Shark;

You're like that webmaster on ReaganWing.com who pieces together seperate parts of Kerry speeches and then calls that the Kerry plan.

I've always liked you, you who put the spunk into opposing the far-left-wing, but guess what country is providing NINETY percent of the troops and oh, by the way, speaking of the "Coalition of the Willing" - you can go here as in http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6315335/site/newsweek/ to get the sad truth.

Or the "Facing up to our fiscal responsibilities for the sake of our children" - I personally am against these retirement accounts because, CONTRARY TO OUR ANTI-AMERICAN ENEMY PATTY "OSAMA MAMA" MURRAY at the Nethercutt-Murraystare debate, Social Security is our promise to our parents that growing old doesn't mean growing poor... we help them NOW by paying their bills NOW with taxes. Plus, who pays for the Dubya Bush deficit? My 22-year-old self, my 20-something #1 Educrat fighter Marsha does and my baby brother does... directly and in interest rates! That's what Friedman meant!

Gotta go - I have to load pellets... Maybe they should be the Bush national debt!

You might actually read Friedman's column rather than misapplying Bush's positions and see how he is backing Kerry.

Ok folks time to wake up from lala land. There is too much at stake this time. I know some of you dont want to do this but it has to be done.

Our president has led us into failure and has misled us on this war of terror. 100,000?? mostly women and children DEAD?? Which ones were terrorist??

For those you refuse to understand the grave nature of this presidents policies ans continue to try to defend them. STOP!! your making a fool of yourself. Everyone knows hes been paying of big business over the last four years its writeen in every policy hes passed. BTW he passed them all never veteod one spending bill in the 4 years hes been there.

If there is one thing that must be realized its this. This president knew there were attacks coming from Bin Laden and he went on vacation. He didnt bother to even warn one Airliner. Go ahead and read page 8 of the 9/11 reports. Oh and what about those other 28 pages which he has decided to black out??

The list of Corruption and deception is long and deep and the people will get to the bottom of this in due time.

I say this If you value LIBERTY and TRUTH elect John F. Kerry on TUESDAY Nov. 2

I read Friedman's column, you know. I'm back in my chair, my back feels like I lifted a billion dollars of Bush debt or a Skagit Valley College President Gary Tollefson tuition tax hike that he'd call relief (check out http://josef-a-k.blogspot.com/2004/10/svc-accreditation-reports-relief-tax.html), and I want to finish my thoughts.

A) Kerry said last August, that in part because of Shark's posted rationale, he'd STILL vote to give the authority to confront Saddam.

B) When we speak of alliances, we must wonder why the nascent Arab democracies like Qatar and Bahrain aren't patrolling Baghdad with us when they were in 1991 liberating Kuwait?

C) "vote for the man who has the best instincts for balancing realism and idealism and the man who understands the necessity of using energetic U.S. diplomacy to make Israel more secure - by helping to bring it peace with its Arab neighbors, not just more tours from American Christian fundamentalists." That is so a smack in Dubya's face... I don't see how anybody would miss that one.

Finally, I wish this election wasn't so serious. I'd write in Stefan Sharksansky-Joe Scarborough instead. They're both fiscal conservatives, both fierce patriots and both Real Deal Men.

I really, really like you Shark. I just cannot share your conclusion on this one. Don't worry - I'll contribute to your 2008 bid for Governor or whatever office you choose. And I'll still try to put up with whatever drivel you dose out on Republican Radio - you STILL rock the house!

What i cant stand about the liberal commentators is their smarter than my ass attitude. It is very clear Friedman is jonesing over kerry's ability to nuance everything. Bush 1 was very good at this too, he really was one of the more moderate presidents - his loss, in my view, was partially due to a massive effort by the media for clinton, the fact that clinton managed to shed the liberal label (he was pro death penalty, pro Gulf War and nominated Gore, a moderate southerner), and as punishment for his conduct towards Israel.

So for all Bush's moderation, it was not enough for Friedman and his buddies, you also have to hit the levers of the democratic party.

Now you have Kerry, an anti-death penalty, anti gulf war 1 liberal who the media is absolutely ga ga over.

It is nice that somehow friedman manages to mimic the rest of the media and savage bush as not being moderate in favor of a candidate (kerry) who is not for real.

Thanks Josef, Ron, and JDEEDLER for saying what I would have before I got around to it.

Turning the largest budget surplus in the country's history into the largest budget deficit in the country's history and cutting taxes while racking up $225 billion and counting in extra spending on a war and massively expanding the size of discretionary government spending is an UNPRECIDENTED failure to live up to our fiscal responsibilities and shift the burden on to our children.

If the budget were balanced and the social security trust found actuarily sound, voluntary personal retirement accounts would be a reasonable possibility. Since neither of those conditions have been met, taking further tax dollars out of the government's income stream will only further worsen the problems the Bush has created.

"If the budget were balanced and the social security trust found actuarily sound, voluntary personal retirement accounts would be a reasonable possibility. Since neither of those conditions have been met, taking further tax dollars out of the government's income stream will only further worsen the problems the Bush has created."

"Posted by: Simon on October 31, 2004 09:07 PM"

I agree. I like the SOUND of the idea... until you look at the details.

Hmm,
Friedman's claim that Bush Sr. knew how to help Israel's security shows he has a sense of humor. Either that, or enough years at the NYT makes you actually think that way.

wow! if ever i have seen results driven analysis! you seem to follow the thought process of your chosen candidate rather well. dream of an outcome, and marshall only those facts which support it.

if you bothered to remove your partisan blinders, you may have a better understanding of what this article was about.

What the article is about is obviously having it both ways, which i guess makes sense if you believe Iraq is an irretrievable mess (and if it is i can guarantee john kerry wont be able to fix it). Friedman was head of the bandwagon on the Iraq war - when the going got tough - and although that was a given and bush rightly deserves a big shitstain in his legacy for not realizing the consequences of taking an arab capital, Friedman pretty much turned tail - and said, hey, we got snookered, we invaded iraq cause rumsfeld said he was a threat, etc. and now i am back in the democrat camp.

As for me, I do not evolve so quickly - i give bush or whoever exactly 3 years from takeover to fix it, so by April 2006, either we re welcome there or not.

This Friedman stuff where he is cute makes me ill.

wow jannol, you sound so defeated--i can "guarantee" that kerry won't be able to fix it. are you against the troops? tell me, since you can read the future, what stocks do you recommend?

"i give bush or whoever"? who else do you think it might be if not bush? nader? guiliani? god? jesus?

sorry for sounding so scarcastic. friedman didn't "turn tail". he sounded like a cheerleader for a war that was unecessary and not supported by the facts. having realized the human cost and the negative consequences for america's moral and political hegemony, he's expected a better and more intelligent administration response. bush didn't deliver b/c they didn't plan for these developments (hell, they couldn't even tell us when, where or how a major wmd facility 20km from baghdad was to be secured). these guys should have tanked a corporation, thereby screwing some shareholders, not the people of this country.

even if bush wins, a certain truth about how he thinks has been revealed to the american people and the world. one thing is true, bush is certainly not a "uniter". He is a "divider".

but i hope kerry is the next president of this great country.