The Politics Thread - please direct all related posts here..

[HarthorneWingo]

Also, I see that our Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, who served under Ronald Reagan (see, Iran-Contra Investigation), George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, had this to say about President Obama on 60 Minutes tonight:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/1 ... 62207.html

Robert Gates Praises President Obama's Leadership On Bin Laden Raid (VIDEO)

First Posted: 05/15/11 05:45 PM ET Updated: 05/15/11 05:54 PM ET

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told 60 Minutes that President Obama's decision to launch a raid against Osama Bin Laden's compound with ground troops was "one of the most courageous" decisions he has ever seen a president make.

Gates adds ""Frankly, my heart was in my mouth... There was a lot of uncertainty about whether he was there. This was a very risky operation. So, I was very concerned. So was the President... I worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls -- decisions -- that I think I've ever seen a president make."

Gates cites the uncertainty of the intelligence and the potential consequences if the mission failed as reinforcing his view of Obama's courage in making the call.

[mugzi]

As for my narrow mind, I am almost certain that my eduacational/academic prowess will put you to shame.

If you're going to brag about your educational prowess, here's a little advice. Spell educational correctly.



And speaking of educational prowess, I earned a Bachelors degree from UCLA in History working full time, supporting myself and paying for school. I have been self-employed, managed 15 man teams and currently own a business.

I'm sure your a pleasure to work for....

And I'm sure I wouldn't hire you when you can't tell when to type you're instead of your.

[mugzi]

Also, I see that our Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, who served under Ronald Reagan (see, Iran-Contra Investigation), George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, had this to say about President Obama on 60 Minutes tonight:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/1 ... 62207.html

Robert Gates Praises President Obama's Leadership On Bin Laden Raid (VIDEO)

First Posted: 05/15/11 05:45 PM ET Updated: 05/15/11 05:54 PM ET

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told 60 Minutes that President Obama's decision to launch a raid against Osama Bin Laden's compound with ground troops was "one of the most courageous" decisions he has ever seen a president make.

Gates adds ""Frankly, my heart was in my mouth... There was a lot of uncertainty about whether he was there. This was a very risky operation. So, I was very concerned. So was the President... I worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls -- decisions -- that I think I've ever seen a president make."

Gates cites the uncertainty of the intelligence and the potential consequences if the mission failed as reinforcing his view of Obama's courage in making the call.

So what's the shelf life on this sycophancy? 18 months?

Congratulations Mr. president, you've done one thing right in 2.5 years, maybe if we give you another 5.5 years you'll manage to do two things right.

Oh and nice job finding this thread Wingo, I guess you don't like all the OT politic threads posting up on the board.

[ewingxmanstarks]

It was not a "gutsy" call...we had his compound under surveillance for 6 months...the special forces unit was training for 6 months...they even had a model of his compound to use in training...we had our best unit execute an easy mission...we had contingency units in place for back up...conventional wisdom would lead one to believe with our capabilities we knew what arms the enemy had, and the exact capabilities of the enemy...Osama had no chance of making it out alive and the chances of casualties on our side were minimal....Gates is part of the administration all he is doing is garnering support for his boss...I think its very frightening that as soon as the news broke ppl in masses hailed this as an accomplishment by Obama instead of relishing a victory of good over evil.

[yaboynyp]

If you're going to brag about your educational prowess, here's a little advice. Spell educational correctly.



And speaking of educational prowess, I earned a Bachelors degree from UCLA in History working full time, supporting myself and paying for school. I have been self-employed, managed 15 man teams and currently own a business.

I'm sure your a pleasure to work for....

And I'm sure I wouldn't hire you when you can't tell when to type you're instead of your.

I always knew God had my back... Thank you Jesus!!!

[mugzi]

Oh I know its a joke. This is Obama's crowning achievement so they're going to milk it for all it's worth.

How gutsy is it to decide to kill a sworn enemy of this country who leads a terror network we're at war with? Gutsy, no. Necessary, yes. Big difference.

[HarthorneWingo]

Oh I know its a joke. This is Obama's crowning achievement so they're going to milk it for all it's worth.

How gutsy is it to decide to kill a sworn enemy of this country who leads a terror network we're at war with? Gutsy, no. Necessary, yes. Big difference.

Why can't you just give him his due? lol.

I guess you know more about this stuff than Bob Gates?

EDIT: ... and if George W. Bush had accomplished this, you'd be us our collective anuses (anii?) telling us how it takes a republican to hunt down a terrorist like Bin Laden and how democrats are pussies, blah, blah, blah.

Right? (you know it's true)

[HarthorneWingo]

Oh and nice job finding this thread Wingo, I guess you don't like all the OT politic threads posting up on the board.

I'm just busting your balls because I get the same shyt, you dumb ox.

[ewingxmanstarks]

Can anyone who wants to give Obama credit for Osama point out any policy incorporated by Obama which led to Osama being killed for me???

[HarthorneWingo]

Can anyone who wants to give Obama credit for Osama point out any policy incorporated by Obama which led to Osama being killed for me???

