Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread 1 October 2006

Honorable Mention Awards for 10-1-06

Circumstances have conspired to have me preside over the awards for the Sunday Talk Show thread for two weeks in a row. My response to this set of circumstances is to quote the old joke of what the man said as he was being ridden out of town on a rail: "except for the honor of the thing, I'd just as soon walk." The flip side of this arrangement is that you all should be spared my cheerful ministrations till sometime after Thanksgiving, so you may truly have something to be thankful for this year!

To reiterate what I said last week, my approach is to pull "notable or quotable" posts in whole or in part into a subset of the thread. I then cull through those posts to try to come up with the top 10, more as a fun exercise than as any kind of contest. Remember, my purpose is to provide pointers for people to things they might have missed. Providing some hierarchy to that can help and it can add a bit of fun to the process. Make no mistake, every post on this thread is worthy of an award. Alas Babylon! and I have been using the phrase The Jedi Council back and forth for some time now. The group that participates here are truly masters of gathering, analyzing and communicating relevant information to an amazing extent.

I'm also not much better off than last week, having over 1,000 posts this week instead of the nearly 1,300 of last week. Somehow it doesn't seem that much less work!

Also as stated last week, my prejudices lead me to prefer posts with factual information on a topic being discussed, particularly with references and, best of all, with links. That doesn't make that right or wrong, it's just my prejudices. After that I look for posts that "move the discussion forward." What I mean by that is I want to see posts that provide insight, not just argument. I get plenty of argument from my kinds. I prefer enlightenment (even if it contradicts something I think is so). Finally, I value the posts that provide running commentary on what is actually being said on the shows. There's no way to watch all of the shows (and in some cases no desire) and these posts make that unnecessary in many cases. I also value funny posts, but I tend to use those mostly as tie breakers.

Once I've weighed the posts that excel, given my prejudices above, I pull those out of the original list and set them aside until I come up with a list of 10 posters that I will then try to rank from 10 to 1. In the meantime, however, I don't want to discard the other posts that I pulled out of the thread as noteworthy. The primary reason, going back to my desire to provide signposts for things we may have missed, is that the ranking process I do only reflects my prejudices and that doesn't in any way lessen the merit of pointing people to the remaining posts. After all, I have been known (see my tag line) to make mistakes.

Therefore, allow me to present to you a list of posters and posts, in alphabetical order by screen name, that I refer to as the honorable mention list. Again, these reflect my own point of view, but I hope it will prove valuable. I know I got a lot out of these posts and from these posters. The top ten will come a little later.

advertising guy

#545; "well my take on this sunday's shows........... Chris Wallace was the best today in that his Clinton follow up was outstanding and GUTSY. ... Russert made me puke as usual ... makes ya wonder what October surprises are a comin' ... <snip>... "

Alas Babylon!

#34; "... I think therein lies the reason, or some of the reason why Clinton flew into such a rage. There are a whole host of questions, that if asked, will pull the rug out from under the horrible house of cards that is the so-called Clinton legacy. Deep in his core, Clinton knows this. Blowing up at Chris Wallace was his attempt to keep the heat off." (Note: in response to Timeout's post #8 about raising the Sandy Berger question with Clinton)
#38; "Anna Greenberg is a walking DNC talking point memo. America is responsible for the problems at the UN. She thinks we want international institutions to run the world because 'this administration' has done such a terrible job. Luntz gets her to correct herself."

Arizona Carolyn

#619; "We may never know for certain, but I've always felt Burglar replaced original documents with forgeries trying to make Clinton look better in the eyes of the 9/11 committee. Wonder what Clinton held over his head to get him to commit a crime that "could" (should) have sent him to prision for a long time?"
#628; "From what I read, most of (Clinton's) time in England (and elsewhere) was all very John Kerry-like in activities trying to undermine the US efforts in Vietnam and then he disappeared for quite a while into the Soviet Union. All this while he was "supposed" to be doing his Rhoades Scholar thing?"
#663; "... For every book Woodward has written since 2001. I saw one interview after the last book where it was said a lot of the people didn't want to talk to Woodward and the President told them to do it. In his interview, this morning on FOX, Card said the President encouraged it, but he probably said too much on the record."
#930; "... it's interesting, Howard Dean must have wasted no time in getting this on the websites and blogs for everyone running against a GOP incumbent in November, I'm seeing virtually the same information all over the web. ... I had to laugh at a snippit on the Huffington Post from Townhall where someone wrote on Townhall that the Democrats are way out on a limb here, because to condem pedophilia they would also have to condem Abortions, Adultry, lesbionism and homosexuality, all things liberals love -- they can't have it both ways."

ATOMIC_PUNK

#427; "Looks like Juan Williams want the terrorist to have equal time too ! ... How do you treat someone who has no qualms about killing innocent people with morals IMHO the moral thing to do to these killers is to kill them."

bvw

#286; "The story Gobie (tells) is at considerable variance from Frank's. Gobie called the Mark Levin radio show this week. Gobie says he was not Franks lover or live-in. Gobie ran a prostitution service out of Frank's apartment, yes. But it was a service providing *female* prostitutes. Why out of Frank's apartment? According to Gobie, at Frank's request. Gobie's close friend runs a male prostitution service which Frank wanted 24/7 access to. That, according to Gobie, was the deal. Frank got his "on-call 24/7" and Gobie got a place to run his business. Franks was completely informed. Franks claimed to the ethics committee and the press that it was "such a surprise" to him. Nun-unh. According to Gobie, all the stories are lies by Franks."
#665; "Big Rules of the Universe: ... Only the respsonsible can be held responsible. ... This rule requires -- like all Big Rules of the Universe -- considerable extended discussion. In instant case -- Darfoor, Sudan and Kofi and Dubya -- it says why folks go after Dubya for real action. Kofi is, well, honestly -- nigh absolutely irresponsible. And Dubya is, well, honestly -- perhaps one of the most responsible of Presidents we have been blessed to have."
#702; "There is a related Law of The Universe, btw... Responsibility is Opt-In."

cardinal4

#17; "Libs and dems are characterizing the Clinton meltdown as a victory, furthering the leftist notion that there is honor in dishonor."
#11; "... Im going to miss Jane-lets -declassify-everything-to find-ways-to-bash-Bush-Harman... "
#39; "... (Clinton's) desperate, embarrasing, lack of control on the Fox interview is indicative of his vanity and self obsession. Clinton, like Biden seeks the spotlight. Normally he is portrayed in a fairly decent light, largely because he appears mostly overseas. When someone finally questions his competence, he lost it. It didnt fit the fawning template."
#77; "If Clinton wasnt blaming the media, he was blaming right wingers. He blamed everyone and everything except what it really was-an uncontrollable narcissim coupled with a competing spouse's obsession with power."
#350; "Just about what I figured from Murtha- moronic cut and run again, and again."

Carolinamom

#261; "With all the talk about the NIE report, I urge all of you to read Byron York's article in this weeks National Review: 'The Chairman Dissents; And the chairman--Pat Roberts of the Senate Intelligence Committee--is right.'" (Note: link to article)
#310; "Woodward and Bernstein are still working in tandem, it seems....Carl Bernstein is working for Vanity Fair...you know, where Tim Russert's wife is an editor. Here's an article Bernstein wrote: Senate Hearings on Bush, Now... The subheadings: In this VF.com exclusive, a Watergate veteran and Vanity Fair Contributor calls for bipartisan hearings investigating the Bush presidency. 'Should Republicans on the Hill take the high road and save themselves come November?'"

Darth Republican

#317; "A lot of people are forgetting that the last time Woodward's name was in the news this much was for lying to his bosses at the Post for his involvement in the Plame affair."
#358; "This is my radical proposal to help (especially the Democrats) resolve tax issues and stop their ridiculous class warfare arguments. ... Every Congressman and Senator shall recieve as compensation the sum of One Million Dollars per year. ... However, that is all they receive. ... All of their expenses, including what the market value rent on their offices in Washington would be, copy paper, pencils, paper clips, everything, shall be paid for out of the million dollars they get. ... If they want a staff of 30, fine, they pay for it themselves. And that includes withholding taxes, social security, pension payments, health insurance, etc. ... Whatever they have left of the million dollars (after taxes, both federal and from the state they live in) they can keep. ... By putting elective officials in the spot of seeing what it really is like trying to run a business, maybe then and only then will they understand that tax policies crippling business should not be made law."
#367; "I'm going to disagree slightly with your view of the ad. ... I believe producing the ad know the futility of having the UN do anything. ... I think it's an appeal to the only person poweful enough and moral enough to do anything about it. ... Could they state in better, yes. ... But the ad is a direct emotional appeal."
#629; "... Remember... it's not a lie, if you believe it."

defconw

#237; "I went to college in Youngstown, at one point the Congressman, two commissioners, a sheriff, a country prosecutor and a couple of judges were all in jail. Some still are. They were all Democrats."
#383; "Yes and regarding Foley, if the leadership knew that Foley had some overly friendly e-mails then, they knew nothing more then that. The now former Congressman must have been naive enough to think that text messages could not be stored. He was smart enough not to e mail the disgusting stuff. ... I will in no way, shape or form defend him. But Hastert, Boehner and DeLay did not apparently know about the IM's. Also if the parents of the boy did not want the issue pushed the right thing to do, for the CHILD (dumb ass Democrats) was to respect the wishes of the parents."

