[Kamui4356]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

In Vietnam we lost over 50,000 troops. Tens of thousands were severally injured. We've lost a tenth of that in Iraq and Afghanistan COMBINED. Both wars could be won if the Politicians didn't tie the hands of those fighting. Just ask the pilots doing bombing runs 30 years ago, and now. Or ask the troops on the ground just what kind of rules of engagement they have.

We didn't lose in Vietnam, though we didn't win either. When we left there was still a North and South Vietnam, with a treaty in place, though not with as favorable terms as we could have gotten had we been willing to push the North harder. The reason there isn't today is because the North realized we didn't have the stomach to go back in, so they broke the treaty and conquered the South. There was only a token US force there in the end. Our troops for the most part were pulled out.

Further the problem in Iraq and Afghanistan isn't restrictive rules of engagement. Unless you think "No bombing civilians if it can be avoided." is too restrictive. It's that we haven't done a very good job at restoring the infrastructure in both. We did better in Iraq, though Iraq had more to start with and got far more resources, so that's not saying that much.

I voted for Bush because he was the best of the worst. He was far superior to Al Gore, and far superior to John Kerry. Did I vote for him in the 2000 and 2004 primaries? Hell no. But when the chips were down and it was either him or AG/JK, I had to make the least painful choice for the country. Did I vote for McCain in the Primary in 2008? Nope. He was the LAST person I would have picked on the list. But again, he was better than Obama. However slight. It was a hold my nose and vote every election. I haven't been excited about a Presidential Candidate ever.

Then vote for a third party candidate. It isn't just a choice between the republican and the democrat. Let's be honest here, unless you live in a "swing state", the only thing your vote is worth is political capital. Voting for a third party candidate is a way of denying the winner a mandate and showing dissatisfaction. You aren't throwing your vote away like idiots claim.

Obama lies in every single speech he gives. Just youtube "Obama lies" and see how many times he contradicts himself. Look at the people he surrounds himself with. Bill Ayers. His Church Pastor Jeremiah Wright. Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.. Secretary Janet A. Napolitano(ask Arizonians what they think about her). White House Chief of Staff Rahm I. Emanuel. Robert Gibbs(the guy makes Baghdad Bob look intelligent).

Like Bush didn't. Remember that big banner that said "Mission Accomplished" in the background when he was making that speech marking "the end of major combat operations in Iraq"? We're still there. Plus there's "lies" where some numbers are different, and there are lies where as a direct result, you invade another country. Guess which president did the latter. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Obama.

I read somewhere that Obama had the lowest % of Staff and Cabinet Members of ANY President in History, who had experience in the Private sector. Something like 8% when the average president had 50-60%.

Even if true, so what?

Umm hello. If you want the economy to recover, hire people who know WTF is going on. Do you know why Government Unemployment is only around 4%, when the private sector is well over 10%? Or why the average Federal Government employee makes over 70k a year, yet Private Sector averages just over 40k a year? This whole thing stinks and the American Government needs an enema.

So wait, you're claiming that because government workers have higher salaries and lower unemployment than the private sector, the government is the one doing something wrong, and not the private sector?

Let's be honest here, the private sector created the current problems. By putting short term gain ahead of long term stability, we get the current financial mess. After all, who cares if there's a possibility if your questionable home loans might be defaulted on leaving your bank critically short on cash to pay your own debt. It means you're getting 5.32% growth this quarter instead of steady 2.56% growth, and you'll be long gone with a 9 figure bonus by the time that happens, so it'll be your successor's problem.