Off Topic: Upcoming Presidential Elections (U.S.)!

[Hara_Juku Tgirl]

Which tandems have the greatest chances of winning? Also who are your personal picks/favorites for the upcoming presidential election and WHY? :P

Does Oprah and Obama make a good team should the former run for office with the latter as a running mate?

~Kisses.

HTG

[Hara_Juku Tgirl]

George Bush Jr. SUCKS! :evil: I'm convinced he and Jeb stole the elections. I can't wait for the 1st woman U.S. President! I think Obama would make an excellent Vice President IMO.

So yes change is always good. A diverse white house (An African-American as Vice) even better! ;)

~Kisses.

HTG

[Legend]

I was a die hard clinton supporter but her recent attacks on obama are making me think twice and bill stating what ifs about hillary is seems kinda shady.In the end though she is too much for either candidates on the democrat or republican side,she will probably want obama to be her running mate but the recent attacks on him lately i highly doubt that.

[thx1138]

This is great: a whole thread without any of NR's fugly photos.

[the commander]

Personally, for the Dems, I think Obama is going to eventually win the nomination. I doubt he would eventually pick anyone who is currently running for president now to be his running mate. The most likely would be Edwards, but I don't think he would want to play second fiddle again. I honestly think he is going to go for a white male with military experience and from a southern state, preferably someone older than himself. Perhaps Jim Webb of Virginia? Not sure if it would be worth losing him as a good senator. But someone like that balances out the ticket.

I honestly think most of Hillary's success has come from her name recognition and association with Bill. If you really look at her political "experience" which she has advertised as her selling point, she has less time in elected office than Obama does. However, I think if Obama wins Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, all likely possibilities, and shows he is capable of winning, people will start to flock to him. Hillary just has too many negatives.

On the Repub side...it is kind of a toss up, but I don't see any way Romney or Giuliani get it. Romney is too much of a flip flopper and a Mormon, Rudy is way too liberal. The religious conservatives, who form the backbone of the Repub party right now simply will not allow it. Huckabee has momentum right now, but no money and it doesn't seem like he has a plan on what to do past Iowa. While he has the religion aspect locked up, some people are having issues with some of his less conservative stances. Ultimately I think he has enough charisma to take him to the nomination...in much the same way Clinton did the first time he was elected. The "comeback kid" all over again.

I'm honestly not sure who Huckabe would team up with...maybe someone from the Midwest...someone with foreign policy experience...I'd say McCain, but I don't think he would bring enough electoral votes. He be a good balance for Huckabe though.

Sorry, this was a bit longer than I expected, but I'm a bit of a political junkie.

The Commander
DIA

[flabbybody]

I wouldn't count Rudy out on the Republican side. He's the only one who has a chance of beating the eventual winner of the Obama-Hillary contest.

The Republicans don't want to just lay down and die in the general election. If they nominate someone like Huckabee, they will be effectively conceeding the presidency.

[hippifried]

The republicans have already conceded the presidency. They know they don't have a prayer after the last 7 years. That's why the field of republican candidates is what it is. It'll probably be Giuliani because he's the only one who might be able to stave off a total blowout like '96. It doesn't matter who running mate is.

My guy has been & still is Bill Richardson, but he was declared inconsequential by the media as soon as he threw his hat in the ring. He's the one with the actual experience. 14 years in the house, stints as Secretary of Energy & Ambassador to the UN, & he's an effective & extremely popular sitting governor in a swing state. Oh well, such is fate. Mrs Clinton has the chops & the smarts, but she's still too conservative for my taste. I liked her original healthcare proposal in '94 & still do. That might be because I bothered to read it. Obama might give her a run, but she has the party machine & one of the best political advisors one could hope for. John Edwards isn't going anywhere. If, by some stroke of coincidences, he should get the nomination, I have no doubt the republicans would continue to hold the Whitehouse. I don't see any running mates coming out of the field of candidates. It won't be Oprah either.

[chefmike]

I'd love to see Edwards get the nod! A southern populist beat the shrub's daddy, and Edwards could win this one!! He just might take the Iowa caucus, and if so his campaign contributions will pour in...personally, I'd love to see an Edwards/Biden ticket or an Edwards/Richardson ticket...

[trish]

I agree that two Bush administrations is a real leg-iron for the Republicans in their race for the presidency. But I don’t agree


That's why the field of republican candidates is what it is.