DelphiUser

#655; "... I have been thinking about this since the first on-air melt down. ... There is no down side for the pubs when Bill Clinton is in the news just prior to an election. With Bill in the news sucking up all the bandwidth, Dems who are actually running can't get their names on the news, Pubbies can "Run against Clinton" and get their names up there for free. I have concluded that the more we can get Bill to do right before the election, the better we will do in the election."

Dog

#294; "This on Woodward from Michael Ledeen... There doesn't seem to be much interest in Woodward's book here, and for good reason. Anyone who thinks he knows what other people are thinking, especially in situations he didn't witness—which is after all what most all Woodward books are all about—is not to be taken seriously... Nails him..."

Fishtalk

#240; "Abscam. Courtesy BootMurtha, now would be a good time to check out the site. ... Man I watched the ENTIRE 53 minutes and I was more mesmerized than if it had been a made-for-TV drama. ... Gonna put up a big analysis of this thing. Of course it's overshadowed by the Foley thing but this video exposes Murtha for the ambitious, unethical creep he is... He didn't WANT to have the other congress critters in on the deal. He WANTED it all to himself... Gotta watch if you really want to know all about John Murtha."
#380; ".....MY OPINION!!!!!!! ... Okay, so let me give my opinion. Cause I got one. ... <snip> ... many blind people are born that way and WE DON'T LET THEM DRIVE A CAR. ... <snip> ... " (note: great, if very un-PC rant)
#522; "Bullshit. ... Barney Frank was running a prostitution ring out of his house. If Frank was a Republican you can believe the Dems would have been all over this. ... I understand Frank's lover was an adult and I know he allegedly used his own funds to support the guy. ... It's unsavory, just plain unsavory. That's the sound and sight bites the Dems are going after with Foley. I think the Dem spinners know that the Repubs were trying to deal with Foley in the most appropriate manner possible. They couldn't very well just kick him out because he's a homosexual. Imagine the Dem sound and sight bites if they had done that! ... Sure the Repubs are above the partisan and untruthful spin. ... Which is why they lose so many elections even though the vast majority of this country is of a Repub mindset. ... The DEMS win at the spin."

Freee-dame

#376; "On FNS, Daniel Benjamin did not answer the questions asked him. Once he referred to what the 911 commission said. Next he said that there was "not enough proof." His third comment began, "I was no longer in the White House, but..." and went on to repeat the appropriate propaganda. .... " (note: much more in the post - read the whole thing)
#418; "'Deface the Nation is apparently taking Woodward's book as gospel,' ... Amazing that Woodward's books that were mostly favorable about W's leadership were never given this treatment. /sarc"

GOPcomeback

#368; "I sure hope Brown did as poorly as you say. ... The race is still close enough where the dynamic can change and Dewine can pull it out (as opposed to Montana, where Burns is dead in the water and money should be pulled out and put in MO, OH, NJ, TN, etc). ... This really is the worst crop of GOP Senate candidates/incumbents in a long time."

harwood

#343; "Woodward's book a big hit with al-Queda types"

johnny7

#263; "... Murtha was, as usual, all over the road. Get out... now, tomorrow or next week... but get out was all he offered. Steffie interrupted often with fresh talking-point questions in order to keep him somewhat up-to-date. His visits to Walter Reed... the terrible losses... the same old crap. No mention of how to carry on the fight if we pull out... the man's an old fool."

jwalsh07

#406; "'Because Frank has nothing to do with this situation at al. Are you trying to justify this illegal act with a 10-20 year old totally different one? Wake UP! We Republicans are much bigger than that.' ... Not true. The MSM and left are attacking Republican leadership for their handling of Foley. A comparison of the Republican leaderships reaction to Foley vis a vis Dem leadership reaction to Franks and Studds is directly on point. ... As for Foley, he is a disgusting cretin." (note: in reply to lawdude's post #391)
#412; "Executive Committee (savedarfur.org) ... American Jewish World Service ... American Society for Muslim Advancement ... Amnesty International USA ... Citizens for Global Solutions ... Darfur Peace and Development ... International Crisis Group ... Jewish Council for Public Affairs ... National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ... National Association of Evangelicals ... National Coalition of Churches of Christ in the USA ... Union for Reform Judaism ... United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ... United States Holocaust Memorial Museum"

jveritas

#553; "And so what if Card recommended the removal of Rumsfeld and fortunately the President did not follow his advice. How is going to impact the elections?" (note: wisdom is often contained in the simplest statements)
#641; "... the one whose opinion is the only one that matters in this case, President GW Bush, did not listen to Card advice and kept Rumsfeld. This is called LEADERSHIP. Also you may have noticed that Rumsfeld stayed whereas Card is gone."

kabar

#271; "I also find it interesting that the Administration doesn't mention that our casualties [dead and wounded] have been declining in Iraq over the past three years and that twice as many Iraqi military and police have died than Americans. ... American casualties ... 2004 ... Dead: 848--Wounded: 7997 ... 2005 ... Dead: 846--Wounded: 5946 ... 2006 through September ... Dead: 533--Wounded: 3559 ... Total Iraqi Military/Police deaths: 5466 ... We are winning in Iraq. I don't understand why the WH doesn't do more in making this information public. The Iraqis are fighting and dying for their country and deserve our support. Our declining casualties are a partial reflection of the fact that the Iraqis are shouldering more and more of the load in defending their country." (note: source supplied in post #772, Iraq Coalition Casualties with this comment "This source is not friendly but accurate from what I have been able to assess.")

lawdude

#391; "'So why aren't the Repubs bringing up Barney Frank?' ... Because Frank has nothing to do with this situation at al. Are you trying to justify this illegal act with a 10-20 year old totally different one? Wake UP! We Republicans are much bigger than that."

LibLieSlayer

#262; "woodward has had every administration official call him a liar with his new book. NOT ONE QUOTE WITHIN WAS TRUE. He cannot, and will not confront those that he lied about. He will only appear on safe, friendly and well scripted shows like matthews and blitzed."
#270; "Fox reported that (Abizaid) called (Murtha's account of their meeting in Woodward's book) an outright lie through Penatgon Channels. I am sure he will go public this week." (note: in response to spatso's account of this section of the book in post #33)
#799; "'How could (Woodward) think he'd get away with it.' ... Ten years ago he could have. Rush says this is why they think they are invincible... because for decades they have been... but no more."

longtermmemmory

#335; "Madman Murtha is on C-Span 'Newsmakers' ... The man is certifiable, he really believes he is back in the 60's ... We have to remember Murth is a Pork Barrel prostitute. He does not want the troops home, he wants to get pork barrel projects back because he is finished otherwise."
#363; "The DNC talking points are set. ... Democrats seek to confuse emails with instant messages. ... Democrats, as the party of homosexuals, would have known foleys homosexual activitics far more than republicans. ... Democrats are pushing woodwards book in this scanda too!"
#487; "FNC said Foley is MIA. ... Has not been seen anywhere. ... We should be asking how long had ABC sat on the story and allowed children to be endangered. ... How long did the Democrats, as the party of homosexuals, know of foley's homosexual activities. ... They have far more to loose than this BS crocodile outrage."

maica

#111; "Did Islamists learn from the Left how to fight a media war? (I refuse to call them 'liberal' when they are the opposite of the definition of that word.) ... Leftist tactics mirror Islamist tactics in this way: ... Words or actions that "threaten" the Left are called "hate" speech, and they demand that we stop/retract/apologize/etc. ... Name calling from them has to be acceptable to us as "free" speech. ... They demonize any media outlet that does not 100% carry their message as a "tool" of the right wing, expecting that their bullying accusations will cause more denial and self-censorship from the Right. ... One of the most effective responses to these bullies is laughter - right in their faces.... " (note: excerpt from excellent post, more analysis - read the whole thing)
#224; "FNS round table ... Kristol says that Clinton was trying to intimidate Chris Wallace, and all other journos from asking tough questions. ... Classic Leftist tactic."
#1,005; "StopDarfur has gutted any credibility they may have had with this commercial. ... ##### ... The last line of the commercial - the soft-voiced woman saying "President Bush, please stop the genocide in Darfur" reminds me so much of the girl's voice in the NAACP chain-dragging to death ad of 2000. ... If people's minds only register that one sentence from the ad, they will have the subtle impression that President Bush is commiting genocide in Darfur. ... It is a horrible ad, purposefully made to damage President Bush."

