Posted on 05/02/2007 1:34:28 PM PDT by presidio9
In my poker game, we split the pot between the "best" and "worst" hands — which encourages more people to stay in and to bet more so that, with the right cards and smart playing, there is a nice pile of chips to win. Consequently, every player's dream is to get dealt a two-way hand, one that wins both high and low.
Over the past two years, President Bush and his Republican colleagues have been dealing great hands to their Democratic adversaries. The Iraq war, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley, Randy Cunningham, Harriet Miers, Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzales, the RNC e-mail accounts. The great hands just keep coming. But card players know that you have good and bad runs. A key measure of a player is how well he or she maximizes profits from the winners and minimizes losses from marginal hands.
The same is true in politics. One person who ought to know this is the senior senator from Nevada, of all places, Majority Leader Harry Reid. But Reid took the winning Iraq card that the Bush administration dealt to him and proceeded to misplay the hand, telling reporters: "this war is lost."
What, you may ask, is wrong with that? Wasn't Reid simply making an accurate statement? Perhaps, but there are at least three things wrong with Reid's strategy. First and foremost, the Senate Democratic leader turned himself into the messenger of defeat, which of course quickly became the message itself: Republicans have been extraordinarily stupid in recent months, but they still know what to do if opportunity knocks. "When a top Democrat tells reporters he believes the war is lost," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, "he is telling American troops they have failed. And he is telling our enemies they have won.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
“Liberal Hold-My-Hand Poker?............” Or pull my finger. This is too easy.
That was one of the worst, labored and pointless, poker metaphors I’ve ever read.
Reid is part of pelosi’s shadow government. They both should be tried for treason.
What you said!
It’s wrong for the dems to be talking about the war being lost, no matter how they say it. They can, however, criticize the way things have been handled, but they cannot come up with exactly how they would have done it better.
Just a small thought here: The Republicans didn’t deal the rats any better a hand than the rats dealt them.
The joker in the deck is the media, who ignore the failings of the rats and promote, explore, expound, pontificate and, at times, fabricate every Republican picadillo they think will aid the cause of the rats.
Preach it, brother. I'd fire the lot of 'em....in a heartbeat.
The RNC lost its spine some years ago, along with the Party leadership in general. They just do NOT get it. The last Congressional leader who truly "got it" was one Newt Gingrich. The Contract With America was sheer genius.
Damned shame they didn't carry it all the way through...
“The idea that the United States Military can “lose” a war against a handful of savages blowing up civilians is ludicrous.”
It was ludicrous in ‘Nam too but we managed it. For the better part of a decade the sheer inventivness and adaptability of American boys 10,000 miles from home had us winning almost constantly. Then the predictable happened and booom we were out of there.
Of course this ain’t ‘Nam but that won’t stop people who are Evil, selfish and thoughtless (and running on a template to boot)from giving a TOTALLY DIFFERENT enemy the heart to press on.
And as a result we’re gonna get hit so hard it will make 9-11 look like a church picnic. There is no longer any question in my mind. Because of Democrat rottenness We are as certain to be hit again now as we were certain to see a 9-11 after the (non response to the) Cole.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Now, I agree that from time to time the Republican Party has handed over to the Dems victories on a silver platter, but Delay and Libby? IIRC, they were done in by politically partisan Dem prosecutors who sought to indict them for crimes that did not exist.
Well, yeah, the GOP leadership is in shambles right now. Losing Martinez would be a very good start.
I still don’t understand this “hot streak” the writer’s referring to... this Congress hasn’t passed anything so far, just investigated everything Rove.
He just get cranky when is diapher is soiled and needs to be changed.
The writer is only complaining that Reid didn't say it right. He should, according to the author, have said "George Bush lost this war." It's an article about tactics. Not reality.
Show me an elected democrat that is NOT a traitor to this nation. The only formerly elected democrat I know of is Zell Miller, who stood for the troops and this nation.
Bump for later.
a whole hearted agreement here!
“In order to have a PR machine you need a media on your side. 90% of the media belong to the democrats, period”
I think you’re missing a point here. You never see the GOP try to even put the Drive By’s on the defensive. For once, wouldn’t you love to see a GOP’er tell Tim Russsert something like, ‘Well Tim, we all know you are a loyal Democrat because you worked for Mario Cuomo before your gig here at NBC.” Or whenever Stephnoplous ask something one side, throw the samething at him about his work with the Clintons. The list goes on and on.
Whenever the Drive Bys show some stats that support a Liberal aganeda, why don’t they point it out on these shows and the idiot Soccer mom shows in the mornings that those stats are from the Liberal Group whatever. THEY NEVER EVER DO THAT.
The Rats, to their credit, will point out things like that I know it’s wishful to think the press will give us a fair shake. But if our side can atleast put them on defensive more and more, then we maybe able to pull away some of those that are influenced by the Drive Bys, but are willing to listen to both sides.
One thing our side could do right now is repeat it now and repeat it often that Harry Reid is a traitor and not back down under the media guns. The media would be forced to broadcast his insane comments and ask questions about it. That would allow some people that have not seen it to actually see it.
Very well said. (The whole post.)
“Now, I agree that from time to time the Republican Party has handed over to the Dems victories on a silver platter, but Delay and Libby? IIRC, they were done in by politically partisan Dem prosecutors who sought to indict them for crimes that did not exist”
Give the Clintons credit for when they were in office, they labeled every investigator that investigated them as a partisian Republican (even if some were not Republicans or overtly Partisans) and it worked. What showed up in the polls as something that would damage them would later show up in the polls a partisan investigation. Did you ever hear one Republican label Fitzgerled as a Partisan Democrat on a vedeta to get Bush? Noooooooooo. Do you even hear them saying that about the different committees and Chairmen (Waxman and Leahey) in the House and Senate
If might have and still worked, but we’ll never hear anybody on the Republican side from the White House, The Hill or even the media dare say such things.
Herego our side is clueless how to fight the fight that needs to be fought.
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