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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (44639)	8/23/2004 2:34:50 PM
From: techguerrilla	Respond to of 81568

<or babysitter> ... you rock, Lizzie! ... eom

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (44639)	8/24/2004 11:47:11 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 81568

The Rambo Coalition _____________________ By PAUL KRUGMAN OP-ED COLUMNIST THE NEW YORK TIMES August 24, 2004 Almost a year ago, on the second anniversary of 9/11, I predicted "an ugly, bitter campaign - probably the nastiest of modern American history." The reasons I gave then still apply. President Bush has no positive achievements to run on. Yet his inner circle cannot afford to see him lose: if he does, the shroud of secrecy will be lifted, and the public will learn the truth about cooked intelligence, profiteering, politicization of homeland security and more. But recent attacks on John Kerry have surpassed even my expectations. There's no mystery why. Mr. Kerry isn't just a Democrat who might win: his life story challenges Mr. Bush's attempts to confuse tough-guy poses with heroism, and bombast with patriotism. One of the wonders of recent American politics has been the ability of Mr. Bush and his supporters to wrap their partisanship in the flag. Through innuendo and direct attacks by surrogates, men who assiduously avoided service in Vietnam, like Dick Cheney (five deferments), John Ashcroft (seven deferments) and George Bush (a comfy spot in the National Guard, and a mysterious gap in his records), have questioned the patriotism of men who risked their lives and suffered for their country: John McCain, Max Cleland and now John Kerry. How have they been able to get away with it? The answer is that we have been living in what Roger Ebert calls "an age of Rambo patriotism." As the carnage and moral ambiguities of Vietnam faded from memory, many started to believe in the comforting clichés of action movies, in which the tough-talking hero is always virtuous and the hand-wringing types who see complexities and urge the hero to think before acting are always wrong, if not villains. After 9/11, Mr. Bush had a choice: he could deal with real threats, or he could play Rambo. He chose Rambo. Not for him the difficult, frustrating task of tracking down elusive terrorists, or the unglamorous work of protecting ports and chemical plants from possible attack: he wanted a dramatic shootout with the bad guy. And if you asked why we were going after this particular bad guy, who hadn't attacked America and wasn't building nuclear weapons - or if you warned that real wars involve costs you never see in the movies - you were being unpatriotic. As a domestic political strategy, Mr. Bush's posturing worked brilliantly. As a strategy against terrorism, it has played right into Al Qaeda's hands. Thirty years after Vietnam, American soldiers are again dying in a war that was sold on false pretenses and creates more enemies than it kills. It should come as no surprise, then, that Mr. Bush - who must defend the indefensible - has turned to those who still refuse to face the truth about Vietnam. All the credible evidence, from military records to the testimony of those who served with Mr. Kerry, confirms his wartime heroism. Why, then, are some veterans willing to join the smear campaign? Because they are angry about his later statements against the war. Yet making those statements was itself a heroic act - and what he said then rings truer than ever. The young John Kerry spoke of leaders who sent others to their deaths because they wanted to seem tough, then "left all the casualties and retreated behind a pious shield of public rectitude." Fifteen months after George Bush strutted around in his flight suit, more and more Americans are echoing Gen. Anthony Zinni, who received a standing ovation from an audience of Marine and Navy officers when he talked about the debacle in Iraq and said of those who served in Vietnam: "We heard the garbage and the lies, and we saw the sacrifice. I ask you, is it happening again?" Mr. Kerry also spoke of the moral cost of an ill-conceived war - of the atrocities soldiers find themselves committing when they can't tell friend from foe. Two words: Abu Ghraib. Let's hope that this latest campaign of garbage and lies - initially financed by a Texas Republican close to Karl Rove, and running an ad featuring an "independent" veteran who turns out to have served on a Bush campaign committee - leads to a backlash against Mr. Bush. If it doesn't, here's the message we'll be sending to Americans who serve their country: If you tell the truth, your courage and sacrifice count for nothing. nytimes.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (44639)	8/31/2004 9:16:17 AM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Do you still think Kerry will win in a walk? Bush seems to have the momentum, which was inevitable now that Kerry has introduced himself to voters.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (44639)	8/31/2004 11:20:41 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

<<...Face it, this election is about Bush, and his extremely poor performance as CIC..>> Right on...The question is do we really want to re-hire Bush as CEO of our country...?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (44639)	8/31/2004 11:24:53 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 81568

Oops..How will the GOP feature this news...? Consumer Confidence Plummets in August By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer NEW YORK - Consumer confidence, which had been on the rise since April, declined unexpectedly sharply in August, a private research group said Tuesday. The Consumer Confidence Index (news - web sites) dropped 7.5 points to 98.2 from a revised reading of 105.7 in July, according to a report from The Conference Board (news - web sites). The reading was much lower than the 103.5 that analysts had expected, and was the lowest since May, when it registered 93.1. "The slowdown in job growth has curbed consumers' confidence," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, in a statement. "The level of consumer optimism has fallen off and caution has returned. Until the job market and pace of hiring picks up, this cautious attitude will prevail." Economists closely track consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity. The worst-than expected report is unsettling, offering another fresh dose of evidence that the economy continues to be in a fragile state. On Monday, the Commerce Department (news - web sites) reported that consumers spent more freely in July, raising hopes that June's economic pause would only be temporary. But the government also announced that consumers' incomes that month grew slower than analysts expected. Wall Street is anxiously awaiting job figures from the Labor Department (news - web sites), due out on Friday, for any signs of improvement. Analysts are expecting the nation's payrolls to add 150,000 jobs. In July, the economy only added a meager 32,000 jobs. The Consumer Confidence report said the Present Situation index fell to 100.7, from 106.4, while the Expectations Index, which measures consumers' outlook over the next six months, dropped to 96.6 from 105.3. Consumers' assessment of current conditions was less upbeat than last month. Those saying business conditions are "good" declined to 23.2 percent from 25.2 percent. Those claiming conditions are "bad" rose to 20.1 percent from 19.1 percent. Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 18.1 percent from 19.7 percent while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" rose to 25.8 percent from 25.7 percent in July. Consumers have also reduced expectations for the next six months. Those anticipating conditions to worsen increased to 8.8 percent from 7.1 percent. Those expecting business conditions to improve declined to 20.1 percent from 23.0 percent last month. The employment outlook for the next six months was also less favorable. Consumers expecting fewer jobs increased to 15.4 percent from 13.5 percent. Those anticipating more jobs to become available fell to 16.2 percent from 19.5 percent. Consumers expecting their incomes to improve in the months ahead rose to 19.3 percent from 18.0 percent last month. On Wall Street, stocks were narrowly mixed in morning trading, with the report on consumer confidence overshadowing another dip in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.27 to 10,137.79 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1.12 to 1,100.27, but the Nasdaq composite index was down 2.05 at 1,834.44.