USA Politics Thread - *No gun debate*

[ozanzac 0]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/democrats-take-senate/2006/11/09/1162661803534.html

Quote[/b] ]Democrats won enough seats to take control of the US Senate from President George Bush's Republican Party and hold both houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years, according to media reports on Wednesday.

NBC Television and the Associated Press reported that Democrat James Webb defeated Republican Sen. George Allen in the closely contested Virginia Senate race.

The Democrats had already won a majority in the US House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections. Webb's seat was the sixth pickup Democrats needed for a majority in the 100-seat Senate.

The resultmarks an astonishing turnabout at the hands of voters unhappy with Republican scandal and unabated violence in Iraq.

My faith in the American democracy has been renewed.

Did someone say, Bananaman?  

[turms 0]

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

[billybob2002 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Thank god the Democrats! They are going free this country from religious zealots ruling this country. Hmm, I didn't know that a Christian Taliban was in control.

Oh, please.

[xawery 0]

I saw a very interesting documentary last night about the religious right's rise to political power in the USA. I kind of fell into it half way through, so I haven't the faintest what the title was. It was amazing to see how twenty years ago, evangelicalism was seen as some backwood hick-tradition by the mainstream media. I saw some footage of Jimmy Carter painstakingly trying to explain to his interviewer what being "born again" was all about. Compare it to the situation right now... You can't even dream of becoming the president if you're not a 'good Christian'. Seperation of state and church indeed.

Then again, what do you expect of a country where the (ex-)president (supposedly) says things like this:

Quote[/b] ]"I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic. This is one nation under God." George H. W. Bush

[Garcia 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Thank god the Democrats! They are going free this country from religious zealots ruling this country. Hmm, I didn't know that a Christian Taliban was in control.

Oh, please.  

Hmm, lets see...Bush tried making some fancy law or something to prevent doctors doing their job; letting a woman, whos brain was half of the normal size because she had been braindead for year, die. At least Bush can be considered to be a religous nutjob...

Quote[/b] ]Once again, I don't mind the person, it's the backdrop that worries me. Financial and political endorsement from an Islamist terrorist front group and having been a member of a black supremacist cult. I hardly think that's congress material. Actually, he does sound like a horrible person, too, with that story behind him. Oh well, what do I know? I'm created by a mad scientist who wanted to create an army of inferiors.

And our next queen was a druggie before the prince married her. Not exactly royal-background, and I don't exactly like her, but neither do I expect the royal family to have shitloads of parties and getting high and pissing from the roof of the palace while thinking they're putting out a fire.

[EiZei 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Thank god the Democrats! They are going free this country from religious zealots ruling this country. Hmm, I didn't know that a Christian Taliban was in control.

Well.. since apparently having a single former member of NoI in the lower chamber is akin to a nazi takeover..

[denoir 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Thank god the Democrats! They are going free this country from religious zealots ruling this country. Hmm, I didn't know that a Christian Taliban was in control.

Oh, please.  

While the democrats won't save you because they're almost as bad in that respect, you are living in a fundamentalist country.

There is not one single atheist or agnostic member of congress. Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd? When CNN for instance does profiels of candidates, in their "infobox"  four parameters are given: Status (incumbent or not), birth date, party and religion. Doesn't that strike you as a bit messed up?

Having said that, the mentality is most likely shared by a majority of the American population. After all, 44% of Americans believe that Jesus will return (end of the world) during their life time and another 22% believe that Jesus will definitely return before 2050.[1]. It should also be added that the end of the world is seen as something positive.

And if you look at the the current elections you'll see that the democrats have to a significant extent adopted the religious zealotry that has been the trademark of the republicans in recent years. You have a number of anti-abortion democrats that have been elected and in the various referendums people voted for the discrimination of gays.

To a large extent there will be little change in practice. The fact is that the American people are very religious and they have chosen their leaders accordingly.

The standard European view is that the American people are normal (by European standards) but that they have an abnormal government. In reality however there is a real cultural difference which can be difficult to bridge. I'm not sure how that can be accomplished when you have one side with a strong belief that permeates everything and the other side that thinks that they are delusional nutcases because of that belief.

