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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taro who wrote (413905)	9/5/2008 9:17:17 AM
From: Joe NYC	1 Recommendation Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 1575311

Taro, I'm pretty sure we are on a roll now, safely towards an 'Obama-who' happy end in November. I wouldn't say "safely". It is an uphill battle this year for the GOP. BTW, I am glad to see that McCain is not happy with the way GOP turned after they have become safe "incumbant" party in Congress, roughly from 1999 to 2006. It seems that he wants GOP to go back to being GOP - hopefully GOP of the Gingrich era. What I am not seeing yet - and we may never see it - is McCain providing leadership to the GOP. GOP needs a leadership with clear vision, strategy and instincts. Gingrich could have been the heir of Ronald Reagan, but he kind of melted away. A short term strategy is to abandon some principles, go to the middle, triangulate to win elections. The short term strategy has become the strategy of the GOP of the current decade that nearly ran the party to the ground. Long term strategy is to spell out the core principles, the direction. If the direction is clear, it provides the context to every move you make. If you want to go from point A to point B, but don't know the streets and roads, you may end up in a dead end street, and are forced to go backwards. But the move backward is in the context of reaching the point B. Some roads may be bumpy, some may be congested. You know you have to endure them to get to your destination. Unfortunately, in last 10 years, the only principle GOP upheld is national security. On everything else, GOP has just chosed roads that were non-bumpy and were moving smoothly, rather upholding its core principles. After a while of this aimless wondering, you forget where you were going originally. And this is what GOP needs a new leadership. I am not 100% confident McCain can provide this leadership. I see him him as an honest, steadfast footsoldier, possibly even a tactician, but I don't see him as a strategist - certainly not in the way Reagan was. Reagan was able to formulate his ideas, create a movement and in the span of a quarter of a decade sell the country on it and lead it to the White house. Gingrich and Armey completed the job by bringing this vision to Congress. But then, Dick Armey quit Congress (to make more money in the private sector?) and then Gingrich quit (over a small tactical setback?) What is left is aimlesness and dispair in the GOP. Bush provided some direction in his re-election in 2004 (on the "ownership society") but could not provide leadership to the Congressional GOP. They saw an uphill road, and chose to go downhill instead. And downhill they went in 2006. To his credit, Bush spelled out correct direction for the GOP with his "ownership society" ideas. Unfortunately, only about 1% of was implemented, and currently, (fairly or unfairly), everything Bush is poisonous. McCain adopted small pieces of it in his platform, but has not been able to come up with a comprehensive vision. If McCain wins, it will be an accidental victory, due more to issues of character and experience than enunciation of vision ("the vision thing"). Joe