Miss Marple

#690; "... I saw that interview with the former page. You are exactly right about what he said. Foley contacted them AFTER they left the page program, with IM's, and no one in leadership had any way to know about those IM's."

Mo1

#216; "Chris Wallace mentioned that on the why out the interview .. Clinton didn't just throw a hissy fit .. he also threaten to fire someone from his staff"

mystery-ak

#402; "'are not meant in any way to “bash” the President, but rather to urge him to follow through on the good work he and his Administration have already begun. We are both cognizant and appreciative of the fact that the President has done more for the people of Darfur than any other world leader.' ... That is pure BS...that is not the impression the ad leaves you with....it mentions none of this, in fact, you get the impression nothing is being done BECAUSE of Bush!" (note: in reply to dirtboy's post #394)

Nav_Mom

#357; "The C-SPIN line up is as usual.... One sided & 100% Anti Republican. ... Since the 2004 elections C-Spin has not even tried to hide their bias. ... Further more, C-SPIN now screens callers, something they did not do before. I have been asked by a screener what my question was more than 3 times. On 2 occasions after I stated to the screener my question for the Democrat guest I was promptly hung up on. So, I'm guessing even the few GOP callers who get through are cherry picked. Its scary."

OESY

#411; "Kristol: Clinton attempted to intimidate journalists, but he didn't intimidate Wallace. ... That's right. Wallace shot right back with the facts, tearing apart each of Clinton's arguments.... Oh wait, no he didn't. Never mind."

OldFriend

#59; "The dems will not condemn Foley, but go after Hastert and the Repub leadership with questions of what did they know and when did they know it... The guilty party is never responsible for their actions in the dem mindset."
#63; "Clinton, in his parnoia, always insisted that all his troubles were the fault of the media....out to get him... Mental illness is ugly, isn't it?"
#606; "Guess osama obama thinks the terrorists are not to be feared? ... That their terror videos are unimportant. ... That the terror threats are all orchestrated by the administration. ... Anyone who is not afraid is in a state of denial or they are outright lying. Either one is a significant danger to our national security."
#610; "Gorelick has been on TV this past week denying there ever was a wall. ... It's a wonder she hasn't been struck by lightning for that lie. LOL As for Harmon,either she has a raging case of menopause or she has some heck of an FBI file."
#622; "Everyone is slick willie's administration seems willing to lie, cheat and steal for him. ... Remember all the women in the administration going out on the White House grounds and saying they believed him when he said he did not have sex with that woman. ... Not a one ever got an apology. They're expected to do his bidding, or else.....get invited to a picnic at Ft. Marcy Park???????????"
#625; "Dick Morris pointed out that slick willie was threatening the reporters with retaliation about their personal life if they bring up anything about his or hilary's."
#670; "Scheuer has credibility because he has been critical of the Bush administration. ... Going to be very difficult for the dems to go after him. Most likely they'll ignore him."
#671; "You certainly didn't expect the dems to go after the perpetrator, did you? ... It's always someone else's fault. .. In this case, there was no way the dems would go after a gay pervert."
#673; "No need to do any extra promoting of any book critical of this President or this administration. No doubt the nets and cable shows are begging for Woodward to appear."

penelopesire

#26; "I predict that every democrat on every show will bring up Mark Foley and try to imply that there was some 'cover up' at the highest levels of the GOP...(rolling eyes). This is the new 'talking point' of the Dems and the media. I woke up this morning to CNN obfuscating the facts surrounding the scandal and dutifully misleading the American people. Then I switched to Fox and they had the facts all wrong as well. ... Hang on folks...the ride is going to be bumpy and infuriating!"
#188; "Here is an prime example of how they are going to spin this crap all the way up to the WH. Don't read if you have high blood pressure:"
#269; "... I found an interesting link the other day and I think it is entirely possible that blogactive.com (venemous gay site)helped to set up Foley because they knew he would fall for it. The gay lobby has had it in for him for quite sometime(not because they were worried about children...they were mad he would not come out of the closet)(rolling eyes) ... I found a link dating back to March 2005 where they were asking for money to help destroy Foley, then an update where the site owner admits having a hand in the lastest scandal. ... I think when all of this comes out (if it ever does) there are going to be some dem operatives and media folks with dirty hands. Of course none so dirty as Foley mind you. The whole thing makes my skin crawl."
#442; "'Democrats are using this as a BS excuse because they are trying to confuse emails, text messages, and instant messages. Then they are going to say because of the confusion an investigation is needed.' ... Bingo! They are also imp-lying all over the place that it was all with this one page(instead of the reported others who came out later with the nasty stuff) that the email was sent to all in an effort to obfuscate and muddy the waters so they can implicate the whole GOP!!"
#451; "... 'Loraditch said his friends all thought the messages were disturbing, but they did not report them, either because they did not think the messages posed a serious threat or because they might have worried about career consequences.' ... So tell us again how the GOP leadership should have known about the sexual IM's scumbag Foley was sending?"
#951; "'If Foley was a target, he certainly cooperated.' ... Did he? Are we sure? ... No..we are not. ABC has not released any proof that the nasty, sexual IM's are from who they say they are! Why are we believing the MSM all of a sudden? That's what I want to know. ... "
#957; "... Not sure there has ever been a planned GOP 'October Surprise'. Think about it for a minute.............(I am giving you a minute...........lol) ... Most of our OCTOBER SURPRISES have really come at the hands of the DIMWITS 'September Follies'!!"

Recovering Ex-hippie

#118; "... Poor Timmy is being patronized by Musharef. ... Is Timmy having a speech problem? Its like he sputters. I never noticed that before. This guy has an enormous ego that he just can't see how dumb he is."
#435; "Here comes Murtha!!! ... Fighting terrorism with diplomacy? HUH?"

Right_in_Virginia

#113; "Gingrich is cutting through the spin regarding the emails. ... Harmon thinks the democrat leadership should have been told. ... Yuk! This election cycle is getting worse by the minute."

roses of sharon

#549; "Card, like most Republicans/Conservatives office holders still believe they need to prostrate themselves before the MSM and Hollywood, like going on Russert, Imus, Leno, etc. ... Even the few Conservative mags we have give unwarranted deference to the MSM. ... I have been begging for a war against them all for 10 years. ... Call them out, each reporter, each org, for the political hacks they are, the personal contacts they have with Dem office holders, smear them as the faux reporters they are, for hiding their true partisanship, stop appearing on their DNC morning shows, etc. ... And now we have even more ammunition, with their printing of State secrets, contact with anti-American moles within the CIA and the intel committees on Capital Hill. ... When will this war begin? ... Why do we take it? ... WHO ELECTED BOB WOODWARD?"

sageb1

#424; "That's a real good question. I've seen those commercials. "Mr. President, stop the genocide." The fact that they use that together with a photo of Bush, instead of saying, "Mr. Secretary-General" with a pic of Kofi is telling. ... It's disingenuous and it's just wrong!"
#544; "The DEMS win at the spin because they cannot win with the truth. They hiss and slither around in the slime they have created."
#614;"Gingrich is the one who's been pushing that Clinton planned it, but even Newt has backed off a little and agreed that Clinton lost it. ... Clinton planned the attack carefully, but when push came to shove, his ego lost the battle with his id."

Sal

#122; "... our guys have to grow a pair and do some VERY heavy slap downs... The DIFFERENCE between Republicans and Rats is that when one of ours does wrong, we throw them out. All of the Rat evil doers are still in Congress with precious little pressure on them to clean up, let alone get out. ... I'd make it personal. Nancy, Harry or whoever, clean up your own filthy, corrupt rats' nest and then come back and question me!"
#856; "... I have a theory. Most of US think that these gibbering savages from the 7th century could be wiped up fast if all Americans were pro-America. ... Most of the left thinks that they can USE the 7th century savages to undermine US and then overturn the savages if and when the left thinks it has achieved enough of its own goals--IOW socialism/communism. ... "

shrinkermd

#902; "... I was pleasantly surprised to see the President use "cut and run" in one of his speeches. It is clear that is what they want to do and the term "cut and run" is devastating for them since it implies cowardice as well as impulsivity. ... That said the President can only say this infrequently but it does give everyone else carte blanche to use it as well. ... What is more troubling and potentially more devastating to the RATS is as you implied--they want President Bush to sustain a defeat in Iraq. Above all else their hatred for him has overwhelmed all other considerations including America's best interests. ... <snip> ... If the public really recognized how the "Bush hatred" is leading to almost treasonous behavior, they would respond for the most part as patriots. Wanting "America" (people not a government) defeated is sick, sick and wrong. ... "

snugs

#552; "If this is true then I am sure that Andy Card is very uncomfortable and feels very guilty about it as it is a well known fact he and his wife are very close to the President. Note I use the word if. ... There have been many times since he left office that he has been seen in the company of the President and comments about how they can now be personnel friends again without obvious hindrance (paraphrased but I think you get the drift). ... Unfortunately one cannot let slip any personal preferences you may have to any journalist whatever their past record has been. At the end of the day they will not pass up on a good story. ... However I will say again IMHO if it happened it was not deliberate or in any way aimed at hurting the President or the administration."
#575; "Absolutely many times Dick Cheney has said he has advised or suggested discussed things with the President some have been acted on, some have not. He further says at the end of the day it is the President's call. ... The main difference here maybe is that Cheney never says what and who he has discussed maybe Andy Card did and that IMHO would be the reason why people are saying he looks uncomfortable because what he said thinking would not be presented in an anti way has been. ... Some maybe true what he said other things may have been twisted but whatever he probably feels sick to his stomach he said anything."
#672; "Absolutely the culture of the left blame someone else."
#694; "The White House statements"
#788; "Unfortunately the media is more interested in gossip than real news. ... Sad state of affairs when that sells more newspapers or gets more viewers than real news. ... It is exactly the same in Britain, real news is no longer considered 'popular'."

