…he will be remembered for changing the face of the Mideast…

He did more for them than the dems with all their posturing.

Obama is extremely popular in the Mideast because he’s percieved as being Muslim. The bow only encouraged this but it was prevalent even before the election. I’ve talked to a number of people who are looking for the US to help the rebels in Iran right now. They don’t understand that he is not the leader that Bush was or that he sides with Ahmadinejad.

Note: I have a huge pet peeve over the way the MSM mispronounces Iranian names. Can they learn how they’re pronounced or not say them at all? I know they’re sometimes long but can they try to be professional and get it right? Just saying.

Though I think he will have a difficult time making the argument, considering it is really an oxymoron for him. After all, America is so bad, so how could she be the example for the birth of freedom in some of the most repressed areas of the world?

Deep inside the arrogant soul of our current president, I believe rests a sympathetic agreement with dictator/authoritarian rulers. He is the ONE and he WON, and he has indicated that the weight of the presidency has come quite easily to him, no problem…

I look for the day when the self acclaimed “mighty have fallen.”

that Iran was always the target — President Bush knew that Iran was the one he needed to topple, but he first had to remove the threats from Afghanistan [where al Qaeda was openly operating] and from Iraq [where Saddam Hussein had openly been attacking US warplanes for years and violating the treaty that ended Gulf War I]

With armies in Afghanistan and Iraq and bases In Uzbekistan and a Navy fleet patrolling the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf — we were in a perfect position to topple Iran.

Had matters gone more smoothly in Iraq, I suspect that President Bush might have been more harsh on Iran.

it doesn’t take a billion watt spotlight to form a “Shining City on a Hill” when your neighbors are lucky to have a candle.

sometimes all it takes is a tiny spark to set an entire forest on fire…

Go take one.

Moe Lane

PS: Not In Your Name, vedette1.
Not then.
Not now.
Not ever.

who will, I’m sure weigh in soon. The difference is that they get the facts right, mostly and just disagree on others’ conclusions based on the same facts and even I would say that in the areas where he wasn’t great, its because he was too timid or too liberal.

I will note that GWB will likely never be considered a “great” President. But not for any of the reasons you cite. Rather, because he yielded to your side on his foreign policy and didn’t act like Lincoln and arrest about half the damned Congress for treason.

My quibble with Dave is largely on the edges, I don’t disagree with the substance other than to note that GWB didn’t go far enough.

Bush did set back US foreign policy decades. He set it back to a time when the government cared more about the interests of the American people than being liked by spineless nabobs who believe in nothing. With any luck at all, our next President will turn the clock back again and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure it doesn’t every come back to “this” present.

Go back to having Ice Cream. Adults are talking.

EDIT: Ah, Moe already got you. Good.

I guess you were in different parts of the country(s) than I have been, vendette1. Oh, sorry, I should have realized by your trumpeting of your party’s line that you gathered your incontrovertible evidence from Harry “surrender monkey” Reid and the Drive-by Media.

“Under George W. Bush, the war in Afghanistan was a muddled mess and the Taliban were making a resurgence. Obama has figured out that we need to take out the poppy fields that fund the Taliban war effort… …He also switched commanders to one who hopefully will be more careful not to kill civilians.”

What makes an Afghan want to become a Taliban? I believe the reasons are much the same as those that make an American want to become a Statist Politician, the desire for power. If we are going to redistribute America’s wealth it is better to be one of those doing the distributing than one who is having his wealth confiscated and redistributed. In Afghanistan, if the country is going to be ruled from gunpoint, it is better to be aiming the weapon than having it aimed at you.

Obama figured out the poppy thing, huh? Yea, no one there noticed the problem, tried to change political policy or assist the Afghan Government in executing their own eradication effort. Which Commander was “not” careful when it came to killing civilians? How familiar are you with GEN Petraeus’ COIN tactics? Or the tactics of the terrorists? Would it be worth the price of losing months of trust and effort with the populace to risk collateral damage in an attempt to kill Osama bin Laden? Or Siraj Haqqani, Baitullah Mesuud, or Mullah Omar? How good is the intel, can you trust it? You and Nancy have the luxury of judging the quality of intel with hindsight (Bush Lied, blah, blah, blah). Try judging it on the spot, with American Troops in the line of fire, an interpreter telling you what is being said by the enemy as you listen to their radio transmissions, a pair of F15s telling you they can only remain on station for another 10 minutes and then your men are on their own… Don’t forget the terrorists’ penchant for launching attacks from populated areas, using human shields or, (gasp!) lying about who was killed in an attack.

“Afghanistan resembles a democracy only in Republican la-la land. It remains a tribal country ruled by warlords. The government doesn’t have any authority outside the capital.”