Yes. In case you didn't follow politics the last ten years, I'll update you:

President George W. Bush stated publicly that he didn't care about Bin Laden; that he was a non-factor (even though Bin Laden was still very much in charge of Al-Qaeda). President Obama ran on a platform of stepping up our effort to get him and that if he had a shot at it, he would take Bin Laden out ... which he did.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o[/youtube]

compare that with this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFK0uqhe598[/youtube]


Got it?

[ewingxmanstarks]

^The Bush quote on him not caring about Osama is out of context...Our agencies never stopped pursuit of Osama since 911..That's awesome that Obama campaigned to kill Osama...What did he do to get the job done?

[ewingxmanstarks]

I never would have guessed the answer to killing Osama was campaigning in an election...I guess he's every bit the genius everyone says he is...Our intelligence agency's finally caught him after ten years...Considering how long it took, the location which he was found, and the amount of time he stayed in the compound...it was an abysmal failure our agencies weren't able to locate him sooner...Hey but Obama thinks its a good idea to cut funds to the pentagon, CIA, and the military so we can have more of those successful social programs.

[HarthorneWingo]

^The Bush quote on him not caring about Osama is out of context...Our agencies never stopped pursuit of Osama since 911..That's awesome that Obama campaigned to kill Osama...What did he do to get the job done?

1. Out of context? Out of context, how? That's BS. Bush couldn't have been focusing on Bin Laden because he had diverted all our nation's resources in Iraq and getting Saddam Hussein. Remember? But please, I'd love to hear your explanation for how Bush's very specific words, repeated over and over, were taken "out of context." I love a good knee-slapper before I go to bed.

2. I guess you're not happy unless Obama pulled the trigger?

What Obama did was he kept the hunt on him when Bush didn't. He reviewed, made changes to, and approved the final plan to kill him. Significantly, Obama was less sensitive to our relationship with Pakistan and that's nation's autonomy'; i.e. keeping them out of the loop. What more to you freaking want? Did you see what Defense Secretary Bob Gates, a Reagan republican, said about Obama?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/1 ... 62207.html

Robert Gates Praises President Obama's Leadership On Bin Laden Raid (VIDEO)
First Posted: 05/15/11 05:45 PM ET Updated: 05/15/11 05:54 PM ET


Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told 60 Minutes that President Obama's decision to launch a raid against Osama Bin Laden's compound with ground troops was "one of the most courageous" decisions he has ever seen a president make.

Gates adds ""Frankly, my heart was in my mouth... There was a lot of uncertainty about whether he was there. This was a very risky operation. So, I was very concerned. So was the President... I worked for a lot of these guys and this is one of the most courageous calls -- decisions -- that I think I've ever seen a president make."

Gates cites the uncertainty of the intelligence and the potential consequences if the mission failed as reinforcing his view of Obama's courage in making the call.

[mugzi]

Oh I know its a joke. This is Obama's crowning achievement so they're going to milk it for all it's worth.

How gutsy is it to decide to kill a sworn enemy of this country who leads a terror network we're at war with? Gutsy, no. Necessary, yes. Big difference.

Why can't you just give him his due? lol.

I guess you know more about this stuff than Bob Gates?

EDIT: ... and if George W. Bush had accomplished this, you'd be us our collective anuses (anii?) telling us how it takes a republican to hunt down a terrorist like Bin Laden and how democrats are pussies, blah, blah, blah.

Right? (you know it's true)

I did give him his due but I wont for 18 months like you guys seem to want to do so he gets re-elected, now lets see him kill Obamacare, lower taxes on EVERYONE, lower gas prices, strengthen our dollar, put Chinas trade policy and trade imbalance with us in check, and stop trying to divide this country along racial and class lines?

Not too much to ask for right?

[HarthorneWingo]

Oh I know its a joke. This is Obama's crowning achievement so they're going to milk it for all it's worth.

How gutsy is it to decide to kill a sworn enemy of this country who leads a terror network we're at war with? Gutsy, no. Necessary, yes. Big difference.

Why can't you just give him his due? lol.

I guess you know more about this stuff than Bob Gates?

EDIT: ... and if George W. Bush had accomplished this, you'd be us our collective anuses (anii?) telling us how it takes a republican to hunt down a terrorist like Bin Laden and how democrats are pussies, blah, blah, blah.

Right? (you know it's true)

I did give him his due but I wont for 18 months like you guys seem to want to do so he gets re-elected, now lets see him kill Obamacare, lower taxes on EVERYONE, lower gas prices, strengthen our dollar, put Chinas trade policy and trade imbalance with us in check, and stop trying to divide this country along racial and class lines?

Not too much to ask for right?

It won't be discussed for 18 months. As a matter of fact, it won't be discussed very much at all because now republicans won't be able to attack Obama for being weak on foreign policy. (C'mon, man, you're falling asleep at the wheel.) No more "what will he do when the 3 a.m. phone call comes in." And there won't be any more talk about whether he loves this country.