soccermom

#1,003; "'PS: I still wish someone would introduce the Sandy Berger question into Clinton's revisionism. It's long past time to demand more answers on that slimy affair.' EXACTLY! It is as if every news commentator in the world has completely forgotten about him. I couldn't believe he, of all people, was complaining about the Path to 9/11. For the record, I'm not one to scapegoat Clinton for missed opportunities, because hindsight is 20/20. But Berger's actions surely illustrate consciousness of guilt. If they are so proud of their record, why did Berger need to steal and destroy documents?"

spatso

#33; "Murtha is on ABC and you know he is going to be pushing the Woodward book. In particular the reference to him as reported in WaPo this morning, ... 'Now, sitting at the round dark-wood table in the congressman's office, Abizaid, the one uniformed military commander who had been intimately involved in Iraq from the beginning and who was still at it, indicated he wanted to speak frankly. According to Murtha, Abizaid raised his hand for emphasis, held his thumb and forefinger a quarter of an inch from each other and said, 'We're that far apart.'' ... Important to see how vigorously Abizaid will dispute the interpretation."

STARWISE

#679; "I didn't see the full interview, but Card has always impressed me as dutiful, but a bit of a bumbler and naive. He NEVER should have submitted to an interview with Woodward, and not avoiding it .. NEVER should have given him ONE inside tidbit about Rumsfeld or anyone else. ... It was just plain stupid in this vitriolic cutthroat environment, and there's no doubt it hurts W and our election chances. I could just strangle him because he's inadvertenly and stupidly contributed to the momentum of the current piling on. ... <snip> ... And with Woodward .. it's still about the same thing: $$$ and regaining the prestige and image he lost among his DC colleagues for leaving the reservation with the first two. ... I bet Woodward didn't get Cheney to comment. And I will look anew at the snippets I hear from the book (I'm not buying it) and note THE FOLKS WHO WOODWARD DIDN'T BAMBOOZLE." (note: more on the post - well worth reading)

StoneWall Brigade

#459; "I've been doing a lot of reading on this thread on how Newt's not a team player Newt is only out for Newt but if Rudy is such a team player why didn't he face off with Clinton in New York?"

submarinerswife

#12; "... And if you want to see Clinton vapor lock, play the audio of Clinton justifying his reasons for not taking custody of Bin Laden when the Sudenese offered him to the US."

tcrlaf

#546; "'The Dems are wanting to make this inclusive of all Republicans for political reasons.' ... If you believe otherwise, just take a gander at Lib propaganda from just a SINGLE Yahoo Finance Board: ... (These are just the posting HEADLINES!!!) ... I FEEL BAD FOR THE GOP ... <snip> ... This particular board is infested with Chomskiites spewing the MoveOn/TruthOut Daily Talking points memo THOUSANDS of times daily, but this is representative of postings ALL OVER the internet, all weekend... Libs are shouting with GLEE over this...... " (note: many, many more postings from this board)
#558; "The FACT is that Lies run fast, and THE TRUTH rarely catches up in today's news cycle... If you noted the lib postings I put up, it's all drive-by sloganeering headlines, with NOTHING of substance offered to back them up.... They don't NEED to back up thier accusations, and they know it.... I think this hit about 3 weeks EARLIER than Dems wanted it to, and they will try to get as much mileage out of it as possible. ... It's FAR easier to attack, attack, attack, than it is to actually OFFER something to the people. ... Dems have NO PLANS, NO alternative thinking, just hatred, personal attacks, and lies.... If they win over BS like this, I REALLY fear for what will happen to this country, and it will happen FAST...."
#584; "'It is probably hopeless though.......(getting discouraged)' ... And that is EXACTLY why the parade of hatred and lies has continued 24/7 for YEARS now... They KNOW that it eventually has an effect on Sheeple. They change the channel when the FACTS come on, just because they are so tired of hearing about it... Each lie, each hate-filled diatribe has a cumulative effect. And it's why we MUST show up in droves, and VOTE, even if we have to hold our nose at who we must vote FOR.... The Alternative is no longer just a poor choice, but could be DEADLY to you and your family now....It is probably hopeless though.......(getting discouraged) ... And that is EXACTLY why the parade of hatred and lies has continued 24/7 for YEARS now... They KNOW that it eventually has an effect on Sheeple. They change the channel when the FACTS come on, just because they are so tired of hearing about it... Each lie, each hate-filled diatribe has a cumulative effect. And it's why we MUST show up in droves, and VOTE, even if we have to hold our nose at who we must vote FOR.... The Alternative is no longer just a poor choice, but could be DEADLY to you and your family now...."

texicali

#490; "Card is in a position to know about Woodward's book....he was there and has seldom done interviews...the fact he's doing this one shows that much of what is said in the book is from former staffers with a grudge...he's not spinning imho he's telling his perspective on the book, the WOT and the administration..I for one applaud his efforts"
#508; "to me (Card) looked like he was barely controlling his anger...remember the first 2 books by Woodward about this President and his administration were very positive...in that vein those who agreed to talk to Woodward thought rightly or wrongly that this book would be positive as well...Card's anger at Woodward was right below the surface...I would wager a guess that others who spoke to him feel the same way...whether they will come out and speak remains to be seen but they should be asked"
#561; "... (Andy Card's) job as COS is to present all options to the President good or bad...Card is still smarting from the perception by many that the President was in a bubble and following that theory then Card wasn't presenting all options to the President..whatever he said to Woodward might have been an attempt to show he was doing that part of his job....just my thoughts"

Timeout

#8; "... I still wish someone would introduce the Sandy Berger question into Clinton's revisionism. It's long past time to demand more answers on that slimy affair."

tobyhill

#793; "From all the Sunday talk shows it confirms the Democrats have bet their very existence all on the failure of Iraq and will do their best to assure this failure but it won't work regardless the amount of help from the MSM. Just because Woodward says it doesn't make it so."

TomGuy

#362; "FNS Reality Check segment in response to Clinton allegations the previous week. ... FNS-Clinton-Reality-Check-100106, part 1 ... FNS-Clinton-Reality-Check-100106, part 2"
#364; "... I noticed (the Darfur commercial). I thought it rather strange. Why are they not appealing to the UN? Why are they imploring Bush to do something? ... The ad does reveal one specific problem: The UN is a useless body of corruption and graft -- and the America and Japan pay for over 40% of the costs of the UN."
#548; "'The Dems are wanting to make this inclusive of all Republicans for political reasons.' ... Well of course they are! ... I had a mental visual a few moments ago while reading another post: ... The Dems have been out of power for a long while in the Congress. ... The Dems are hungry to regain their majority -- power. ... The Dems are like a school of vicious, hungry sharks, circling, waiting, nipping at every ripple in the water. ... Now, what is the worst thing the opposition could do in regard to that school of vicious, hungry sharks? ... Answer: throw them some meat. ... The GOP did just that. They have given the vicious, hungry Dems meat to chew on. ... All they can do now is stand back and hope they don't get caught up the feeding frenzy. It will go on for a while. It isn't any where near over."
#646; "The details are still being sorted, but a lady reporter on FoxNews said this: ... Email and IM exchanges between Foley and pages were after the pages left DC. ... Emails were exchanged between Foley and some pages. House GOP leadership were aware. Emails were deemed friendly but not overly sexual in nature. ... IMs were exchanged between Foley and some pages. House GOP leadership were NOT aware of the IMs. IMs have since been deemed overly friendly and sexual in nature. ... Florida officials are reviewing whether any formal charges may be made against Foley. ... [This may all hinge on the age of consent laws in the states where the pages 'received' the IMs. That is 16 in DC & Florida - but Florida has an age-differential consideration, 17 in Louisiana. It varies.]"

