I caught Mrs. Heinz Ketchup's convention speech on the radio. A few of her comments were worth remarking on:
Thank you, Christopher. Your father would be proud of you and your brothers.He would also be at the other party's convention.
And tonight, as I have done throughout this campaign I would like to speak to you from my heart. Y a todos los Hispanos, los Latinos; a tous les Americains, Francais et Canadiens; a tutti Italiani; a toda a familia Portugesa e Brazileria;Four Romance languages, and this is diversity? She could at least have given us a little Germanic: "Schieb das!", or some Slavic: "В жопу!"
My father ... only got the right to vote for the first time when he was 71 years old. That’s what happens in dictatorships.She should tell that to the 25 million Iraqis who get to vote for the first time thanks to the war she opposed.
an idea of America that is all about heart and creativity, generosity and confidenceIt's easy to be generous and confident when you have your own billion dollar endowment.
We sent men to the moon, and when that was not far enough, we sent Galileo to Jupiter, we sent Cassini to Saturn, and Hubble to touch the very edges of the universe at the very dawn of time.And then the John Kerry campaign sent its man to NASA and made him look like an idiot.
He believes that alternative fuels will guarantee that not only will no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil,Question: What would President Kerry do if the Saudi branch of Al Qaeda kidnaps large numbers of Americans working in the Kingdom and threatens to behead them unless all U.S. citizens leave Saudi Arabia immediately?
Isn’t it time we began working to give parents more opportunity to be with their children, and to afford to have a family life?Does this mean that the childless among us will have to work extra hours in order to give everybody else time off?
With John Kerry as president, the alliances that bind the community of nations and that truly make our country and the world a safer place, will be strengthened once more.Translation: President Kerry will follow France's lead.
The Americans John and I have met in the course of this campaign all want America to provide hopeful leadership again. They want America to return to its moral bearings. It is not a moralistic America they seek, but a moral nation that understands and willingly shoulders its obligations; a moral nation that rejects thoughtless and greedy choices in favor of thoughtful and generous actions; a moral nation that leads through the power of its ideas and the power of its example.She should tell that to the Iraqi amputees who got their hands back because of the war she opposed. Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 27, 2004 11:15 PM
$200 billion diverted from hunting al Qaeda in Afghanistan and finishing the job we started there (and improving our schools at home), tens of thousands of people killed or injured, a whole generation of new terrorists inspired, but the war in Iraq is OK because those Iraqi amputees got their hands back. Sheesh.
Almost any event worth mentioning has consequences some people would describe as good and some that some people would describe as bad. Cherry picking one or two from one column or the other doesn't illuminate anything. It just provides solace for people who want to protect their position from being disturbed by any kind of insight or reason.
Posted by: Simon on July 28, 2004 12:51 AMCherry picking is what both sides do as a matter of fact. There is nothing wrong with playing up the good things about a war against terrorism. Especially when it results in an oppressive tyrant being removed and a people being liberated. And yes freedom isn't free. Good Americans sacrifice their lives for noble causes. That is just one reason why we are the greatest nation on earth. This is a good war based on the results. Capturing Saddam and killing his sons is a great victory for the Iraqi people. Now they actually have a chance (although slim) at putting a stable democracy into action.
Also, most liberals are being disingenuous when they suggest that the troops and $$ could be better used in Afghanistan. Take Michael Moore: He believes that Osama could have been captured with special forces and that an invasion was not necessary. But maybe you are the exception. Maybe you are a liberal hawk who would love to see $200 billion more spent on the war in Afghanistan.
But if you are not a liberal hawk, then please don't be disingenuous.
"no American boy or girl go to war because of our dependence on foreign oil"
Did i miss something? Has anyone in the Bush administration advocated that we send children to war?
Posted by: annika on July 28, 2004 10:26 AMI love how she went on about space exploration and mentioned the Cassini probe. IIRC, there was great outcry among the enivronmentally sensitive over Cassini's power supply using plutonium. But now it's all about the betterment of mankind, right?
Posted by: chunkstyle on July 28, 2004 01:07 PMI supported the war in Afghanistan and the hunt for al Qaeda's top leadership. But there will be more policemen protecting the Repubilcan National Convention in NYC than there ever were troops in Afghanistan, and it's because Bush diverted us to Iraq. We needed those troops to fight the real enemy.
Personally, in a war of convenience, I'd rather have liberated North Korea than Iraq: they really do have WMDs. But whether it's Iraq or N. Korea, I don't think the US should be going it alone. If the world isn't with us (and it's not), then it's against us, and that's not in our best interest.
Both Iraq and N Korea possessed WMD's. The difference is that Iraq used them (on the Kurds.) Even the UN believed that Iraq may not have destroyed all the WMD's. These are the facts that the Bush administration had prior to the war.
And if you are watching the news, then you know the US didn't go it alone. Each week it seems that some country is threatened by terrorists in masks to pull out of the "coalition." Last week it was the Philippines that left Iraq. Eventually we may end up going it alone, but to say that it was that way from the beginning is just blind rhetoric. By the way, Japan is refusing to back out of the coalition.
Posted by: Tim Ford on July 29, 2004 08:40 AM