I suppose it is better than two religions with arbitrary beliefs  fighting each other, but it is still problematic. We do share to a large degree the same ideology when it comes to politics, economy, law etc, but as long as people are that religious Europe will look down on America with contempt, thinking of it as a primitive nation ruled by backwards superstition. I'm not saying that it's fair, but that is the way things are.

(Also note that I'm generalizing about Europe - there are quite religious parts, like Poland, Malta and to some extent Italy. However even there religion stays, out of politics for the most part and faith is largely considered to be a strictly private matter.)

[xawery 0]

(Also note that I'm generalizing about Europe - there are quite religious parts, like Poland, Malta and to some extent Italy. However even there religion stays, out of politics for the most part and faith is largely considered to be a strictly private matter.)

If only it were so. The current Polish government has been using an ultra-catholic radio station ("Radio Maryja") as its main platform for announcing policies. The ultra-conservative, antisemitic and xenophobic League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin - LPR) is part of the government. To give you an example of what these boys are capable of - an organisation affiliated with them sent hundreds of sex-ed booklets to primary schools. One paragraph actually stated that homosexuals in effect drink blood, as sperm contains red bloodcells.

I know we are going slightly off-topic, but I felt the need to re-specify your generalisation

[denoir 0]

True, and it's not a coincidence that the Polish are much positive to the Bush administration and America in general  than any other EU country.

I'm not so worried about Poland however as the religion is still to a large degree a counter reaction to the communist system that was in place for 50 years. Hopefully over time that will be normalized. Also, it is worth noting that Poland is moderated by the common Union level laws, so them doing something really off the wall is unlikely.

But yes, it's not a pretty picture. And when I generalize about Europe, I'm speaking with a Swedish bias so my generalizations may not hold for all 25 states.

[PainDealer 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

are you referring to capitalism or perhaps nationalism which they sure aren't

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

are you referring to capitalism or perhaps nationalism which they sure aren't

No, i'm talking about religion - which I pointed out. Anyway, what Denoir said really made me think. I didn't realise the American people to be that far behind Europeans (if they are even following EU?). Perhaps the US people are getting more and more religious?

Who knows - it sure is a whole different topic. It is just pretty weird that religion (Christianity) is so hard boiled into the leader of the states when looking from over here in Denmark, where oppinions, values and leadership isnt considered a religious thing but - well, a matter of oppinions and the person himself.

The US just seems so middleaged in it culture, while the technology is certainly up-to-date. A nation leading it's people by fear - that's a dangerous mix.

[Sophion-Black 0]

No, i'm talking about religion - which I pointed out. Anyway, what Denoir said really made me think. I didn't realise the American people to be that far behind Europeans (if they are even following EU?). Perhaps the US people are getting more and more religious?

I think its the opposite, Christian values here in the US have dropped. Lately I have seen more and more signs popping up that show support for the "Old South." Now the American South are still rooted in Christian values. A sensitive issue like same sex marriage would definitely rip the whole nation apart if it was to be handled wrongly.

Quote[/b] ]The US just seems so middleaged in it culture, while the technology is certainly up-to-date. A nation leading it's people by fear - that's a dangerous mix.

Fear? I know not one person who resides in the US that lives in fear.

[Donnervogel 0]

Quote[/b] ]A sensitive issue like same sex marriage would definitely rip the whole nation apart if it was to be handled wrongly.

I think what some people tried to say can be shown on this issue quite well.

In the US it is a sensitive issue because it is in conflict with values founded in the major US religions. Obviously large parts of the US population see religion as a social issue. That's why they see the need implement religious issues into the law

In Europe the trend is that religion is largely seen as a private issue. This means that religious values should not be regulated by law as this is an intrusion into people's privacy. People should have the possibility to freely choose their way of life in such matters and that law should merely regulate cases when such behaviour is involuntarily restricting the privacy of other people.

This is not saying that Europeans don't have an opinion about such issues. They just increasingly feel that it's not the responsibility of the society (and it's representation in the government) to handle those issues.

[Stendac 0]

No, i'm talking about religion - which I pointed out. Anyway, what Denoir said really made me think. I didn't realise the American people to be that far behind Europeans (if they are even following EU?). Perhaps the US people are getting more and more religious?