That suggests there are some really fine republican candidates hiding in the background waiting for a time to run. If that’s so, who are they? I think Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani are just the best they got. The party has been depleted of talent and viable ideas by decades of ultra-conservatism.

I think Richards is a good guy. But after being in government for fourteen years, what effect did he really have? I have the same complaint against Biden. He’s knowledgeable, he’s got maturity, but he’s been ineffectual. Hillary turned out to be one hell of a fighter and I’m very impressed with her handle on all manner of affairs. But I agree that she’s too conservative.

I like Edwards, but why do the democrats always, always, always have to run a southern, white male? There was a time it was imperative to nominate a southern, white male to lasso those southern votes. I think we should just write off those rednecks and go for the western states. This is kinda horrible, but I worry that his wife’s health is going to take a bad downturn at some crucial moment during the campaign and foil the election.

My opinion is not set in stone, but right now my hopes are on Obama.

[q1a2z3]

Hopefully, the next President will be a Republican Governor. Voting for Hillary or O'bambam is like voting for Communist China. Four of the last Presidents were Governors. The demoncrats don't have one in the race.

[trish]

Voting for Hillary or O'bambam is like voting for Communist China. :screwy

Let's see reagan (who was a gov) ran us into debt up to our ears and was senile when he allegedly brought down the berlin wall. bush#2 burnt through a ten year surplus and buried so far down into debt no one can see daylight, not to mention he's a pathological liar, an idiot and a born again moral blank.

q, does your mommy know you post to chick-with-dicks porn message board? do your neo-con friends know? how 'bout we tell them?

[chefmike]

Hopefully, the next President will be a Republican Governor. Voting for Hillary or O'bambam is like voting for Communist China. Four of the last Presidents were Governors. The demoncrats don't have one in the race.

LMFAO and SMDH at the same time at that BS...

[ezed]

I'd love to see Edwards get the nod! A southern populist beat the shrub's daddy, and Edwards could win this one!! He just might take the Iowa caucus, and if so his campaign contributions will pour in...personally, I'd love to see an Edwards/Biden ticket or an Edwards/Richardson ticket...

I think you may be right. Unfortunately, the people with character would be running mates. Biden or Richardson. Our political system is a mess!

[Hara_Juku Tgirl]

And I was wondering what happened to this thread! LOL :lol:

Anyways, The US political and justice system isn't that bad compared to other countries if you guys were to look into it deeply..I mean really. Atleast, here in the US we don't have the political dynasty like in some countries. ;)

~Kisses.

HTG

[trish]

i can understand that you would respect both of them. but they do seem (at least to me) to be polar opposites on what they see to be the role of government. so i can't help but wonder which of the two you would prefer to see in the white house.

[hippifried]

Ron Paul & Dennis Kucinich huh? Now wouldn't that be an interesting break-away independent ticket. the question would then have to be: Who's on top?

[q1a2z3]

Trish,

Reagan reduced tax rates thereby increasing the amount of cash America had on hand to grow our military - just what we need today after 8 yrs of slick willy and 4 years of jimmy carter. Ah yes, jimmy carter, the idiot who let the muslems out. The Shaw of Iran was doing us a valuable service keeping the nuts under lock and key.

Reagan brought down the communism and left is still hurting over it.

Bush #2 is far from perfect with his lack of guts to spray some nuclear Raid on the middle east but he's better than the john "world test" kerry any day.

Are my friends neo-cons? Nope, not me. I'm a conservative not a republican-globalist-wall streeter.
I just will liberals would wake up and see that hillary, Obambam, McCain, Rommne, Huckabee, etc. will continue to sell off America piece by piece.

What's wrong with posting here?

And props to Hara_Juku Tgirl for a "conservative" view on those other countries the left is always raving about.

[trish]

reagan was a b movie actor who became a figurehead for the republican party. he and nancy tried running the country using tarot cards while his puppeteers spent us into record debt. interest rates sky rocketed and people lost their homes...sound familiar? under reagan the typical interest rate on a mortgage ran from 14% to 16%. who here wants to take out a mortgage at that rate?


Reagan brought down the communism

that's a laugh. reagan's fear of communism caused him to spend compulsively on hyper-idiotic, super-expensive military programs (e.g. starwars). in their fear of us, the commies brought themselves down, they also spent themselves into debt. lucky we had more capital to begin with (hmmmmmm where'd that capital come from?). the fall of communism had nothing to do with strategy, and everything to do with fear.

now what's bush doing. the same fucking thing. spend, spend and spend. the repulican party is the party of spend, spend and spend.


