Nine Dwarves?
As my regular readers know, I have yet to decide on a horse for the P2004 sweepstakes. At this point I would say I have it narrowed down to Lieberman, Graham and Edwards, none of whom have completely captured my attention or loyalty. So I try to keep up with the latest on the campaign trail to see if anyone has distanced himself from the pack. And, along comes this report from last night's Children's Defense Fund cattle call for Democratic aspirants. As has become the norm, the candidates who agree with the American people on Iraq were put on the defensive for their support of the war while the others pandered to the isolationist Left. And, as is his custom, Senator Kerry tried to be on all sides of the issue.
When asked whether the fall of Saddam Hussein changed their opinion of the war, Gov. Dean responded with this gem- "We've gotten rid of him. I suppose that's a good thing." Now, keep in mind this occurred on the same day the Iraqi people welcomed US Marines with roses and tore down statues of Saddam. And Howard Dean supposes it's a good thing? Relieving the Iraqi people of a brutal dictator and the world of a dangerous regime may be a good thing according to Dean? Now that's a man I want guiding my country's foreign policy. Oy!
Uber Lefty candidates Braun and Kucinich lamented that the $80 billion spent on deposing Saddam would have been better spent at home. That is, of course, based on an assumption that in the long run we would not have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to defend ourselves against state sponsored terrorism by thugs like Saddam Hussein. Is it just me or do some of the Democrats sound an awful lot like Pat Buchanan and his band of America First folks?
Isolationism was driven out of the American mainstream decades ago, but it has survived on the far left and far right fringes of America's politics. Unfortunately, that far left seems to hold a controlling interest in who my party nominates to run against George Bush. And that is what makes me depressed.