Is the government in Afghanistan great? Hardly, is ours? Are their politicians corrupt? The majority damn sure are. Don’t forget, we are the ones teaching them how to build a democracy; their government is but a reflection of our own. A pale reflection at that, they don’t have Dingy Harry, Pelosi, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Rangel… What we call a politician, by any other name (Warlord?) would smell as sweet.

I attended a jirga (think townhall meeting) in Khost Province in 2007, nearly a thousand men and their families had travelled miles that could take days to traverse, to sit in a stifling hot tent with Arsala Jamal, the Governor of Khost, and other local politicians, and voice their opinions. Every jirga in every part of the country was greeted the same way, thousands of people risked traveling the IED strewn roads to gather in what makes a tempting target for the Taliban, so that they can take part in forming and advancing democracy and capitalism in their nation. How many Americans would ride a donkey down off a mountain and walk across hell’s half acre to attend a townhall meeting? Of those few, how many would suffer the trip only to beg for a handout or a job, or better benefits and pay from their unskilled, minimum wage job so they can make a career out of it without the investment of time and (God Forbid!) effort to improve their own circumstances?

I witnessed citizens of Afghanistan driving AK-47 and RPG armed Taliban out of their villages with sticks and rocks because they were unwilling to surrender their new found liberty. Is every village willing to risk life and limb in such a fashion? Of course not, but a great many Americans today can’t find the intestinal fortitude to fight back while our Constitution is ignored and defiled, while our tax dollars and our children’s and grandchildren’s future earnings are stolen by the majority party and redistributed in the form of entitlements to their chosen supporters, aka victims?

“The Iranian Revolution 2.0 is hardly the result of anything happening in Iraq, but is instead the product of 30 years of theocratic oppression, and a young demographic that wants to join the rest of the world.”

While you allow your BDS to utterly deny the effect of two burgeoning democracies on Iran’s borders, I am not so narrow minded as to discount the effect of 30 years of tyranny, or the effects of technology, the internet, twitter, you-tube, etc. These undoubtedly play a huge part in the current situation in Iran. Look at the effect 5 months of increasing tyranny have had on American conservatives. You possess clarity I do not, your immeasurable font of experience springs forth from MSNBC, CBS, the NY Times… My clarity is muddied by memories of an old woman’s tear filled eyes and broken English as she thanked me for freeing her family from Saddam’s regime, the strong hand shakes of dozens of men able to provide for their families thanks to the jobs they had in the concrete plant that USAID money built, the smile on a child’s face as they put on the shoes and coat that we helped deliver after generous Americans donated them.

“Bush set back American foreign policy by decades with his middle-school swagger and boasting.”

History will weigh foreign policy as can we…

“The Polish nation, speaking through Solidarity, has provided one of the brightest, bravest moments of modern history. The people of Poland are giving us an imperishable example of courage and devotion to the values of freedom in the face of relentless opposition. Left to themselves, the Polish people would enjoy a new birth of freedom. But there are those who oppose the idea of freedom, who are intolerant of national independence, and hostile to the European values of democracy and the rule of law.
Two Decembers ago, freedom was lost in Afghanistan; this Christmas, it’s at stake in Poland. But the torch of liberty is hot. It warms those who hold it high. It burns those who try to extinguish it.” Reagan

…vs…

“It’s not productive given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations to be seen as meddling.” Obama

Or…

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Reagan

…and…

““I think it’s important that, moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views,” Obama

Or…

“…(O)ne thing that the world can count on is that we will not allow Israel to be crushed.” GW Bush

…and…

““I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent — all of those are universal values and need to be respected, and whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, I think they are rightfully troubled.” Obama

Which way does your scale tip?

I just can’t see why that seems to be so difficult for you guys.

Only 10 “o”‘s in Jooooooooooos. All true believers know there are E.L.E.V.E.N. “o”‘s. You’re a big fat fraud Soloman.

What took ya so long?

This is undoubtably the result of you attending your local synagogue rather than being enlightened along with Barry at the inclusive, tolerant and loving church of the most Reverend Jerry Wright.

I agree…. until America can CRUSH liberalism that won’t happen.

Nah, I am just kidding, individualaty is great huh.

for all the good he did — he did great damage by not defending his policies. He was no Reagan — he could never articulate in a way that the people could really understand, all that his policies stood for.

In following through unswervingly on what he believed was right, we was a good president. On allowing others to brand him for what he was not, he will be reviled.

I would add that I think that Bush went into Iraq too soon and when he did he did not go in with enough force — yes, I do see merits of Powell’s doctrine of “Overwhelming Force” and think it is a superior grand strategic and tactical modis and framework than Rumsfeld’s “Shock and Awe” doctrine — but I think you hit the nail on the head, Joe_Cor.