Who knows - it sure is a whole different topic. It is just pretty weird that religion (Christianity) is so hard boiled into the leader of the states when looking from over here in Denmark, where oppinions, values and leadership isnt considered a religious thing but - well, a matter of oppinions and the person himself.

The US just seems so middleaged in it culture, while the technology is certainly up-to-date. A nation leading it's people by fear - that's a dangerous mix.

American's aren't really becoming more religious. The people that are religious have just begun to make more noise. With all of the scandals that have racked the Catholic Church and other religious leaders, people have become so cynical that it makes it hard to believe that religion is growing over here.

And I wouldn't say that we're being led by fear. But there is a lot of misinformation flying around.

Quote[/b] ]Fear? I know not one person who resides in the US that lives in fear.

I dunno man. Credit card debt is pretty scary.

[Garcia 0]

Fear? I know not one person who resides in the US that lives in fear.

I think US citizens live in much more fear than most europeans. But how much of that fear is caused by US leaders is another question.

[EiZei 0]

Oh dear.

[TrevorOfCrete 0]

finally the american people have seen the light. the republican party is on the downturn, Bush is becoming a lame duck. He will obviously now sulk and use his veto for anything democrats try to pass. he is against democracy if you ask me, selfish and arogent. He subjegates other cultures and nations automaticly making america more important. in effect he is making all the mistakes britian made in its empire. Now its turning round and biting his ass, both at home, and in "american empire" eg. various countries in south america. A mirror in histroy, america is so easily comparable to any of the great empires.

[ryankaplan 1]

Quote[/b] ]finally the american people have seen the light. the republican party is on the downturn, Bush is becoming a lame duck.

i'm not so sure. it was 52% to 48% i believe. There is certainly light, but its taken so much of it to convert so little.

[Sertorius 0]

Quote[/b] ]He will obviously now sulk and use his veto for anything democrats try to pass.

That's brilliant thinking, trevor! That must explain why he caved to the Democrats and booted Rumsfeld the day after the election!

If anything, Bush will probably be open to compromise so that he can leave office with decent approval ratings.

Quote[/b] ]A mirror in histroy, america is so easily comparable to any of the great empires.

How, pray tell? The US's recent foreign policy adventures hardly compare to British or Roman imperialism. The scale is far too small, there's no attempt to install American culture, and so on. For starters, if the US was actually going to indulge in full-bore imperialism, why not invade Venezuela? They've got lots of oil, and there'd be no stomping on a hornet's nest of Islamic fanatics. Or if there was some pressing need to get Iraqi oil, why not just use to power of the Marines and Navy to capture the oil fields, set up a defensive screen, and simply pipe the oil to a harbor and bring it out through the Gulf? There'd be no need to pacify cities like Fallujah and Baghdad if the US was simply invading to gain resources.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure any self-respecting Roman would have been insulted if you thought America's Inspector Clouseau-quality Iraq adventure compared to the conquest of Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, and North Africa.

Quote[/b] ]Oh dear.

I'm just as saddened as you.

Quote[/b] ]Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Turn away from religion? You're asking this of a country where snake-handling is still considered an acceptable religious practice in some regions ? Not to mention that until three years ago, there were states where sex between gay men could be punished with 10 year jail sentences (Not to mention that under Idaho law, sodomy could theoretically be punished with a life sentence).

Quote[/b] ]It is just pretty weird that religion (Christianity) is so hard boiled into the leader of the states when looking from over here in Denmark, where oppinions, values and leadership isnt considered a religious thing but - well, a matter of oppinions and the person himself.

It's not all that weird. Remember, the US was founded just a few hundred years ago by religious nuts with guns, so it's quite understandable that religious nuts with guns are still an important political force.

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

Quote[/b] ]He will obviously now sulk and use his veto for anything democrats try to pass.

That's brilliant thinking, trevor! That must explain why he caved to the Democrats and booted Rumsfeld the day after the election!

If anything, Bush will probably be open to compromise so that he can leave office with decent approval ratings.

Quote[/b] ]A mirror in histroy, america is so easily comparable to any of the great empires.