Twinkie

#35; "'SLIMY AFFAIR' . . . That is a perfect description of the "Sandy Berger Affair", and the biggest question that has never been seriously asked by anyone in a position to do anything about it is WHY did he do it? So many of the corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle are too absorbed in trying to cover each others' personal political tails to care much about the truth. Democrat Presidents become their sacred cows, and Clinton is no exception. They are determined that the Republicans will not be allowed to make Clinton what the Democrats made Nixon in history. (In truth, Nixon was a choir boy compared to Clinton.) Of course, with Republicans that's easy. Sparing each other "embarrassment" is the hallmark of the Republican gentlemen in the Senate particularly. Does anyone seriously think for a second that the Democrats would not have rode a Republican President out on a rail and tarred and feathered him for much less? Ironically, a young Hillary Clinton was the biggest (though less powerful at that time) rabble rouser of the entire bunch against Nixon. ... No wonder terrorist leaders look at us and laugh, thinking we are all like the corrupt leaders of this country."
#660; "It had to take some courage for Scheurer to sit there and call liars, well . . liars. It seemed to me that he came across as having nothing to gain by crossing Clinton and his cronies and their version of the history of his 'legacy'."

Txsleuth

#642; "Here is a thread with an article by Clarice Feldman of The American Thinker. ... It is VERY good about the whole Foley thing...great timeline..and indications of the "plan" by someone to get this out NOW!!!"

Top 10 for 10/1/06

Tenth Place AliVeritas

#108; "... The laughing 9/11 bombers ... Let's see, date on video January 2000... Bush's fault. ... Hmmm, page BJ ... US intelligence knew Bin Laden, already a wanted terrorist, used Tarnak as his base, and in spring 1998 the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center began working on a plan to capture him at the compound, partly with the help of Afghan tribal fighters. ... Hmmm: ... " (Note: much more, facts and links, really good stuff, read it all)
#214; "Here's the full video re: Abscam. Courtesy BootMurtha, now would be a good time to check out the site."
#499; "You're right... they always claim WWII was different. ... Right, and this is worse. ... At least they were from countries and wore uniforms, I doubt they were hiding behind locals and storing weapons in schools, hospitals and children's homes... even blowing up their own kids or someone elses. Orca the Olds Surfer and Clueless Graham... as well as the Manchurian Candidate still seem to believe that if we follow the Geneva Convention the terrorists will only cut half of a head instead of the whole. Idiots. ... <snip> ... Ahhh. Back to Juan. ... That jerk and the rest of the self-hating, self-loathing, no morals dems and libs (except of course if it's terrorists, never mind the mass graves of the Kurds and the rape/torture rooms), need to wake up or move their asses to the Middle East. They have the luxury of running their mouths when sons and daughters, fathers and mothers are giving their limbs and lives for their worthless behinds... they're busy bickering over hair gel, Tom's baby and profiling. ... <snip> ... I feel sorry for the next lib that makes the unfortunate mistake (like the truthers found out at WTC site this past 9-11), of coming into my face with the bull, they will find out what their mamas look like and will need counseling for a while after." (note: absolutely spectacular rant - read the whole thing, please)
#647; "Question. If Foley contacted the pages after they left (because rules are set up where it's not possible while they're pages), doesn't that mean the system works? ... So the investigation is re: Foley's disgusting conduct... not messing with pages while they worked there? ... BTW, anyone else see the email or IM of the kid requesting a reference? Or the return emails from the kid to Foley?"
#701; "Don't know if you saw No Excuse for Terror yet. ... (By a lib, prayer works) ...Here's the Muslim Brotherhood/History Channed link as well: ... (scroll down) ... Somebody wanted this... forgot who: ... The Bin Laden’s-Still-Alive Blame Game"
#705; "Dumb question. ... Did anyone ever ask Gorelick about the conflict of interest re: Ben Veniste and herself on the 9-11 commission?"

Ninth Place dirtboy

#282; "Did anyone notice that Darfur commercial that ran twice on Fox News Sunday? At the end, the commercial implored viewers to contact Bush to stop the genocide now. ... That is truly despicable - Bush is not the one blocking action in Darfur, the UN is. ... Methinks I might see if I can run down who is behind Stopdarfur.org or whatever the group was."
#318; "... in the last exchange of the first panel segment on FNS... Juan launched into the typical liberal diatribe against tough interrogations against terrorists, and even raised the equal protection argument in the 14th. Brit, somewhat incredulously, asked if Americans and enemy combatants should get equal protection. When Juan implied yes, Brit asked if our detention of hundreds of thousands of German POWS in WWII was immoral. Juan said that was a different kind of conflict... And that is the chasm that separates the two parties in a nutshell. The left simply does not see this as a war for survival of the West, and IMO often sees this as a conflict that is punishing the west for perceived sins of opression of the poor huddled masses."
#323; "Bush HAS tried to take concrete action in Darfur. And has gotten stymied by the UN at every attempt... If Bush were to bypass the UN and act unilaterally (I bet a few Apaches and Warthogs over the skies of Darfur would end most of the genocide overnight), the same liberal critics would be shrieking that Bush did not get UN approval for the action."
#348; "Check out this press release from StopDarfur.org, dated September 19th: ... Calls for Immediate Action to Turn Words into Reality ... Washington, DC – The Save Darfur Coalition today applauded President Bush’s commitment to get UN peacekeepers into Darfur and his appointment of Andrew Natsios to be his Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan during his address to the United Nations. ... So, riddle me this, Batman - if Bush is taking concrete action to stop the genocide already, why is StopDarfur.Org running television commercials implying that he is not? The only thing stopping deployment of a 22,500 man UN force is the Sudanese government. WHY IS THAT BUSH'S FAULT? ... StopDarfur has gutted any credibility they may have had with this commercial."
#394; "My gawd, check out this from savedarfur.org's FAQ: ... Why is the Coalition calling upon President Bush to help make sure UN peacekeepers are sent immediately to Darfur? Shouldn’t that be the UN’s responsibility? ... The recent television ads sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition asking President Bush to take the lead in pushing for the deployment of a UN force in Darfur are not meant in any way to “bash” the President, but rather to urge him to follow through on the good work he and his Administration have already begun. We are both cognizant and appreciative of the fact that the President has done more for the people of Darfur than any other world leader. ... I would have never known that from your commercial ... <snip>... " (note: much more - great find on the Darfur ad with really good (but perhaps overly cynical) commentary)
#532; "SaveDarfur thread is up: ... SaveDarfur.Org Ad Campaign Misleads About the Bush Admin's Role in Darfur"
#557; "... The funny thing is, SaveDarfur's website had all the ammnition against them that I needed. I thought I would have to spend three or four hours doing research here, but they did it all for me. ... It would be like the CBS website having the PDFs of the TANG memos along with additional historical timelines and typographic analysis showing the memos to be bogus. Liberals usually make you work a bit harder to shoot down their nonsense."
#667; "'Only the responsible can be held responsible.' ... And we cannot forget its logical corrollary, epitomized by Slick and Kofi: ... You cannot shame the shameless." (note: in reply to bvw's post #665)

