Journal sam_handelman's Journal: Chuck Hagel - Photoshop 1
Two unrelated topics (seemingly...)
Am I the only person who thinks this news photo looks photoshopped?
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/14/world/14cnd_mideast-600.jpg
On the republican candidates (semi-serious contenders only, at least for VP, which is why I'm not mentioning Ron Paul):
In general, the differences between the Republican candidates are far wider than the ones between the leading dems. Mainly, this is because the dems are not seriously considering running anyone other than a centrist. The same cannot be said for the Republicans. Sorted in increasing order of reprehensibility.
Chuck Hagel - Was the only one of them I could've tolerated. Ah well: http://www.ktvu.com/politics/13314504/detail.html
If he runs as an independent it'll probably be a 50:50 spoiler (like Ross Perot), but I think is more likely to help dems than to hurt them - even if merely be changing the emphasis of the discourse. Which might very well be his plan. He'd be about as bad as Eisenhower and, on reflection, we could do worse. Specifically, we could have any of these other people.
Mike Huckabee - Is *almost* tolerable. He's plenty socially conservative - he's not a firebrand, but that is not his problem. He's not rapacious enough for the powerful and under-discussed "corrupt cigar-chomping businessman" wing of the party, which is immensely powerful. Also, he seems decent and genuine rather than sleazy and republicans don't trust people like that. Since I don't think the President really has much influence over social policy, an *actually christian* conservative wouldn't be so bad.
Rudy Giuliani - Is not nearly as strong in the general election as people seem to think, but in any case, he won't be nominated - that's pretty clear at this point. It's very nice that he doesn't want to put all the homosexuals in camps, but the president has very little power to enforce a social agenda anyway. A civil liberties agenda is a different matter - and Rudy has an *awful* record on civil liberties as mayor of New York. As a rule, I don't regard gun control as a civil liberties issue - but for Rudy, it is: he wants to take away your guns so we can have a police state. He'd be about as bad as Bush Sr. The following people would be worse.
John McCain - I'll grant that he does have some degree of human decency - the fact that this draws so much attention says something about our lackluster political environment, rather than anything good about McCain. The latest round of ass-kissing to the extreme right is shameful, but hey, you can tell he's ashamed of it. But that's a problem: the religious right wants someone like Romney, who can kiss their asses and feel no remorse. McCain would make a terrible president because he's a fool - which is not the same as being stupid - but anyway he won't win the nomination.
Fred Thompson and Sam Brownback - Are quite reactionary, in a classical sense. They'd be about as bad as Reagan. The following people would be worse.
Mitt Romney - Is a scum-bag (my family lives in Mass), with poor demographics, an embarassingly inconsistent record, and negative charisma. I hope the Repubs nominate him because he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. Yes, I'm serious, this guy is worse than Sam Brownback.
Newt Gingrich - *Is* a serious contender - not because anyone would vote for him, but because he might come out as a compromise candidate from a tied convention (to face Gore, nominated the same way). He'd be about as bad as Nixon, but it's a moot point, because here's the plan:
* Republicans nominate Gingrich.
* Democrats nominate Ficus.
* Ficus wins in a landslide.
* We give up and go home, switching over to a parliamentary proportional system.
Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter - Would be worse than Nixon. If there were any republicans to the right of these guys, I'd say they'd be worse than Hitler. These guys are serious contenders for VP, because of their ability to mobilize the base, especially for a candidate weak on ultra-right-wing credentials.
Friends don't let Friends vote for Reds (Score:1)
Not only that, they hat God so much they directly ignore His Commandments (not suggestions) to NOT LIE.
Apostates, one and all.
oh, and yes, that is a suspicious pic.