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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GST who wrote (140336)	7/14/2004 8:29:11 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Respond to of 281500

> Kerry Didn't Read Iraq Report Before Vote As far as I am concerned, anyone who did less than outstanding job during the past 2 years as defined by the constitution and did not stand up to defend the rights of the people should be sued for malpractice, let alone be elected.

To: GST who wrote (140336)	7/14/2004 8:49:56 PM
From: Dr. Id	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The Bush campaign has accused Kerry of "flip-flopping" on the war. Here is an excerpt from an article by Arianna Huffington: On the 2004 campaign trail, it’s the pathologically inconsistent Bush attempting to portray John Kerry as a two-faced flip-flopper. It's become the Bush-Cheney campaign mantra. GOP talking points 1 through 100. The president's go-to laugh and applause line: "Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue," chided Bush at a spring fundraiser. "My opponent clearly has strong beliefs, they just don't last very long." Ba-da-bum! (Incidentally, how is this consistent with Bush's other contention, that Kerry is a rock-ribbed liberal?) Or as Dick "Not Peaches and Cream" Cheney ominously put it at a Republican fundraiser: "These are not times for leaders who shift with the political winds, saying one thing one day and another the next." I couldn't f---ing agree more, Mr. Cheney. But it's your man George W. who can't seem to pick a position and stick to it. He's reversed course more times than Capt. Kirk battling Khan in the midst of the Mutara Nebula. Gone back on his word more times than Tony Blundetto. Flip-flopped more frequently than a blind gymnast with an inner-ear infection. The list of Bush major policy U-turns is as audacious as it is long. Among the whiplash-inducing lowlights: In September 2001, Bush said capturing bin Laden was "our number one priority." By March 2002, he was claiming, "I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care. It's not that important." In October 2001, he was dead-set against the need for a Department of Homeland Security. Seven months later, he thought it was a great idea. In May 2002, he opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission. Four months later, he supported it. During the 2000 campaign, he said that gay marriage was a states' rights issue: "The states can do what they want to do." During the 2004 campaign, he called for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Dizzy yet? No? OK: Bush supported CO2 caps, then opposed them. He opposed trade tariffs, then he didn't. Then he did again. He was against nation building, then he was OK with it. We'd found WMD, then we hadn't. Saddam was linked to Osama, then he wasn't. Then he was … sorta. Chalabi was in, then he was out. Way out. In fact, Bush's entire Iraq misadventure has been one big costly, deadly flip-flop: We didn't need more troops, then we did. We didn't need more money, then we did. Preemption was a great idea — on to Syria, Iran and North Korea! Then it wasn't — hello, diplomacy! Baathists were the bad guys, then Baathists were our buds. We didn't need the U.N., then we did. And all this from a man who, once upon a time, made "credibility" a key to his appeal. Now, God knows, I have no problem with changing your mind — so long as you admit that you have and can explain why. But Bush steadfastly — almost comically — refuses to admit that there's been a change, even when the entire world can plainly see otherwise. He's got his story and he's sticking to it. But that darn Kerry, he keeps shifting his positions!