Reagan reduced tax rates thereby increasing the amount of cash America had on hand to grow our military

perhaps you can enlighten us on how reduced revenues brings more money into government coffers. the military is funded by the government, not private enterprise. it's the government that pays corporations to produce those planes, those tanks, those missiles and guns.


Bush #2 is ... better than the john "world test" kerry any day.

kerry fought two tours of duty in a war that bush#2 skipped out on. kerry won the purple heart; republicans made fun of the purple heart.


Bush #2 is far from perfect with his lack of guts to spray some nuclear Raid on the middle east but he's :screwy

You want to convince us you're crazy, continue to promote the use of nuclear weapons in the middle east.

[hippifried]

You want to convince us you're crazy, continue to promote the use of nuclear weapons in the middle east.
LOL!

Thank the fanatics for setting back their own agenda.

[hippifried]

Hey! How come the emoticon didn't copy into the quote?

[chefmike]

Trish,

Reagan reduced tax rates thereby increasing the amount of cash America had on hand to grow our military - just what we need today after 8 yrs of slick willy and 4 years of jimmy carter. Ah yes, jimmy carter, the idiot who let the muslems out. The Shaw of Iran was doing us a valuable service keeping the nuts under lock and key.

Reagan brought down the communism and left is still hurting over it.

Bush #2 is far from perfect with his lack of guts to spray some nuclear Raid on the middle east but he's better than the john "world test" kerry any day.

Are my friends neo-cons? Nope, not me. I'm a conservative not a republican-globalist-wall streeter.
I just will liberals would wake up and see that hillary, Obambam, McCain, Rommne, Huckabee, etc. will continue to sell off America piece by piece.

What's wrong with posting here?

And props to Hara_Juku Tgirl for a "conservative" view on those other countries the left is always raving about.

Listen to Rush "the junkie chickenhawk" Limbaugh much? What a crock of shit. Why don't you regurgitate some more of the right-wing rabble's myths for us? That's some funny stuff!

[eggbert]

I'd like to see either Biden or Dodd but neither appears to have any chance at all. I could live with Clinton, Obama, McCain & maybe Giuliani. I just wish the populace would learn to keep god out of politics. God & Politics- It's very un-american.

[q1a2z3]

You must be living on a different planet. jimmy carter caused the interest rates to climb to over 24% and no one could buy a house. Reagan reduced tax rates and brought the dollar back from disaster.


ECON 101: reducing tax rates, which GWB has done just like Reagan did, makes businesses easier to create and there is more money to pay employees and they pay taxes. Taxing a business is silly since the tax is passed on to the consumer who then has less money to spend in the economy. A business with a smaller profit margin, due to high tax rates, has less money to hire employees. A new business requires more startup money and a higher return on investment due to higher tax rates. Lower tax rates brings more tax payers into the fold and thus the government receives more revenue. Also, a business is less inclined to under report, re: cheat, if the tax rate is "fair." The bottom line, a business has never paid a nickel in taxes. The tax payer is always the public. We buy a product with a government tax built into it and then we pay an income tax. If you take taxes off of business completely, then the government would collect more revenues due to more people being employed and paying taxes.


Fearing communism is just like fearing cancer - they both kill people. Communism has killed 200 million just in the soviet union and china. china has open season on Christians - they kill Christians daily. The middle east, china and russia have no human rights relative to America.

john kerry did some "camping" and "boating" in Vietnam. He tried to get his draft board to let him study in Paris. From accounts by people who served with him he was there to try his level best to give America a black eye. He was dishonorably discharged for his cowardly behavior. In a time of war he deserted and went to the Paris peace talks, which was not his assigned duty. jimmy carter later commuted his dishonorable discharge to a general discharge.

George hid out in the reserves. He is a New England liberal just like his vapid daddy.The bottom line, both thought they were too good to go to war.

If you talk to the Generals on the soviet side they will tell you our spending on Star Wars scared the hell out of them and brought the evil empire down.

