disagreed with Powell. Huckabee told Wolf Blitzer, “I know it’s become a symbol of what’s wrong. I visited Guantanamo just about a year ago. My sense was, because I visited every single prison in the Arkansas prison system, and I can tell you most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantanamo and less like the state prisons that people are in in the United States.” Blitzer pushed Huckabee a bit more and mentioned it wasn’t really the condition of the prison that upsets people, but that, “These suspected terrorists, these detainees are being held, by and large, without charges, without any evidence. They’re just being kept there indefinitely. And that’s causing a smear on the U.S. reputation.” Huckabee responded, “I understand that. But I’ll tell you, if we let somebody out and it turns out that they come and fly an airliner into one of our skyscrapers, we’re going to be asking, how come we didn’t stop them? We had them detained.” During the debate Huckabee even called for doubling Guantanamo. Of all the things to rally around Huckabee has chosen Guantanamo. People that are calling to close Guantanamo are not wanting to turn the prisoners lose. As Powel said, he “would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system.” The Center for American Progress has suggested we move them to Fort Leavenworth, KS, and prosecute the remaining detainees in general courts-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Huckabee is using fearmongering instead of finding solutions to problems facing America when he suggests that others just want to turn those prisoners lose. Guantanamo has tarnished the United States reputation through out the rest the world and needs to be closed. Huckabee needs to open his eyes to this and stop praising Guantanamo as some type of model prison.
Alan Cosgrove

Rudy Giuliani arrived thirty minutes late to his speech today at Old Bedford Town Hall in New Hampshire. He jumped right into his speech and unveiled his new plan for America. “It’s a group of promises that this campaign is going to be about and my administration will be about,” Giuliani said. He calls this group of promises his Twelve Commitments to the American People. Sounds a bit like Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America, but different. “We’re going to lay out a mission of doing what other people say is impossible,” Giuliani said. “Nothing energizes people like doing the impossible.” According to a Giuliani press release the Twelve Commitments, “are based on the principles of giving people more freedom, more power, and more responsibility over their own lives, while protecting our nation, strengthening our economy, and improving the quality of life.” Notably missing from the Twelve Commitments is any mention of the war in Iraq, gun control or gay rights. He explained after his speech why Iraq is missing by saying it is part of the, “terrorist war against us,” which he does address in the first commitment. “We may be successful in Iraq, we may not be, I don’t know the answer to that,” he said. “What we do know for sure is that terrorists are going to be at war with us, a year, a year and a half from now.” Here is Giuliani’s Twelve Commitment to The American People;

The Twelve Commitments:

1. I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us.
2. I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.
3. I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.
4. I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.
5. I will impose accountability on Washington.
6. I will lead America towards energy independence.
7. I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions.
8. I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.
9. I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.
10. I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
11. I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.
12. I will expand America’s involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.

Sounds like a bunch of bold promises with no real plans. He claims that he will expand on each of these through out the summer. “They’re in the concept form,” he said. “We don’t expect people are going to absorb this, they shouldn’t, but we have a long time to talk about it.” He is going to have eight years to talk about it if he doesn’t come up with something better than this vague list. Look out Rudy, the Fred Thompson train is heading your way.
Alan Cosgrove

John Edwards is willing to accept any donation at this point. Sunday was his birthday, and he headed home to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. To lead up to his birthday his mother has been offering a copy of a recipe for pecan pie for any donations. According to a letter sent to supporters from John Edwards mom, Bobbie Edwards, “If I had my way, I’d be able to share a slice of home cooked pie with each of my son’s supporters. But since that’s impossible, I’d like to thank everyone who donates at least $6.10 before 6/10 by giving you my old family recipe for pecan pie.” 6/10 was John Edwards birthday. Mrs. Edwards was trying to get at least 10,000 donors by his birthday, I’m not sure if they made it. He held a bar-b-cue with some of that pie for his birthday, and the entrance fee was only $15. The event attracted about 500 people, mostly college students from his nearby alma mater the University of North Carolina. “If you want to see big, bold change in this country, your country needs you. It needs you badly,” Edwards said. “The great movements in the American history did not start in the Oval Office, they started out across America.” He told the crowd that great grassroot movements usually start with the nation’s youth. “We need you in this cause,” Edwards said as he asked for small donations and volunteers. He called this fundraising event “Small Change for Big Change.” He continued his “Small Change for Big Change” theme into the next day at the Rusty Pelican at Key Biscayne, Florida. Again he only charged $15 to attend. At both events he gave a short speech about raising wages, reducing poverty, getting out of Iraq, improving the United States image abroad, and universal health care. He told the crowds that he would close the prison at Guantanamo Bay on his first day in office. 25 seconds into his speech in Florida he said “We have such important work to do in this country, starting with ending this war in Iraq.”…. “If this war is still going on when I’m sworn into office as president of the United States, I will end this war.” Usually to get this kind of access to a candidate you have to eat at a $1000 a plate luncheon. This is a great way to reach out to people that would never dream of spending $1000 to hear him talk. But at the same time he only had 200 people attend in Florida. Hillary and Obama would only have to sell three plates to raise that much. Edwards will have to have a bunch of bar-b-cues to pay for one T.V. spot.