How, pray tell? The US's recent foreign policy adventures hardly compare to British or Roman imperialism. The scale is far too small, there's no attempt to install American culture, and so on. For starters, if the US was actually going to indulge in full-bore imperialism, why not invade Venezuela? They've got lots of oil, and there'd be no stomping on a hornet's nest of Islamic fanatics. Or if there was some pressing need to get Iraqi oil, why not just use to power of the Marines and Navy to capture the oil fields, set up a defensive screen, and simply pipe the oil to a harbor and bring it out through the Gulf? There'd be no need to pacify cities like Fallujah and Baghdad if the US was simply invading to gain resources.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure any self-respecting Roman would have been insulted if you thought America's Inspector Clouseau-quality Iraq adventure compared to the conquest of Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, and North Africa.

Quote[/b] ]Oh dear.

I'm just as saddened as you.

Quote[/b] ]Let's hope this will turn America away from being the religious rightwing extreme country it is.

Turn away from religion? You're asking this of a country where snake-handling is still considered an acceptable religious practice in some regions ? Not to mention that until three years ago, there were states where sex between gay men could be punished with 10 year jail sentences (Not to mention that under Idaho law, sodomy could theoretically be punished with a life sentence).

Quote[/b] ]It is just pretty weird that religion (Christianity) is so hard boiled into the leader of the states when looking from over here in Denmark, where oppinions, values and leadership isnt considered a religious thing but - well, a matter of oppinions and the person himself.

It's not all that weird. Remember, the US was founded just a few hundred years ago by religious nuts with guns, so it's quite understandable that religious nuts with guns are still an important political force.

It is weird when seeing it from overseas. After all, the people who founded America, mostly comes from Eurpope. The evolution seems to have just halted overthere.

Quote[/b] ]Fear? I know not one person who resides in the US that lives in fear.

The American leaders used fear as a tool to 'war on terror'. You can also see this by the recent 'scandal' of a muslim getting into the congress overthere. People are afraid of it - they have fear. And it is only themself and their leaders to blame - it's called ignorance.

[denoir 0]

It is weird when seeing it from overseas. After all, the people who founded America, mostly comes from Eurpope. The evolution seems to have just halted overthere.

You are forgetting that America was largely initially populated by various Christian sects fleeing religious persecution in Europe. While the ones who made America independent (Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Paine etc)  had their roots in the European enlightenment movement, the broad population was always remained closer to the religious fundamentalists. This makes America pretty unique in terms of it having a mix of ultra-liberal (market economy, individual rights) and ultra-conservative (religion, "family values", nationalism) politics.

There are two other pivotal things: Europe was largely destroyed in WW2 and the post-war period and conservative values (i.e the ones that led to two world wars) were abandoned in favour of more progressive politics. The second thing was the social revolution in the 60-70's where most remaining traditional values were abandoned in favour of a new system. In America that revolution failed while in Europe it succeeded. In Europe the progressive movement prevailed while in America the traditionalists won.

[TrevorOfCrete 0]

Quote[/b] ]He will obviously now sulk and use his veto for anything democrats try to pass.

That's brilliant thinking, trevor! That must explain why he caved to the Democrats and booted Rumsfeld the day after the election!

If anything, Bush will probably be open to compromise so that he can leave office with decent approval ratings.

Quote[/b] ]A mirror in histroy, america is so easily comparable to any of the great empires.

How, pray tell? The US's recent foreign policy adventures hardly compare to British or Roman imperialism. The scale is far too small, there's no attempt to install American culture, and so on. For starters, if the US was actually going to indulge in full-bore imperialism, why not invade Venezuela? They've got lots of oil, and there'd be no stomping on a hornet's nest of Islamic fanatics. Or if there was some pressing need to get Iraqi oil, why not just use to power of the Marines and Navy to capture the oil fields, set up a defensive screen, and simply pipe the oil to a harbor and bring it out through the Gulf? There'd be no need to pacify cities like Fallujah and Baghdad if the US was simply invading to gain resources.

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure any self-respecting Roman would have been insulted if you thought America's Inspector Clouseau-quality Iraq adventure compared to the conquest of Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, and North Africa.

i ask you, did he really have any choice of keepigng rumsfeld or not? -no.