Again the left in this country doesn't recognize the real enemy. smart muslems like living in Israel more than living in the Palestinian state as seen on 60 Minutes. They have more freedom in Israel. Just like this board would never exist in saudi arabia or other places in the middle east. multiculturalism and perversity cannot replace rational thought when dealing with the enemy. Being good to the enemy does not make them like you. We nuked the japs in World War II. Other than an invasion of superior quality cars we have had no problems with the Japanese since. The same would work for the middle east.

[hippifried]

jimmy carter caused the interest rates to climb to over 24% and no one could buy a house.
No he didn't. Carter had nothing to do with it, except for the fact that he got suckered into appointing Paul Volker to chair the federal reserve. The fed tripled the discount rate in late '79, making sure the economy crumbled in the election year of 1980. We didn't pull out of the resulting recession until the mid '90s. Carter just took the bullit.

Tax cuts are all fine & dandy, but you can't just cut the revenue stream & make up for it by increasing the debt. It's a recipe for bankrupsy. Ronald Reagan tried to blame his spending on Congress, but the reality is that the only budgets he vetoed were the ones that cut back on his requests. President Bush can't even do that because the democrats just took control of Congress this year & they've given him everything he's asked for. When Reagan left office, a third of the federal budget was debt service. It's approaching half now.


john kerry did some "camping" and "boating" in Vietnam. He tried to get his draft board to let him study in Paris. From accounts by people who served with him he was there to try his level best to give America a black eye. He was dishonorably discharged for his cowardly behavior. In a time of war he deserted and went to the Paris peace talks, which was not his assigned duty. jimmy carter later commuted his dishonorable discharge to a general discharge.

George hid out in the reserves. He is a New England liberal just like his vapid daddy.The bottom line, both thought they were too good to go to war.
Huh? Oh I see. You attended the Rush Limbaugh University of political science & bought an advanced degree in makinshitup. :roll:

John Kerry was never dishonorably discharged. He picked up a couple of purple hearts & a silver star in VietNam because he was involved in the fighting. George HW Bush (the elder) was a bomber pilot in WWII flying out of England on raids over Germany. He was one of the survivors from a job that had more than a 60% fatality rate. He did his part. More than I can say for most of the war-mongering loudmouths in this country today.


If you talk to the Generals on the soviet side they will tell you our spending on Star Wars scared the hell out of them and brought the evil empire down.
Oh? How many have you talked to? I thought "starwars" was completely defensive. At least that's what all the presidents that have promoted it have told the American people. Ronald Reagan didn't lie to us did he? How would a defensive shield scare anybody? Doesn't matter though, since they still haven't managed to hit a target, even under controlled conditions. SDI never scared anybody & still doesn't, simply because it doesn't work.

The Soviet Union collapsed under it's own weight. Mostly because the people there lost faith after the soldiers returned from Afghanistan & told everybody how inept the military really was. Their national pride (the only thing that was keeping them propped up all through the cold war) was crushed by a bunch of ragheads with muskets & a handful of RPGs. We're heading in the same direction because we're getting to a point where our only nationalpride is in military prowess, propped up by the mantra of "support our troops". We've never gaind control of Iraq, & the Taliban is back in Adghanistan stronger than ever. We've already been in Afghanistan longer than our involvement in WWs I & II combined, with no "victory" in sight. The Pentagon was already predicting another 15 to 20 years before this latest Taliban initiative. The military is inept, despite the blank check they've been handed. Sooner or later, everybody's going to figure that out. Then what happens to our national faith when all that's left is a constitution that's riddled with caveats & the secret police turned loose on our own population in the never-ending search for new enemies to continue the perpetual war we've been embroiled in since Eisenhower invented the "military industrial complex".


Again the left in this country doesn't recognize the real enemy.
Sure we do. It's the paranoid fruitcakes who keep trying to solve our problems by creating enemies. You want to see the enemy? Take a look in the mirror. The enemy is the mindset that war solves anything at all. The enemy is anybody that unquestioningly kisses ass to anyone wearing a bunch of brass.

"We has met the enemy, & it's us."
Pogo Opossum

[trish]

thank you hippifried, for that brief but resplendent moment of sanity.

[hippifried]

Hey! Can't let you have all the fun. :wink: :D

[qeuqheeg222]

god i hate all these reagan republicans trying to paint a picture....remember the dems might tax and spend but the republicans BORROW AND SPEND....yeah...why cant the dems seem to get this message in the media..jesus...an remember much of that there hi-tech weaponry we fight the good fight these days had its infancy of r+d or development in the carter years...

