Lieberman

Well, this is the big news of the day and a turning of the tide. In many ways, Joe Lieberman is a good Democrat, I guess, but he certainly thinks more of his intellect than I do. I was not really very happy when Al Gore picked him to run as vice president - I thought there were several other people who would bring more to the ticket and in fact, be a better president if something were to happen to Gore.

We'll find out how "good" a Democrat he is if he pouts and runs as an independent and attempts to split the vote so that the Republican candidate wins...

His support of the Bush administration despite its abject failure in virtually everything it attempts to do was particularly dismaying because he makes the Democrats appear indecisive and without a plan - which is most certainly not true. The only question the Democrats have is WHEN to get out of Iraq, stop nation building and get on with the problems of international terrorism - certainly not whether to get out. Bush has no plans of ever leaving Iraq if for no other reason than having control of its oil.

Obviously we can't simply pack up and leave the country, but we do have to turn over the defense of the Iraq government to the Iraqi's and politically force them to get their religious factions together in reasonable harmony to avoid a civil war. We need to teach them that all successful government is balanced compromise.

If a civil war does erupt we do indeed have to get out of there as quickly as possible or risk the probability of being sucked down that never ending black hole.