America is not trying to install its culture? ohh i beg to differ.  Japan, South Korea both formed by the USA spreading its culture.  It failed in Vietnam, and it failing in Iraq and Afganistan.  you know an empire dosnt have to be gained by beating up natives.  the USA have exported there culture through coperations.  Microsoft, Nike and Cocacola are US culture spread throughout the world, and just bush saying "spreading democracy",  is exporting US culture.  has iut ever occured to you that some countries just dont want Democracy, and definatly not US democracy.

And im sure Ceaser would have been very impressed the Bush's exportation of terrorist accuses, for the simple aim to torture them.  Very creditable, im sure he would be impressed.  Comparable with his liquidation of the Gauls.

I have to ask you do you know anything about classic civilisations? it wasnt all guts and glory you know. And if you could call yourself a historian, yo uwould know to compare things they dont necisarily have to be on the same scale.

[xawery 0]

I think comparing the USA to any of the previous empires shouldn't be based on any concrete similarities between specific actions. We should rather concentrate on how the USA's unique position in the world compares to those of empires gone by. To clarify: just because the USA hasn't conquered an entire continent (like Rome did) doesn't mean the comparison is invalid.

Let's go through it point by point.

1. The USA possesses immense military power, leaving the world's #2 far behind it.[1]

2. The USA wields awesome political, economic and cultural power (permanent seat on the security council, highest GDP, circumventing the UN without serious consequences, the ubiquity of American culture in the entire world).

3. Numerous parts of the world fall under the USA's zone of influence, even though they may be sovereign states (SK, Japan, Israel, Iraq etc.).

4. US citizens, but most notably the current administration, are convinced of the absolute superiority of their way of life and political system over others.

5. It is also believed (mostly by the Americans, but not exclusively) that the US political and economic system is a panacea to all that ails the world, and should thus be exported to other countries, whether by force or political influence (plans for democracy in Iraq spreading throught the region, supporting the contras, financial support of American-style conservative movements by US corporations).

Given the scope and depth of US influence on the world, AND the explicit desire to excercise this influence, I would say that the comparison between the USA and past empires isn't invalid at all.

Though I may disagree with his conclusions, I cannot deny that Niall Ferguson explained this issue much better than I did in "Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire". Don't let the title fool you by the way: this book has nothing to do with America-bashing.

[walker 0]

Hi all

America's increasing secularism

While fleeing religious persecution was a big part of the original migration to the USA particularly from Northern Europe the descendants of those migrants have evolved away from their strong interperpretations of their religions.

A secondary effect is that from the end of the civil war the major cause of migration to the US has been economic with a small amount of political migration. The big Italian and Irish migrations come to mind.

Lately there has been the political migrations from Korea and Vietnam but the economic migrations from Latin America and Eastern Europe outstrip this. Plus in the past there has been a constant trickle migration of part of the educated elite from Europe and Asia for economic reasons (the so called brain drain of Doctors and nurses, academics, engineers, scientists and the like; ever notice the disproportionate number of talking heads on US news without a US accent)

The plane fact is the USA is becoming more and more secular and all the census figures support this. The major influence as in Europe and the rest of the world is science.

And like Europe or Japan or Korea faith has become increasingly personnel, people call them selves Christian/Muslim/Jew/Hindu but do not go to church/mosque/synagogue/temple instead it informs their beliefs moral and ethical and is seen by them as their roots in much the same way as a Native American sees their ancestry and culture, in the end they are all Americans and part of a United States.

They all work 9 to 5 and a few do the night shift and they all go to Wall Mart and the Mall, watch TV: sports baseball, football, and a few have started watching soccer, Oprah and Martha Stewart or whatever the networks replace her with, the Simpson's and South Park, Stargate and Desperate Houswives, the occasional Science program about the life of whales or Yellowstone's Mega Volcano. They encourage their kids to finish high school and get good grades, to go to the prom; watch more enlightening TV and stop playing so much video games and cheer the high school team. They all love mom and apple pie and aspire to a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, swimming pool and the latest car. They are after all Americans.

The NeoConMen's attempt to take over Christianity

Evangelicals will remain an important minority and while Rove and the NeoConMen tried to use the evangelicals as a political force politicising and controlling them through their usual Bolshevik entry-est strategy of inserting their place men into the leadership of the evangelicals via Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives con; David Kuo blew that con and the mass of closset gays among the NeoConMen as well as Mark Foley has marked the NeoConMen's card for the evangelicals.

