You're right Ray, just the same way Obama really meant 10,000 people died in that Kansas Tornado.  People never mispeak and then later correct themselves.

They better get to finding those missing 9,988 bodies.

The Obama camp backpeddaled friday, right after the announcement of her candidacy, first attacking her experience. Campaign spokesman Bill Burton said, "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency". I think they quickly realized how bad a mistake that was and changed their tune. Obama and Biden released a benign congratulatory message later recognizing the historical significance (much like McCain did for Obama thursday) and when questioned about the mixed messages coming from his camp, later in the day, Obama said, "I think that, you know, campaigns start getting these hair triggers. The statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments."

QUOTE: I don't care if any other country likes us, just that they worry about crossing us.

This is a sentiment that bothers me greatly, and seems to be all too common after 9/11 and especially from Republicans.  I think it's vital to be concerned about whether countries like us, if we are to be a world leader.  Further, we'll see countless challenges to peace if we go warmongering and ticking the world off like we've been.  I really and truly believe that if McCain is elected, we'll see a new major war within his 4 years.

QUOTE: The man went through years of torture, and handled it.  That sort of experience can break a man or make him stronger, and it didn't break him.

You can't know that for sure.  How can you be sure he isn't harboring intense hatred for southeast asians and potentially will have control over the US military and nuclear weapons.  There are veterans of WW2 that to this day, more than 60 years later, freely admit their hatred and resentment for the Japanese.  And many had never been held prisoner.  I truly believe that we need to move away from former military men as presidential candidates, and focus on intellectuals.  Anyone with a military background knows that you are trained to kill the enemy without remorse, after having your self-esteem shattered and remade into something else.  That's too dangerous in my book.

A governor, which is arguably more hands on and a better prereq for the White House than being a cog in the legislative wheel"

Governor George Bush.
President George Bush.
Governor George Bush.
President George Bush.

Well, so much for that logic.

Yeah, Bush was the only president who was a governor first. Thanks for the logic lesson.

How can you be sure he isn't harboring intense hatred for southeast asians

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He adopted one. Is that proof enough for you?

"It seems to me the American idea of the "far left" is just about center in Canada so the Republicans scare the hell out of me and I am currently living in the most conservative US-happy province in the country. Maybe Jodi should move up here."

From my experience, the americans have a scale where it goes "liberal, far left and then socialist". And what they call socialist we usually call social and economic conservatives (actually we use the term economic liberals, as we use the term liberal correctly to describe someone who favors limiting government.)  

The american two party system is really very conservative.

"Greg:  I truly believe that we need to move away from former military men as presidential candidates, and focus on intellectuals.  Anyone with a military background knows that you are trained to kill the enemy without remorse, after having your self-esteem shattered and remade into something else.  That's too dangerous in my book."

Absurd. There are good and bad military leaders, yes they harden their hearts and send young soldiers to their deaths but the good ones do their very best to minimize losses. But look at the diffferences. Ike, when he started running, he put down his uniform and when he left office he argued that we should be wary of the militray-industrial complex.

http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

There is a lot of difference between the knowledge and insight of a military man like Eisenhower and one like McCain or Bush. To dismiss all military men as unsuitable (or even assuming that "intellectuals" are a separate group from "military men") is very short-sighted.