Of course, if the republicans bring those issues up for the next 18 months, then it will be brought up by dems.

The big issue is American jobs and the economy. And I will say that the republicans campaigning on abolishing medicare doesn't get them off to a good start.

C'mon ... who's your best candidate for President????

You got NOBODY!!!!!

[mugzi]

A lot can happen in 18 months. And in case you havent noticed a shadow no named candidate is running even with the president right now. There's a lot of people that dont like this man's policies and do not want to see him re-elected.

And there's plenty of room to debate him on foreign policy, fighting terrorism is just one aspect of diplomacy, missle defense systems, Israel, middle east uprisings, libya, China's yen devaluation, our trade imbalance with them, free trade agreements, etc.

I have plenty to disagree with him about foreign policy, and Im sure a viable candidate will emerge to do just that.

Im not in love with any candidate right now. Id vote for Allan West if he ran, but he needs a few yrs in congress and has to hope the media doesnt try to fry him before he runs.

But if Palin ran, Id support her over Obama in a second. She is polarizing and could be inelectable due to the MSM demonizing her for 3 years because they're deathly afraid of a strong willed conservative.

I hope she does, even if she cant win because Id rather see a conservative run then a RINO like Romney. Because if Obama gets 4 more years things are going to get so much worse economically in this country that West will be ready willing and able to take over in 2016.

[ewingxmanstarks]

What Bush was saying was that we are not just fighting a person, but an ideology that runs deep throughout various parts of the world...there are millions of radical islamists who reflect the same dangerous views as Osama, and if we kill him its not the end all be all...the intelligence agencies worked in concert without pause throughout both administrations...the troops sent to Iraq was irrelevant..we didn't need a hundred thousand more troops to locate Osama...No evidence of us ram ping up our intelligence agencies to find Osama since Obama took office...had we the administration would be trumpeting that all over the place...Our relationship with pakistan is what it is, Obama stepped up the drone attacks the bush ppl incorporated, if u want to give him credit for that I'm not mad...however drone attacks didn't lead to Osama...Had the CIA located Bin Laden during the Bush administration we would not have tipped Pakistan off...Our relationship with Pakistan was no secret uncovered by Obama...Bob Gates also worked for Bush...like I said he's giving his boss a boast politically, because that's his boss now..If it makes u feel any better I'm not giving Bush any credit either

[HarthorneWingo]

What Bush was saying was that we are not just fighting a person, but an ideology that runs deep throughout various parts of the world...there are millions of radical islamists who reflect the same dangerous views as Osama, and if we kill him its not the end all be all...the intelligence agencies worked in concert without pause throughout both administrations...the troops sent to Iraq was irrelevant..we didn't need a hundred thousand more troops to locate Osama...No evidence of us ram ping up our intelligence agencies to find Osama since Obama took office...had we the administration would be trumpeting that all over the place...Our relationship with pakistan is what it is, Obama stepped up the drone attacks the bush ppl incorporated, if u want to give him credit for that I'm not mad...however drone attacks didn't lead to Osama...Had the CIA located Bin Laden during the Bush administration we would not have tipped Pakistan off...Our relationship with Pakistan was no secret uncovered by Obama...Bob Gates also worked for Bush...like I said he's giving his boss a boast politically, because that's his boss now..If it makes u feel any better I'm not giving Bush any credit either

If I were to look at a time line of events, I bet I'd find that Bush said this after he missed his opportunity in Tora Bora.

You are right about the troops in Iraq. We never needed them to get Bin Laden because, contrary to republican thought, fighting Al-Qaeda was always an intelligence matter, not a military matter. But, putting that aside, Iraq was a distraction because Bush was more concerned with Iraq than Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden ... as he so much as stated in the youtube video I posted.

But, look, you don't want to believe Bush's own words, of which there is videotape. I don't know what else I can do to persuade you. You look at everything, including Bush's press conference, and come up with you own theories of why it must not be the case. That Bush's words aren't really what he meant .. or that they didn't reflect what really happened; that diverting our attention to a new war in Iraq against a country that was not an imminent threat to us was not a distraction to our fight against Al-Qaeda.

Ok. You can believe that if you want.

[mugzi]

Wingo, if Bushes wars were wrong and flawed from the jump as you assert, why has Obama doubled down on them and started a new one in Libya?

[HarthorneWingo]

Wingo, if Bushes wars were wrong and flawed from the jump as you assert, why has Obama doubled down on them and started a new one in Libya?

He didn't double down on Iraq. He always said that was a diversion and a bad war.

He did double down on Afghanistan during his campaign and when he became President. I always thought that was a mistake. It's one of many examples of issues that I am not in sync with Obama on. But these are instances where he's usually leaned more right than left, which is why I get crazy when people call him a communist and weak on foreign policy. He's very much a middle-right leaning democrat, but still a democrat. He's too in bed with Wall Street for me. He didn't close GITMO or stop all renditions. He didn't fight for a single-payer healthcare system (and instead promoted and got passed Bob Dole's healthcare plan). He didn't fight for the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.

I could go on.