On a positive note, no one has yet crossed swords–where rhetoric turns real. Though I wonder who would win a fight between a small number of rhinos who hold the high ground, and largely disorganized bunch of gorillas running up the hill.

“Ten soldiers wisely led will beat one-hundred without a head.” –Euripides

We have our own lines in the sand, and Powell has crossed over some. I expect things to stay on the civil side of things. But a defining Fort Sumter moment is out there. Once that is reached, who knows? If that’s true, then we’re the guys in gray, not blue. Fitting.

Look how quick the Left forgives its former enemy. It was Powell’s earnest news conference that convinced many of Iraq’s WMD program, and Sadam’s links to Al-Q. Remember him showing slides of portable bioweapons labs, transcripts of phone calls between terror cells in Iraq and Afghanistan, and lengthy descriptions of yellow cake.

What he’s doing now feels akin to that. Like he’s a catalyst for starting battles.

The meme is that Jeb is ‘more conservative’ than GWB (which still could leave an awful lot of room to the upside). I like a lot of what he did in FL but, then again, I like a lot of the things that George did in TX. Any chance that I would support Jeb went out the window when he became part of the brilliantly crafted and highly strategic decision to go on a ‘listening tour’ of the American electorate while The One radically revamps our society and economy. Ya know, the ‘Republican’ version of fiddling while Rome burns.

Nope…I’m pretty much done with the Bushes

Oh…and spare me the mock outrage about comparing Powell to Nazis

My real “outrage” is directed toward the gutter tone of the discourse that’s emerged on this site. It is ungentlemanly and rude.

what is being said here is that his reasoning in his appeasement and enabling of the Democrats is the same as that exhibited by Petain and the rest of his government….not that he’s a Nazi!

Nothing I’ve seen General Powell say justifies equating him with a Vichy French government that enabled the Nazis.

But, if you want to use inflammatory language—OK: What did General Powell do that equates to helping the Nazis exterminate French Jews?

Hey, if we’re going to play this game…let’s play it. And let’s burn the house down while we’re at it.

So GHWB made a run for President. Apparently he scoured the country for a suitable running mate, and somehow landed on the most unlikely of creatures, Dan Quayle–the man who was no Jack Kennedy. But Bush stuck by him. There were many rising stars in the GOP at that time. But Bush said Dan Q was chiefly qualified. The two ran, and won; in no small part because Dukakis was practically helping them limp across the finish line. The rise of the NeoCons had begun.

Then the ’92 election season came around. A myriad of reasons cost Bush the election, among them, keeping Quayle as his veep. And those rising stars of Conservatism were absorbed into the political landscape, some never to be heard from again.

So we had the Clinton years. And weren’t they a hoot. Scandal, intrigue, Must-See TV.

The GOP fielded some strong candidates for the ’96 campaign, but none could outdo Senator Bob Dole. It was his turn, don’t you see. The oldest guy they could find, against the slickest huckster to ever come along. Parallels to McCain/Obama abound. Poor old Dole didn’t have a chance, even before they caught him falling off the stage. That was the perfect metaphor for his entire campaign.

All this was designed to allow George W to make his move in 2000. There were no real contenders to oppose him in the primary. He just moved on in. Things haven’t been right with the GOP since.

If anyone tries to roll out Jeb in 2012, immediately cry foul. This cannot be allowed to happen.

I too am worried that we’re already in free-fall. That the only way out now is through. But, the Dems are just trying to scare us to death with their daily agonies. Not only can we turn back, we can also regain our balance, and stand to fight.

IMO, it would have been more productive to agree to partner with Powell on those areas where we can cooperate. Then—as several people have noted up thread—press the general to publicly state his positions. If he turns out to be more liberal than the GOP writ large prefers, he’ll fade away on his own.

So they can play the line that “Reasonable Republicans” agree with Obama and the Democrats…or as a reliable quote from a Republican in condemnation of something the party is doing…

Let’s not cry for Powell and beat the rest of us up for stating the obvious…He is an enabler for the Democrats just like the Vichy Government was an enabler for the NAZIs….The man endorsed and voted for Obama and still says Obama is the best man for the job.

Oh…and spare me the mock outrage about comparing Powell to Nazis…what is being said here is that his reasoning in his appeasement and enabling of the Democrats is the same as that exhibited by Petain and the rest of his government….not that he’s a Nazi!

I think.

smile

I have no problem with Vichy. I’d use marginal or nominal myself.

But calling them ‘moderate’ gives them too much undeserved gravitas.

I don’t see a dime’s worth of difference between Arnold and Powell….they are the same from top to bottom!