Fantasy Politics USA

U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter (official campaign site) of California announced today he is in the race. He was elected into Congress in 1980, the same year that Reagan became the President. He has stood by those same Reagan conservative principles, and calls himself the most conservative candidate running. Hunter believes strongly in the principle of Peace through Strength. Being from California he is also a big fan of Border Enforcement, ” I believe in providing Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement corps with sufficient strength to secure our borders and providing for interior enforcement throughout the country because it is imperative in our fight to protect Americans. To not do so can only be characterized as irresponsible.” He would lke to build fences all along the border to protect us from Mexicans, and illegal aliens. Hunter was a Army Ranger in Vietnam, and his son has spent a couple of 7 month tours in Iraq.
Alan Cosgrove

Here is a recent Moveon.org video they are playing in some TV markets. Senator McCain in a speech before the American Enterprise Institute early in January said that “There are two keys to any surge of U.S. troops: to be of value, it must substantial and it must be sustained.” He has been a champion of troop increases for some time. Here is a link
to the ad.

John Kerry announced today that he is out of the Presidential race for 2008, instead he plans to use his seat in the Senate to help end the war in Iraq.  He had been acting like a candidate every since he lost two years ago.  In 2004 he was attacked for flip floping on the issues, and he made it easy for Republicans sometimes.  He also failed to answer to the Swiftboat attacks in time, and suffered because of it.  He almost won, and many thought he did until the very end.  In late 2006, just as he was getting started again, he made a huge political mistake with a speech to a bunch of college students.  He really didn’t mean it the way it sounded, but as always he is such an easy target. De De Deee….  It really is unreasonable to think he really thinks soilders aren’t that smart since he was a soilder himself at one time.  But then again Kerry isn’t that smart…  With the latest entries of Hillary, Obama, and Richardson, and his own Vice Presidential candidate in 04 Edwards, all doing much better in any polls, it was probably an easy decision to drop out.   Also in the news; the Democratic controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committe rejected President Bush’s proposal for more troops one day after President Bush had asked for Congress to “give it a chance to work”.   The resolution was proposed  Democrats Joseph Biden and Carl Levin, and Republican Chuck Hagel, a long-standing critic of the war.  They passed the resolution saying the troop increase was “not in the national interest”,   There is a growing list of Republicans willing to sign on to this including candidate Sam Brownback.  This is all really just a bit of political theater though because Bush is going to send the new “surge” of troops anyway.  In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, vice President Dick Cheney stated, the administration is committed to moving ahead with its plan to send more troops to Baghdad, even if Congress passes a resolution in opposition.

“It won’t stop us,” he said. “And it would be, I think, detrimental from the standpoint of the troops.”

If U.S. forces were to pull out of Iraq, “we would simply validate the terrorists’ strategy that says the Americans will not stay to complete the task … that we don’t have the stomach for the fight. That’s the biggest threat.”

He added, “The notion that somehow the effort hasn’t been worth it, or that we shouldn’t go ahead and complete the task, is just dead wrong.”

Cheney said the U.S.-led ouster of Saddam Hussein was the right move.

Alan Cosgrove

Here is the text of President Bush’s State of the Union Speech part one, and part two.. And here is the text of the Democrats response, delivered by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia.

Tonights State of the Union will be mostly about domestic issues. Bush made his big Iraq speech about adding 20,000 more troops a couple of weeks ago, and it didn’t seem to go over that good. With Bush’s polls and popularity so low, and facing a Democratic Congress tonite it would be best for him to stay with the domestic issues. My guess is that the State of Union will be “Strong”, just like it has been the last 5 times. Another interesting fact is that the last two Presidents to have a 7th State of the Union Speech was Bill Clinton right after the impeachment stuff, and Ronnie Reagan right after the Iran Contra affair. So at least in recent history, the 7th State of Union Adress is all about cleaning up some mess left over from previous years. Bush will talk about Health Care, Immigration, alternative fuels, and there is even talk about him bringing up the No Child Left Behind. That was a failed policy that Bush never funded anyway. Bush will try to reach across party lines, and gain their confindence, but I doubt there is any chance left for that. This is a perfect example of a Lame Duck President in action. The only real action to watch tonite is American Idol, and then the clapping, or lack of on the State of Union Speech. This is probably Bush’s lowest point of his Presidency, and now he has convince us that the State of The Union is “strong”. Tough sell…..
Alan Cosgrove