Yahoo! News - John Kerry Challenges Bush Over Iraq War

! News - John Kerry Challenges Bush Over Iraq War: "He plans to vow to build a more robust military at home and strong alliances overseas. 'And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win.' "

Great, this is the same thing that Bush says. What are you going to do that is different. How are you going to achieve these goals. You voted for the war based upon bad intelligence. How are you going to prevent this from happening again?

Lots of questions and no answers.

16 comments:

Sparky said...

I think the fundamental difference is that Kerry is interested in strong alliances, Bush doesn't seem to concerned. Bush seems to think that this is a fight we can win on our own. Kerry recognizes that it's a fight that we can't win on our own -- that there are many diplomatic, political, cultural, social and economic tools that also need to be used and that the cooperation of the international community is necessary. Bush's go-it-alone strategy is one of the biggest mistakes he has made.

So, I'd say Kerry isn't saying the same thing as Bush.

Jack Steiner said...

Still not convincing to me. Bush has done a poor job of building relations, but the relations are there. It is not entirely accurate to suggest that they do not exist.

And I am a big proponent of the argument that sometimes you can hold the moral position and be in the minority.

Sparky said...

If we hold the moral position but are in the minority in the battle against international terrorism, then we are destined to lose. Bush has done very little to foster relations with, not just allies, but other important nations as well. If we don't persuade the majority that we are in the right, then we lose.

Jack Steiner said...

It is kind of like the Gordian knot. I don't expect instant solutions or anything like that. Sometimes you have to lead by example.

Sparky said...

Knowing full well that instant solutions aren't possible, the example we've set so far isn't exactly a shining one.

Jack Steiner said...

No it is not. What I would like to hear from Bush and Kerry are details on where we go from here. What is their plan to move things along.

Sparky said...

What I'm hearing from Kerry is that he'll try to return us to the community of nations. To try to address the struggle with an international effort and to restore our standing in the international community. The only thing I hear from Bush is that it's a war that we're going to win.

Am I wrong?

Jack Steiner said...

It is still gobbledy-gook to me. I want to hear from Kerry how he is going to "build" relations. What is his formula of success other than being able to use the "I am not Bush" mantra.

Sparky said...

Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to get too much specifics from either candidate. It is a political campaign after all. :)

As far as I'm concerned, just the fact that Kerry recognizes that we need to reinforce our alliances and lead by example in the world again is enough for me.

I'm curious. From everything that you've said over the past few months, I'm assuming that you will be voting for George Bush. Maybe I'm wrong. But, if you were to vote for Bush, what would the reasons be? Feel free to answer.

Also, I'm wondering if you'd be interested in a community blog. Not sure if that's really a term for it. But, I've been casting about for a more effective way to use a blog. What I had in mind is that there would be a group of 5-10 people who would have posting rights. They could post on whatever they want -- politics, religion, family, etc. And, all could comment on each other's posts.

Jack Steiner said...

I don't know who I am voting for yet, I am part of the swing group. A community Blog might be interesting.

Sparky said...

Well, I guess the question then becomes what is most important to you. :) You seem pretty liberal and open-minded on social issues and I just can't see somebody who leans in your direction on this issues voting for Bush.

I guess it's just difficult to see you voting for Bush based on some of what you've presented on the MP and here. But at the same time, I rarely see you cite any specific issues with Bush, while you frequently state specific problems with Kerry. So, I'm just curious to know what the thought process is.

On to more important subjects... What the heck is up with your Dodgers. A lead in the West, the second best record in the NL, a decent team ... all not good enough. They felt the need to break it down and start all over?

Keep in mind the community blog.

Jack Steiner said...

Paul Lo Duca should have never been traded, that was stupifd. This team had reminded me of '88, but now they are messing around and I just don't know.

Anonymous said...

Midgetking, there's more to life than social issues -- like national security, the war on terror, and Israel. And who wants another tax-and-spend liberal in the White House? Kerry makes Teddy Kennedy look conservative.

Sparky said...

Hey Stace, glad to see you post anonymously. And, you're right, there are more to elections than social issues. Which is even more of a reason to vote Bush out. I may or may not have already said this, but it would be nice to see some thought behind the analysis. If that's the best you can do, try, try again.

Stacey said...

"Which is even more of a reason to vote Bush out. "

Which means what? I haven't heard any substance from you, Mark. What is Kerry's plan for anything? I am listening, but haven't heard anything yet.

Even one of my best friends in Boston (who actually went to the convention) said Kerry is disappointing him so far. We'll see....I'm waiting to hear some concrete plans.

Sparky said...

feel free to check out the November 2004 post on my blog ... kingmidget.blogspot.com

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