Eighth Place YaYa123

#389; "Why does FOX's Chris Wallace have Newt Gingrich on to balance out Nancy Harman? She's a powerful current congress member, Newt does not have the latest information, no matter how hard he spins. But mostly, he can't get a word in edgewise. I don't even know who Nancy Harman's Republican opposite in the House is, but that's who should have been there. Elected republicans in both Huses are invisible,....nothing new, but more maddening than ever. ... It's a "Smoking gun", Harman says, to find out 'Condi Rice did nothing'. about Tenet's July warning before 9-11. she also says she didn't know about the Tenet hair on fire warning to Bush about Al Queda. Funny thing is, Wallace didn't mention Tenets' Hair on Fire" warning. Harman was lying to say she didn't know that finally, in July and August the CIA was picking up info about a possible attack. ... I can't believe "the Wall" is mentioned, but Jamie Gorlick is not. ... (I should give kudos to Wallace for having on Michael Schuer. (sp) I've only seen him once before Early Morning CBS with Harry Smith. The MSM has largely ignored him..ain't it great to find out why? )"
#422; "Bill Krystal is right about Bill Clinton's history of trying to intimidate reporters. It's what he does, and his finger is his weapon of choice. ... A Waaa, a waaaaa, Juan is a whiner. "What about Rush Limbaugh writing a letter in the Wall Street Journal?", he asked. Letters to Editors, oh sooooooo unfair to Clinton!! Juan was struggling to make the point Clinton is criticized more than Bush. (I think Brit thinks Juan is an idiot. Brit's exasperation with Juan was on full display today.)"
#450; "Joe Scarborough joined the other Woodward book blatherers on MSNBC this morning. Nobody has read the book, but oh the experts are out there inforce. Brit the only one to admit he hasn't read the book. ... Is Woodward the only one who gets the God treatment? His book will constitute the news for weeks. Forget about current events, Woodward IS the news! ... A former page on FOX News earlier this morning said something I haven't heard elsewhere, that Foley didn't approach pages until after they left. The former page explained, these things kept Foley from getting in trouble with congress. He said Foley was overly friendly to some male pages, instigated friendships while they were pages, but didn't cross any line while they were in Washington. I hope others saw this interview. The former page was fat, unattractive, and very talkative. An unusual interview all round."
#559; "On MSNBC, Andrew Card says The White House encouraged him to speak to Bob Woodward, he met with him about six times. 'The First Lady was never a part of any conversation to replace cabinet officers. There was never a campaign to replace Rumsfeld, by me or The First Lady.', said Card. ... The anchorette keeps saying "leaks to Woodward from inside The White House, but Card has made clear he, and others were openly interviewed by Woodward, at the president's pleasure. That ain't 'leaking'. ... I'm glad Andrew Card reminds viewers the president NEVER said the war would be quick and easy. He never painted a rosy picture, or was in denial about it, which is the premise of Woodward's book. ... Andrew Card was strong and firm, never played word games, and gives a brilliant retort to Woodward's allegation tht Bush was in denial about the war. Card calls it 'resolve', not denial. Bravo, Andrew Card!"
#621; "High noon on CNN has Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash going on and on about "the Foley fall-out". mostly how republican leaders kept it secret since 2005, finally making it clear all the republican leaders knew about were the over-friendly emails, NOT the sexually explicit IMs. But Blitz still reads a sexually explicit IM as if Republicans knew about it long ago. Dana Bash does repeat, 'that's what republican leaders didn't know about' ... Blitzer can't seem to understand the difference betwween emails and IMs, or the timing of what republican leaders knew. "can't seem to understand", or is just too anxious to accuse rep leaders of 'turning a blind eye'".
#651; "Dan Bartlett, Andrew Card, and even Brit Hume are really soft on criticizing Bob Woodward. Oh they say Woodward is wrong, they criticize his conclusions, and has taken things out of context, but ever so gently. and only after they compliment him. ... Good for Dan Bartlett! He tells Blitzer you can take the same speeches and documentation Woodward used prove Bush is in denial, and prove the opposite in the president's own words. ... Evidently, according to MSNBC, The White house has put out a 5 points statement on where Woodward is wrong. I haven't seen the statement. ... "

Seventh Place onyx

#15; "... As for the shows... Murtha but NOT Diana Irey. That sucks."
#186; "Fatso has lost control of the debate! LOL"
#198; "Brown --- 'civil war has broken out now -- failed state.'"
#229; "Biden wants to divide Iraq into three sections: Shite, Sunni and Kurds."
#249; "They don't care. It's anti-Bush and that's all. They couldn't care less about the war in Iraq. If POTUS wanted to call the troops home, they'd be for staying!"
#272; "Woodward on MTP next week. ... Such a surprise. /s"
#275; "... I have concluded we have two political parties: ... The American Party and the anti-American Party." (note: nominated as "best line of the day" by penelopesire in post #278)
#355; "Dear God. Worse than hypocrisy. They are flat out LYING. ... Maybe that needs a thread of its own?" (note: response to dirtboy's post #348)
#405; "But of course. Biden is running for the Anti-American's presidential nomination. He's all teeth, plugs and bravado. ... I can hardly wait for him to bleed in the primaries...lol."

Sixth Place Bahbah

#14; "... I've already heard callers who believe the President controls gas prices and wants to take over Cuba. Very few sane people call C-Span any longer."
#31; "Surprisingly, neither pollster (Luntz (R) and Greenberg (D) on CSPAN) is aware of the ABSCAM tapes of Murtha which I watched yesterday and which show Murtha to be, among other things, an arrogant, disgusting and greedy human being."
#175; "Arrggh. Brown says we would have overthrown Saddam with sanctions. Sherrod, they were going to lift those sanctions."
#205; "DeWine: he has no confidence in Rumsfeld and doesn't think he's done a good job. Thereby bolstering Timmy's point that the President is arrogant and incompetent... "
#238; "... They need to ask this every single time it is brought up. What income and family size to YOU consider middle class."
#400; "'But Hastert, Boehner and DeLay did not apparently know about the IM's' ... And therein lies the key." (note: in response to defconw's post #383)
#423; "Brit asks Juan if we were an immoral nation when we held thousands of prisoners during WWII. Juan nonsensically replies that that was a different situation (so I guess it was okay with him) but we are fighting terrorists now (following on his thought process, if that's what it is, when fighting terrorists, we need to give them equal rights under the law). There you have leftists in a nutshell. They make no sense whatever."
#609; "... Card's job was to watch out for the President's interests. He couldn't help but notice that they were using Rummy to beat up on the Prez and I'm sure that troubled him. He may well have counseled a change for reasons other than the way he was fighting the war. I don't see anything wrong with that."
#674; "Brian Wilson is talking to Hamid Mir in Islamabad and he is saying that the release of this tape with Atta et al. on it is a sign that another attack is pending. That's kinda scary :("
#695; "... LOL. There was a dem operative on Fox earlier saying how terrible that our society has created an atmosphere in which activities like Foley's can go on. I really did LOL because it is the PC coddling of the gays so loved by the left that we find people reluctant to deal forthrightly with issues like this. Oh, and btw, I know that these young operatives have been counseled to wear nice jackets and a smile during these appearances but, if you are reading this, young operatives, there are times when you are discussing certain subjects that a more sober expression would be better than a vapid smile. Homosexual pedophelia being practiced by a congressman would be one of those time."

Fifth Place Morgan in Denver

#385; "Democrat Illinois Sen. Barack Obama says 'We can't afford to be bullied because there's too much at stake," Obama said. "The only strategy the other site has is fear. That's what you're seeing and you're going to see more of it.' ... Obama isn’t the only one making this claim. California Democrat Nancy Pelosi and New York Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton are saying the same thing. ... Is this hype or true? ... <snip> The problem in the United States today is that Democrats cannot accept victory in Iraq nor the USA winning the world war over radical Islamic terrorists. The Democrat party is moving further left with their more radical elements as they continue supporting bad policy and bad politics to the detriment of our country.. The War On Terror, and all the issues they thought they had to regain political power, keep backfiring on them and they are on the brink of being irrelevant. If they do not win either the US House or Senate next month, their hopes for a more socialistic America will be delayed for years. This is their worst fear, not terrorism." (note: brilliant essay)
#420; "Great post!!! ... Best is 'But many blind people are born that way and WE DON'T LET THEM DRIVE A CAR.' ... I almost fell out of my chair laughing. ... Homosexuality is not normal. Some may not like that comment but they need to deal with it. Secondly, homosexuals do, indeed, recruit converts. That needs to be understood and stopped. Hereditary or learned, it is still behavior. As behavior society has a responsibility to limit it as much as possible." (note: in reply to Fishtalk's post #380)
#569; "... Card's job was to protect the President and IF he thought it would have helped Bush to get rid of Rumsfeld, he was right to say something. And IF President Bush disagreed, he make the right decision to keep Rummy in place. Personally, I don't have a problem with any of this and keeping Secretary Rumsfeld in place has proved to be a good decision and he's done an outstanding job, IMHO. ... I would also add I've had spirited debates and disagreements with every relative and friend at one time or another. So what?"
#617;"Obama is too typical of the left. From an earlier thread, there's this article. ... It's really good for us to keep in mind as we consider what's going on with Islam. Either we realize what's at stake or we are in for even more problems in the future. The Democrats reactions are not helpful."
#626; "I agree. I still believe Clinton was prepared to recreate a Sister Souljah moment if he could, but then his ego and paranoia took over and he over reacted."
#659; "The best comment I heard on this was from Rush. If Clinton had to show Democrats how to get a spine, then it proves they have not had one until now. (Something along this line.) ... No, Democrats don't care what they have to do or say as long as they can get the power."