[Oli]

Hippi, GHWB served in the Navy during the second world war as a bomber pilot flying off of carriers. His plane was shot down on a bombing run, and he was the only survivor. Other than that, great post.


Now let's compare who's too good to go to war?

George W. Bush
February, 1968:
A senior at Yale, Bush takes an Air Force officers test. He scores in 25th percentile in the pilot aptitude portion, and declares that he does not wish to serve overseas.

May 27, 1968:
Bush enlists in Texas Air National Guard. Aided by Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes, he jumps over waiting list. He pledges two years of active duty and four years of reserve duty.

June 9, 1968:
Bush's student deferment expires.

September 1968:
After basic training, Bush pulls inactive duty to act as gopher on Florida Senator Edward J. Gurney's campaign.

November 1968:
After Gurney wins, Bush is reactivated and transferred to Georgia.

November 1969:
Bush is flown to the White House by President Nixon for a date with daughter Tricia.

December 1969:
Bush transfers to Houston and moves into Chateaux Dijon complex. Laura lives there too, but they don't meet till later.

March 1970:
Bush gets his wings.

June 1970:
Bush joins the Guard's "Champagne Unit," where he flies with sons of Texas' elite.

November 3, 1970:
George Bush Sr. loses Senate election to Lloyd Bentsen, whose son is also in the "Champagne Unit."

November 7, 1970:
Bush is promoted to first lieutenant. Rejected by University of Texas School of Law.

January 1971:
The Texas Air National Guard begins testing for drugs during physicals.

Spring 1971:
Bush is hired by a Texas agricultural importer. He uses a National Guard F-102 to shuttle tropical plants from Florida.

May 26, 1972:
Bush transfers to Alabama Guard unit so he can work on Senator William Blount's reelection campaign. According to his commanding officer, Bush never shows up for duty while in Alabama.

August 1972:
Bush is grounded for missing a mandatory physical.

November 1972:
Bush returns to Houston, but never reports for Guard duty.

December 1972:
In D.C. for the holidays, Bush takes 16-year-old brother Marvin drinking and driving. Confronted by father, Bush suggests they settle it "mano a mano."

October 1, 1973:
The Air National Guard relieves Bush from commitment eight months early, allowing him to attend Harvard Business School.


John Kerry

February 18, 1966:
A senior at Yale, Kerry commits to enlist in the Navy.

December, 1967:
Kerry is assigned as an Ensign to the guided-missile frigate USS Gridley. After five-months aboard, he returns to San Diego to undergo training to command a Swift boat, used by the Navy for patrols in Vietnam.

June, 1968:
Kerry is promoted to Lieutenant.

November 17, 1968:
Kerry arrives in Vietnam, where he is given command of Swift boat No. 44, operating in the Mekong Delta.

December 2, 1968:
Kerry gets his first taste of intense combat, and is wounded in the arm. He is awarded a Purple Heart.

January, 1969:
Kerry takes command of a new Swift boat, completing 18 missions over 48 days, almost all in the Mekong Delta area.

February 20, 1969:
Kerry is wounded again, taking shrapnel in the left thigh, after a gunboat battle. He is awarded a second Purple Heart.

February 28, 1969:
Kerry and his boat crew, coming under attack while patroling in the Mekong Delta, decide to counterattack. In the middle of the ensuing firefight, Kerry leaves his boat, pursues a Viet Cong fighter into a small hut, kills him, and retreives a rocket launcher. He is awarded a Silver Star.

March 13, 1969:
A mine detonates near Kerry's boat, wounding him in the right arm. He is awarded a third Purple Heart. He is also awarded a Bronze Star for pulling a crew member, who had fallen overboard, back on the boat amidst a firefight.

April, 1969:
According to Navy rules, sailors that have been wounded three times in combat are eligible to be transfered to the U.S. for noncombat duty. Kerry is transferred to desk duty in Brooklyn, NY.

January 3, 1970:
Kerry requests that he be discharged early from the Navy so that he can run for Congress in Massachusetts' Third District. The request is granted, and Kerry begins his first political campaign.

February 1970:
Kerry drops his bid for the Democratic nomination and supports Robert F. Drinan. Drinan, a staunch opponent of the war, wins the race and goes on to serve in Congress for ten years.

June 1970:
Kerry joins Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and becomes one of the group's unofficial spokespeople.

