Yeah, the thing is, though, that once someone decided we should go in there, as horrible a decision as that was, they left us with the dilemma of having to decide which is worse--to pull out and leave the Iraqis to the mercy of political and religious factions who don't fight their battles in the press or on talk shows, or to stay there and try to repair what we screwed up (not like life under Saddam was paradise, or anything). I think in the end, we might want a longer occupation IF we can help the Iraqis repair their infrastructure, and IF it means fewer casualties than what would occur if we left. I am not a disinterested party in this, btw. Bruce is in the Navy and runs in and out of there all the time, Ben is in the guard and has been able to avoid deployment so far, and my BIL Eric will go over for his 3rd tour in Aug. I would prefer that we just pull out. It's hard from my vantage point to know the wisest course of action, but whatever that is, we should prefer it over what we would rather do. I do think that Obama might be able to finesse foreign relations better than any of the other candidates; I also believe that McCain is honest enough to tell us what we don't want to hear.

On the videos themselves, though....I must be getting old....I found the jumble of voices a little distracting...and I would have liked the Obama video better if it had featured just "folks," instead of celebrities....sure, they have the right to stump for whomever, but I can't imagine I would be more impressed by the Grey's Anatomy chick than by Mary Smith from Pekin.....

It is an interesting election yr...much more fun !

Leah

So you blast McCain for being honest. Lets just say what you want to hear. Yes we can leave Iraq, Yes we can pay for all your medical bills, Yes we can . But what is the cost to you me and the world if we do these things with out thought or without knowing the cost of the action. Wake Up America. I want honest politics and not candy politics. Where someone tells me what I want to hear and not the dirty way we will achieve it.

Actually, I blast McCain for continuing the hegemonic policies of Bush which makes the USA less secure, not more secure, and for setting a course to continue an ill-conceived, immoral, and quite possibly illegal war of aggression.

And, yes, we are the aggressors in Iraq. Don't give me that "we are only protecting ourselves" crap. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was not harboring Al Qaeda terrorists.

By opening a second and completely unnecessary front in the "war on terror" we quite possibly let Bin Laden escape and created a new terrorist front. I'm not singing "Kum Ba Yah" here. This is a failed policy and McCain is pledging to continue it. What's the upside there?

I agree with Leah's "ifs" but the fact is that the Iraqi government has been using us as cover to dawdle, settle scores, line their own pockets, and jockey for position for our inevitable departure. It's time to make plans to leave in an orderly manner. Past time.

Yeah, Lars, I wonder about that, too--I expect we are getting jerked around and used by the Iraqi govt. for various personal ambitions that we did not grasp when we went in there. There was no reason to go in the first place--we should have concentrated on Afghanistan, and our being bogged down in Baghdad has really hurt our gains in that country. On the one hand, I think that McCain's military experience could be useful...on the other, I don't want us to make the wrong call simply because people who were adults during Vietnam don't want to "lose" this conflict. I also worry abt our dealings with Iran...we can't go in and use military action agst everyone who wants to be a nuclear power. Our best bet there has got to be diplomacy and the hope that Ahmadinejad is enough of a nut-job to persuade his people that they no longer want him or his party in charge. Honestly, education, free press and good economies are the best weapons agst people like him.

Wow, guys....and having read your BIL Ben's writing on occasion, I can see that family reunions at the Lee house can be really entertaining!

Yeah, it's really too bad none of us have any strong opinions.

Oh my gosh I just won't go here with you guys because we definitely have very different opinions for siblings coming from the same family. I guess this is what happens when you parents enforce the no politics or religion discussion. I'll just go and blast my Rush.

I've got his button: "Bomb Iran? Yes We Can!"