Fourth Place samantha

#750; "... The Rats better be careful of what they wish for. It is not a secret to Mark Foley's constituents his sexual preference, and we accepted him at face value, trusting that he was not a pedophile. He was a good congressman who represented both Metropolitan and Rural areas of several Counties. He was very excellent at campaigning, animated, funny, perceptive, enthusiastic and has a great Family and great campaign staff. I believed that he truly cared about his district. and the Republican Party, past tense. He betrayed those of us that live in the 16th CD in Florida, and himself, and his Family. Many, many Democrats, Republicans knew his proclivities, but not his sickness. I am sure that there are more Predator Congressman, and I am sure that most of them are Rats. They do not want to open up this can of worms, there are too many more Rats that will get nailed especially if Mark Foley has inside info about Predator Rats. There could be many revelations coming up that Rats will wish had stayed secret. We have already moved on, and are ready to Elect Joe Negron to replace Mark. I pray for Mark's soul and the healing of his Family. Friday was a bad day for most of us here in the District, it was a punch in the solar plexus, and felt as bad as losing a cherished friend. We are ready now to fight the good fight to keep the seat." (note: reply to A.Hun's post #554)
#764; "... it seems to me that Bob Woodward is in the wrong business, he needs to be on the Psychic Friends network. He talks to comatose people, he seems to be a fly on the wall and reports conversation between two People that they say never happened. He may take mind altering drugs that make him come up with this stuff. He does kind of talk like he is always a few sentences behind the rest of the conversation. If I talked like that they would rush me in for an MRI of my brain. He has one claim to fame,and he has been living off it for 32 years,sort of like Mario Cuomo's Democrat Convention Speech,he is all hat and no cattle,and has a vivid imagination,delusions of Grandeur." (note: in reply to YaYa123's post #559)
#776; "... there probably is not a White House Administration in History that personnel do not disagree on many items, they have just not been publicized by the DBM. Part of the problem here is that formerly potentially great leaders like Colin Powell are out for themselves and their own huge Egos. I think the old expression "don't go away mad, just go away" is appropriate with the Richard Clarke and Colin Powell types that open their mouths and look like crybabies not hero's. I believe that Colin Powell spilled his self righteous guts to Woodward because he would have had his butt handled to him if he wrote the book he wanted to write where he would portray himself as 100 percent right about everything including a 6 months weather forecast. I take Colin Powell and Woodward's comments with a grain of salt." (note: in reply to Morgan in Denver's post #569)
#857; "... is being kept on the ballot,but any vote for Foley will be an automatic vote for whomever the Republican Party Chairmen in each of the counties in the 16th CD select as replacement. My county chairman,and others are picking Joe Negron who is a Republican State Rep who is term limited. He was running for Attorney General until he did the right thing and bowed out so there would be no Primary for Bill Mccollum. He is a Lawyer,Loyal Republican,Conservative,family Man,and has worked in the Office of the former Congressman from 16th District. The democrat opponent looks like Jane Fonda's ex Tom Hayden,and he is a sleazy investment Counselor in Palm Beach County." (note: in reply to AliVeritas' post #767)
#878; "... Clinton had mostly yes men and yes women around him,Hillary saw to that. She fired all the U.S. Attorneys,she fired lifetime White House employees of all party affiliations. She fired the White House Travel Office employees,she even fired the Elderly Women that answer mail in the white House basement that had worked there for decades through half a dozen Presidents. Clinton had his henchmen and his evil temper,plus Hillary's evil temper to keep their mouths shut. Both Bush 41 and 43 are really kind and decent and respect their employees no matter what their party affiliation." (note: in reply to Morgan in Denver's post #783)
#897; "It may be hell week,but what the Rats do not get is that the People are tired of all the complaining,name calling,finger pointing and screeching. To most people now it is noise that they prefer to turn off. Political Junkies like Freepers are exceptions,but most people are up to their eyeballs in this nastiness for Nastiness sake. They are not paying attention,and they know the democrats are worthless for our Protection because they are in reality perceived as not being tough on Terrorists,but tough on Our Military,and Our first lines of defense."
#909; "... I remember very clearly, and it made activists out of Millions of People like me. We decided that we wanted to really get involved and make sure that this kind of Pond Scum never ever lives in our White House again. It changed me from a Dem to a Pubbie, and I never looked back. It amazes me sometimes when I go to any Fundraiser or get together of the Pubbies and I poll around the Table of 8 People how many were Lifelong Pubbies and only about 1/3 usually raise their hands. We are going to have an event in October and I am going to ask the entire room this time, and I know I won't be shocked at how few in the room are Lifelong Republicans." (note: in reply to Morgan in Denver's post #882)
#917; "... The Pubbies have yet to run their ads and they will be great. The BDS is so prevalent that the usually smart Strategists for the Rat Party are sounding like KOS, Moveon, or DU,drinking that koolaid by the gallons. BOR tried to tell CarVILE and Forehead the other night,but he is right they are Stupid."
#919; "Hell no, (Clinton) is out for himself, and Hitlery is out for herself, they make a good heinous pair, just not good for anyone else,e specially our Country and their poor, unfortunate employees."
#922; "Pelosi is not very bright, and living in San Francisco Area, you would think that she would know better. People are not what they seem, and some of the activist Gays are always trying to make their sick Pedophilia legitimate. She does not have a leg to stand on,there was nothing more that Hastert could have done under those circumstances without violating rights, and they made the human mistake of thinking that he would not go around them to continue this behavior, which at the time was innocuous. You cannot condemn someone for asking a Teenager for their Picture or when their Birthday is, they need to get real. If someone had told them about the IM, and they did nothing they could be faulted for that, but that was not the case."

Third Place A.Hun

Truly spectacular showing this week, providing both pith commentary on other posts and very insightful original posts on numerous topics. Analysis, links, references and original reporting. Impressive performance on all levels.

#91; "... Since it is evident the Dems are going to flog the Republican leadership over this, here is some background on House Ethics that might be useful. ... House Ethics Committee ... This is a list of all members that have been before the Ethics Committee since it was established.... " (Note: extensive list, but actually surprisingly brief when you think about it - great catch)
#193; "Timmuh is having a hard time making Sherrod look good! Awwwww...."
#215; "I love the fact that when we had a provisional government in Iraq, all the Dems were telling the administration that they couldn't tell the Iraqis what to do. ... Now that Iraq has an elected government, the Dems want to dictate to them what they can and cannot do."
#225; "I think everyone will find that it is nearly impossible to do anything to a congressman without clear evidence of wrongdoing. ... In this case especially because of the power of the Gay lobby in DC and the ACLU."
#242; "'Biden wants to divide Iraq into three sections: Shite, Sunni and Kurds.' ... If we leave prematurely, that is exactly what will happen. That would spell the death of hundreds of thousands of Sunnis. That is why support for the US staying is on the upswing in Sunni communities... We need to remind the Dems of the horrible aftermath of Vietnam every chance we get."
#260; "... More troops, less troops...GWB can't win. ... That is the basis for hating Rumsfeld so much. He has had a strategy from day one and has not strayed from it. It is driving the administrations critics nuts that they cannot get him to waffle."
#274; "I am not surprised at all by Woodward's book. His last two were not nearly critical enough of GWB, and I believe he wished to get back in "good graces" with his Washington peers that hate the President."
#279; "The timing of this release will lead back to leftist IMHO. ... We will never see it in the MSM, because regardless of the motive, it will have brought down a Republican. ... In this case, I personally will have to let that go. Whatever reason this info was released for, getting rid of Foley is worth it, before he acted out some of his (bleccchhhh) fantasies."
#284; "... Iraqi's are showing great courage, indeed sacrificing their lives on a daily basis, to try to secure their country. ... That is a fabulous story, but to get GWB, the MSM cannot let that be echoed." (note: this is in response to kabar's post #271)
#374; "This is an interesting thread... A new UN report seems to be more upbeat than the NIE. ... Here is the report itself"
#397; "Deface the Nation is apparently taking Woodward's book as gospel, and Schieffer and Biden are in a hate GWB/Rummy meltdown."
#416; "(Biden) just said no Dem has called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and Schieffer just sat there. ... That was another 'If my husband had a PDB that said Osama was going to attack the US, the results would have been different than what GWB did' moment."
#445; "As long as this nation continues putting homosexuals in positions of power, these scandals are going to be regular occurences. ... After Franks, Studds, McGreevey, and the Catholic priest scandals, and now Foley, you think the nation would take a hint. ... Remember, it is the left, the Dems, and the ACLU trying to force even the BSA to allow avowed homosexuals to be Leaders. ... What ideology is responsible for something like this happening with Foley?"
#467; "... I like Newt, but his positions on various conservative positions have been all over the place. It appears to me and a lot of others that he is posturing for a Presidential run instead of just looking out for conservatives. Just my opinion."
#554; "Well, I hope the Dems go over the cliff with their rhetoric. ... Wait until the gay lobby wades in....all the Dems are going to do is hurt themselves with their homosexual base."
#797; "... I, like you, do not believe total war is justified for many of the reasons you mention. ... However, that could change in an instant with the correct attack by the Muslims, regardless of who supports it."