April 23, 1971:
Kerry helps to organize a huge anti-war protest outside Congress, earning a place on president Richard Nixon's "enemies' list." He joins a group of Vietnam veterans who throw medals and campaign ribbons over a fence in front of the Capitol.

April 23, 1971:
Kerry testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He tells lawmakers: "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

November 10, 1971:
Kerry quits Vietnam Veterans Against the War.



Quite a Zero needs to do a little real research before he posts anymore drivel.

[trish]

that's another fine mess you got q1$2#3%! into, Oli. (said while fingering my imaginary tie).

[hippifried]

:oops: Okay. I stand corrected. (kicking self in the ass for not making sure) Mea culpa.

I still stand by this: "He did his part. More than I can say for most of the war-mongering loudmouths in this country today."

[q1a2z3]

How you doing in the closet with the grenade there Oli?
Drivel is your department.

John Kerry's Purple Hearts
Purple Heart Number One:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968, when he "semi-volunteered for, was semi-drafted" for a risky covert mission in which he essentially was supposed to "flush out" the enemy, using a little Boston Whaler named "Batman." A larger backup craft was called "Robin."
Unfortunately, Robin had engine trouble, and Batman's exit was delayed until the boats could depart in unison. The Batman crew encountered some Viet Cong, engaged in a firefight, and Kerry was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart on his first day of serious action.
"It was not a very serious wound at all," recalled William Schachte, who oversaw the mission and went on to become a rear admiral.
Purple Heart Number Two:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- On Feb. 20, 1969, Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel wound in his left thigh. According to a previously unreported Navy report on the battle, a two-boat patrol spotted three men on a riverbank who were wearing black pajamas and running and engaged them in a firefight. While not criticizing this engagement, the Navy report did challenge the decision of unnamed skippers to fire at other "targets of opportunity" in the area.
"Area seemed extremely prosperous and open to psyops action, minimum number of defensive and no offensive bunkers detected," the report said. The naval official who wrote the report concluded: "Future missions in this area should be oriented toward psyops rather than destruction."
The destruction included 40 sampans, 10 hut-style hootches, three bunkers, and 5,000 pounds of rice. The crews from two swift boats had expended more than 14,000 rounds of.50-caliber ammunition. No enemy casualties were reported.
Purple Heart Number Three
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 --. . . On March 13, 1969, a mine detonated near Kerry's boat, wounding Kerry in the right arm, according to the citation written by [Navy Admiral Elmo "Bud"] Zumwalt. Guerrillas started firing on the boats from the shoreline. Kerry then realized that he had lost overboard a Green Beret who is identified only as "Rassman."
"The man was receiving sniper fire from both banks," according to Kerry's Bronze Star citation from that day. "Lt. Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain, with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lt. Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged craft and towed the boat to safety. Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service," Zumwalt's citation said.
Home Free:
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 -- Kerry had been wounded three times and received three Purple Hearts. Asked about the severity of the wounds, Kerry said that one of them cost him about two days of service, and that the other two did not interrupt his duty. "Walking wounded," as Kerry put it. A shrapnel wound in his left arm gave Kerry pain for years. Kerry declined a request from the Globe to sign a waiver authorizing the release of military documents that are covered under the Privacy Act and that might shed more light on the extent of the treatment Kerry needed as a result of the wounds.
"There were an awful lot of Purple Hearts -- from shrapnel, some of those might have been M-40 grenades," said [George] Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. "The Purple Hearts were coming down in boxes. Kerry, he had three Purple Hearts. None of them took him off duty. Not to belittle it, that was more the rule than the exception."
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- . . . The National Archives provided the Globe with a Navy "instruction" document that formed the basis for Kerry's request. The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a superior officer to request a reassignment. The instruction makes clear the reassignment is not automatic. It says that the reassignment "will be determined after consideration of his physical classification for duty and on an individual basis."
Because Kerry's wounds were not considered serious, his reassignment appears to have been made on an individual basis.
Moreover, the instruction makes clear that Kerry could have asked that any reassignment be waived.
The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer . . .

A few flesh wounds and he was out of Vietnam and on his way to tearing down the US of A.

[q1a2z3]

hippifried,

Why is the war in Afghanistan and Iraq taking so long?

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys.

[Cuchulain]

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys. /

sigh....proof that the educational system in this country has failed us....