Add to that the increasing awareness of the NeoConMen's membership of Bohemia Grove (heck how can you be christian and go to Bohemia Grove?) That plus knowledge of the Franklin scandal and of course the other shoe has still to drop on the Jeff Gannon story.

The shift in the Rockies and Middle America the failure of Rove

The major change is that the USA is more secular and that faith has become more personal. It is evolving and unstoppable. Rove hoped to harness the evangelicals fear of secularity and turn them into political cannon fodder but the reality is that the increasing secuarity and personalisation of faith made it a dead end strategy. Yes there was an increase in evangelicals but it was at the cost of the more traditional versions of christianity not the secular. The census figures prove it. The only real increase in christianity in the US comes from Latin American imigrants. Using the Latin vote is a circle the NeoConMen could never square. The largely Catholic Latins do not easily switch to the evangelicals and anti imigration elements in the Republican party make it loose loose for the NeoConMen. Rove miss-read the christian vote assumed it was all evangelicals and forgot about the Catholic latininos and he ignored the increase in US secularism.

Howard Dean realised all this and started going after what used to be considered Red states. The vast loss of Red states in the last election was the result. At the next election the Democrats will expand that and take many more former Red states particularly along the Rockies and middle America. It is the biggest change Rove has brought about it made Dean and the rest realise that the NeoConMen's supposed vast strength actually masked a great weakness. Rove's idea of a bolshevik NeoConMen controlled future is dead. Even George Bush Junior has shortened Rove's nick name:

Quote[/b] ]...It's no secret President Bush has nicknames for his friends and foes.

• To wit: Sneed hears Dubya has now shortened his pet nickname for his chief political strategist Karl Rove, who failed to deliver the goods this time.

• To wit: Quoth a top GOP source: "The president's nickname for Rove was 'Turd Blossom.' Now it's just plain 'Turd.' " ...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/130272,cst-nws-sneed09.article

Follow link for the full story

America's insularity

Americans are still insular, heck you can be with a country that big, few US citizens own a passport and their exposure to other cultures is via migrants from other countries. I have traveled extensively and the few American travelers I have met and they were few very few, are totally culture shocked outside western Europe. In Delhi I met two couples who had just flown in. They had been there 2 hours and were terrified of the smell and dirt and the beggars hitting on them because they were fresh lobsters gave them the screaming ab dabs. They were actually booking their flight back to the USA willing to pay over the odds to get out after spending thousands to get there. I saw few US citizens touring around Asia I saw at least ten times as many or virtually every other nationality.

I think insularity is the biggest problem facing the USA today and the NeoConMen have made it worse, by making so many enemies and snubbing so many friends and allies. As a result the USA has lost influence in the world. Let's admit it US foreign policy is in the biggest mess in more than a century. North Korea would never have tested a bomb if people had talked to them. Threatening people makes them hunt for a defense real hard. Ditto Iran. It also increases the numbers of groups that allie against the USA.

This insularity needs to change if the USA is to become once again an influence in the world.

The NeoConMen's dumbing down of America

I suppose the biggest disservice the NeoConMen have done to America is dumbing down all the departments of government. A sort of anti intellectualism typified by George Bush Juniors "I don't do Nuance" statement. The lack of understanding of complexity is downright stupid. It is what has been loosing the war in Iraq under Rumsfeld.

Iraq as any grunt serving there will tell you is very complex. The Generals tried to tell Rumsfeld this at the start but Rumsfeld followed the NeoConMen doctrine of "them and us" and "with us or against us." Over simplifying your model of a complex reality does not simplify the reality it just leads to bad strategic decisions based on an oversimplyfied model.

Complex situations need a deft hand. Talking quietly while carrying the big stick is not something the NeoConMen can cope with. Instead the last 6 years have been spent screaming loudly and smacking people with the stick. Big problem: people now know the stick ain't as bad as all that, it can be survived and the constant shouting has deafened people to the quiet word.

This is why Bolton must be replaced. America needs to learn to think once again; to become the intellectual leader it once was.

Kind Regards Walker