Second Place MNJohnnie

Exceptionally strong analysis, but that seems an all too obvious and inadequate comment for the depth and breadth of MNJ's contribution this week. Some of the strongest commentary and most well documented and sourced reference material we have on some very significant issues. Beyond the awards, I want to thank you for some excellent insight that added to my own understanding of what was going on... and after all, what helps me is what my selfish little mind appreciates the most <g>

#754; "What the Junk Media is not telling you about Iraq ... (link, link, link) ... Here is the raw data on Iraq. Seems Bob Woodward latest work is simply a regurgitation of every falsehood, half truth and exaggeration present by the Junk Media on Iraq since 2003. ... In a vain attempt to falsely validate preconceived notions, Mr Woodward demonstrated how the Left has managed to be wrong on every aspect of the Iraq War. Mr Woodward's central thesis is that attacks are "as high as they have ever been". Perhaps that is true. Even if true those attacks are getting less and less effective. If conditions are worsening why were the Iraqis taking higher monthly casualties in 2004 and 2005 with a smaller force? ... <snip> ... Iraq: British, Iraq troops begin Basra mission ... Most Tribes in Anbar Agree to Unite Against Insurgents (The NY Times is deeply saddened) ... This data totally undercuts the spin presented by Bob Woodward, and other Democrat Party propagandists, that Iraq is "heading for Civil War" or is "spinning out of control". ... <snip> ... The claims and assumptions stated as "fact" by Mr Woodward on Iraq are fraudulent. Considering he has got just about everything on Iraq completely wrong in his recent public statements, one has to wonder just what else he make up for this book?" (note: a great essay - I've only excerpted a few small snippets - read the whole thing)
#777; "It occurs to me seeing all the hype over Woodward's attempt to be the next Kitty Kelly, that the US political scene is as much DC Establishment vrs the American People as it is Republican vrs Democrat. ... Just because we won in 2000, many of US Conservative have forgotten that the DC Establishment is still our blood enemy. Politics is not just Democrat vrs Republican, it is also largely a battle of the DC Establishment vrs the American people. ... That best indication of that divide is John McCain and the RINO Senators. EVEN when the President is totally right, they always find a way to straddle the issue. To try and be on both sides of the issue to avoid being seen as supporting the President. ... <snip>" (note: considerably more, follow the link, it's worth it)
#786; "That was Card's fundamental problem. He listened to the Junk Media. He seems to think if he appeased them with Rummy's head that would help the President. He never quite grasped then reality that Washington Politics is a blood sport. You conquer or die. There is no peaceful coexistence with the DC Establishment. Card was way more RINO then I think many people, including the President, realized."
#801; "You make a good point Genghis. It is something for those in positions of power in Muslim Countries to consider. It could become Total War relatively easily. ... They like to boast of 1 Billion Muslims. Well that means there are 5 Billion NON Muslims they share this planet with. And while they are considering that data, I will raise their 1 Billion Muslims with around 2,000 on hand US Nuclear weapons PLUS the ability to build as many more as needed." (note: in reply to A.Hun's post #797)
#814; "Got to love this quote. ... A fugitive gunman accused of killing a Florida sheriff’s deputy was shot 68 times by SWAT team officers who found him hiding in the woods, according to autopsy results. Police fired 110 shots at Angilo Freeland, 27, the target of a massive manhunt in central Florida following the shooting death of Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Williams Thursday. 'That’s all the bullets we had, or we would have shot him more,' Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper."

First Place Seattle Conservative

Again, my infatuation with Princess Links approach overwhelms all of the rest of my other prejudices. Though filled with facts and links, as usual, she didn't shy away from analysis and some very weighty judgments. Well done. I trust you are back for more than a drive by visit.

#110; "... I was listening to FNC, too. I think Kirin was trying to 'defend' the GOP leadership, saying something to the effect of they were apparently told about a year ago that Foley was sending 'inappropriate' email and told him to knock it off and he said ok - they had assumed it had stopped, did not know about the IMs or the supposed sexual nature of the email. ... Wonder why no one brings up Barney Frank and Gerry Studds (oh yeah, their Dims - never mind): ..." (Note: great list of facts and links about Franks and Studds)
#191; "Here's a little more info. Found this site earlier today. ... Click on the link below if you want to see specifics about each Congresscritter (each of their names is linked on the site) ... Congressional Scorecard ... The 21st Century may be the century of graft and corruption for the Republican Party, but it has a long way to go to catch up with the Democratic BadBoys from the 20th and 19th Centuries.... " (note: fact filled poste - excellent)
#233; "Sherrod keeps talking about tax cuts for the 'middle class' - I'd like to know what his definition of middle class are - - probably someone who makes about $50k. He whines about the tax cuts and about small businesses leaving Ohio - - doesn't this idiot realize that the tax cuts the Pres put through HELP small businesses and their are more small businesses now than ever?? ... DeWhine actually has some good facts about Ohio businesses and jobs exporting goods. Not sure why he keeps talking about all of the Dims he's been working with - - bleah!"
#247; "FWIW - here's the current polling data on DeWine-Brown - looks like Brown is up about 4%... "
#290, "I hope more of this comes out to the local folks and I think it will. It looks like Irey is doing some good pressers and campaigning (just has much less money than Murtha). ... Here's a transcript of the tape: ... Here's a presser from Irey: ... IREY ON ABSCAM: JACK MURTHA HAS NOT BEEN TELLING THE TRUTH ... "
#436; "... I read somewhere that based on the sampling (usually more Dims and/or I), the # of people on the do not call list, and all the cell phones out there (some folks no longer have/use land lines in their homes) about 5% should be added to the Pubbies poll. Made sense to me (though I can't say if the 5% is an accurate # or not - - but definitely think that the Pubbies #s are probably lower than actual)."
#438; "This guy (Murtha) is so nuts...redeploy? to the border? and what?!! Wait? ... the guy is a buffon."
#493; "Totally agree Snugs. The Dims like to toss 'Middle Class' around wrt taxes and $s (e.g., no tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for middle class). What they seem to be able to grasp if they are using it in that context, is that 'middle class' income in say NYC would be much more than in perhaps OK City - cost of living is drastically different. As I mentioned earlier, they also conveniently forget that these so called 'tax cuts for the rich' were also tax cuts for small businesses, which have increased in #, added equipment and have added jobs. ... Here's some statistics on small businesses.... <snip> ... " (note: lengthy post with great background material on the question)
#608; "I used to think Harmon was somewhat *fair* for a lib, re the WOT, intelligence, etc. However, I recall reading that she was in a huge battle to win the Dim primary in her district and had to lean more leftward. Now she, like the other Dims, can only think of taking back the congress and grabbing more POWER. She could potentially be the head of the House Intelligence Committee (and, I believe Leaky Rockefeller would hold that position in the Senate). ... President Bush mentioned Janie (said her logic was false) and Rocky in his speech in Ala this week (he also made some great statements and arguments against the Dims' talking points): ... President Bush: ... <SNIP> ..."
#668; "Speaking of Soros - Neal Cavuto is going to have a 1:1 interview with him on Oct 5 (could be interesting - Neal usually does a good job). I suppose Soros will want to talk about his $50M pledge to fight poverty and AIDS."
#678; "... True what you said about Franks, but there was another Dim from Mass that had relations w a Page and got re-elected - Dims didn't do anything and I suspect they knew about that before it came out, too. ... Reposted here from my post 26: ... Gerry E. Studds ... Democrat, Massachusetts (1973-1996) ... The Honorable Gerry Studds, the first openly gay Member of Congress had an affair with a 17-year-old male Page in 1983. He never apologized and was censured by the House of Representatives. ... Studds stayed in Congress, and was re-elected time and again by his constituents in Massachusetts."
#687; "Andy denied what BS Woodward wrote in his book: ... Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. 'Andy' Card, Jr. has denied Bob Woodward’s claim that he and first lady Laura Bush tried to get Donald Rumsfeld fired as defense secretary. ... Card told NewsMax’s chief Washington correspondent Ronald Kessler that the assertion in Woodward’s book "State of Denial" that he thought Rumsfeld should have been the one to leave the administration instead of himself was also 'not true. Card left as chief of staff in April. ... According to an excerpt to be published in the Washington Post on Sunday, 'State of Denial' says, 'He [Card] was leaving. And the man most responsible for the postwar troubles, the one who should have gone, Rumsfeld, was staying.' ... But Card told NewsMax, 'I never felt that someone should have left ‘instead’ of me.' ... Card said any implication that he was bitter about leaving was also 'not true at all.'”
#749; "'Evidently, according to MSNBC, The White house has put out a 5 points statement on where Woodward is wrong. I haven't seen the statement.' ... Here it is: ... Myth/Fact: Five Key Myths in Bob Woodward's Book ... Setting the Record Straight ..." (note: entire document is in post, but link was also provided to White House original)
#842; "Oh yea, Democrats have been trying to get and show the American people they have *values* since the last election - -Dean has also been trying to prove they have them, and that they are all so religious, too (after he read the polls saw how many religious people vote for the Pubbies). When they believe that telling the truth, not lying, is a value and disown relationships and support of disgusting organizations such as NAMBRAL (I may not have that right - but you know which one I mean) and a few other orgs, then maybe we can starting discussing values with them. Until then, as far as I'm concerned they still need to get some values. It's not as easy as saying, yeah, I'm goin' go get me some of dem der values and all the voters will vote for me."
#849; "... I thought Byrd was way ahead (though I haven't seen any polls lately), which makes it curious to me that he felt the need to say this. Good on Raese for calling him on it!: ... Someone finally called Byrd what is was: ... West Virginia Senate Battle Turns Ugly as Byrd Uses Raese's Father ... National Ledger ^ | 9/30/06 | Jim Kouri ..."

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