Anyway, to answer Hara's original question - I'm not a big Hillary Clinton fan. She's too 'Republican-lite' for me. Even Greenspan said that Bill was 'a good Republican President'. Kucinich is a fighter and we need him in the Congress, but I doubt he could get much done as President or even get elected. Richardson has good ideas and seems to be a good and decent man (for a politician). I doubt he can get the nomination. Dodd really impressed me with his filibuster against immunity for the telecoms in the FISA bill, but he won't get the nomination. Biden is a good man who also won't get nominated. Obama gives a great speech and has good ideas, but national polls show that only Edwards would be a guaranteed win in the general election. He's running a strong populist campaign and may still catch fire. That being said, I will vote for whomever the Dem nominee is. Any of them would be better than the freaks the REICHwing has trotted out.

The Repubs? Ron Paul seems the best of a bad lot. He's still a CONservative though, and would gladly dismantle what's left of FDR's 'New Deal'.

[Oli]

Still coming up a little short there Zero ( a phrase your girl repeats every time she's with you).If you can get a girl...you would have to leve Mommy's basement first.

A. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded-

1. In any action against an enemy of the United States.

2. In any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged.

3. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

4. As a result of an act of any such enemy of opposing armed forces.

5. As the result of an act of any hostile foreign force

6. After 28 March 1973, as a result of an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of the Army, or jointly by the Secretaries of the separate armed services concerned if persons from more than one service are wounded in the attack.

7. After 28 March 1973, as a result of military operations while serving outside the territory of the United States as part of a peacekeeping force.

B. While clearly an individual decoration, the Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.

1. A Purple Heart is authorized for the first wound suffered under conditions indicated above, but for each subsequent award an Oak Leaf Cluster will be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon. Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant or from the same missile, force, explosion, or agent.

2. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

3. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.

4. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

(a) Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.

(b) Injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap.

(c) Injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent.

(d) Injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire.

(e) Concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

Paragraph 2-8, Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 25 February 1996

You going to imply that the Silver and Bronze Stars Kerry earned are bogus?

[hippifried]

hippifried,

Why is the war in Afghanistan and Iraq taking so long?

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys.
Nah. Nobody knows what they're doing or why they're doing it. The Taliban are a total bunch of assholes, but they're their assholes. They were doing nothing outside their own borders, there were no Afghans on the planes, & they never had any kind of control over Osama bin Laden. One of the prime excuses for going in there was that they wouldn't "hand over" bin Laden. What? They had him in custody or something? No. It was nothing more than appeasement of the bloodlust that overcame the American people following 9/11. Afghanistan was just an easy target for vengeance. They're landlocked, with no modern weaponry & no outside support.

After bombing the city of Kabul, the official reasoning for the invasion was changed of course. Now we were supposed to be bringing freedom & democracy to those poor downtrodden people who were being abused by the Taliban & the Soviets before that. Not only can't they find bin Laden, they can't find evidence that he was even there at any time since 9/11. So now the focus is on protecting the Afghans from themselves or something by installing a puppet government & a king. So now you want to help them out by vaporizing them with thermo-nuclear weapons? Yeah that's smart.

"The left" doesn't care about Afghanistan any more than anybody else does. They justify it by whining over women having to wear berkas or something. Nobody cared about the killing & dying in Afghanistan for several years at all. Except for Tillman getting killed by friendly fire & a couple of bombing raids into Pakistan, there wasn't any press about the nonsense going on over there. It's all a bunch of hogwash. There can never be a "victory" because there's no objective. It's all just an excuse for amping up the perpetual war.

[hippifried]

We got pissed because somebody threw a rock at us. So we kicked their dog. The attitude toward Afghanistan is disgusting. We're becoming everything we've ever told our children not to be.

End of rant.

[Rogers]

They must really be getting desperate over at Free Republic. This new(?) troll they've sent us seems to be even more of an afactual dullard than _Canada was. I guess it reflects the fortunes of the Neo-Cons. You're choice of avatar is so you, q1a2z3, the way it goes from DICK (via hand) to HEAD. What was it you were saying about "perversity being the enemy", and "the "hobbies" on this board"? And you deliberately pick an avatar that has a dick on it... LMFAO!!! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the P&R forum's new(?) afactual dullard clown, q1a2z3. :lol: :lol: :lol: 8) Either you are a complete cretin, q1a2z3, or you're up to something? :wink: