They still don't get it

[Barry]

John,
The Democrats were convinced the Administration had painted itself into a corner over Iraq going into the last election, and they had a rude awakening. I'm afraid I agree with Corlyss that even if a majority of the public continues to be critical of how Iraq is being handled or whether it was worth it to go there in the first place, that isn't going to translate into a groundswell of support for the Democrats. They need to offer an alternative that is credible on defense. Too many Americans don't trust the Democrats to protect them.

I agree with you on raising pay for the military. I also think we should have a hefty increase in gasoline taxes if that's what it takes to start reducing our dependence on foreign oil, but you won't see any politicians proposing that either.

[John Bleau]

You're right on every point, Barry. It's just that the credible alternatives are unpalatable to Americans.

[rwetmore]

Don't fully agree with you on Social Security. I support raising the cut off line for the amount of income that is subject to the S.S. tax and means initiatives that would limit how much those who are already wealthy receive. And now Bush has adopted those ideas as his own. His source for them is a Democratic too (although not a politician). These positions should have been taken by the Democrats several years ago. Instead, because of their fear of losing some votes among the elderly, they let these ideas go to the Republicans. They know what needs to be done, but they paralyze themselves from taking action out of fear of offending one group or another whose votes they count on.

Well, my view is more cynical, I admit. I do not doubt that there are Democrats who would support some form of privatization. Didn't Clinton and Gore speak in favor of it at some point during Clinton's second term? It's inconceivable to me that the Democrats would ever let Bush get credit for fixing social security. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

[Brendan]

Meanwhile, the battle for the heart and soul of Islam, and ultimately victory for modern values, continues elsewhere: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Conten ... 8350116795.

The Saudi Wahhabists have all but wiped out every historical building and site in Arabia - Particularly Mecca and Medina - to disconnect Islam from its history and reinvent it in their image. As long as the Saudi money factory continues (American money, largely. Everyone in Washington loved Prince Bandar), so will the Wahhabism and madressahs. The history of ideas really does matter today.

[rwetmore]

I agree with you on raising pay for the military. I also think we should have a hefty increase in gasoline taxes if that's what it takes to start reducing our dependence on foreign oil, but you won't see any politicians proposing that either.

Raising pay is good idea, but would it really result in significantly more enlistment? I'm not so sure. Have there been any studies done on this??