Vets for Freedom's new ad

And I'm wondering what McCain's promise to balance the budget in 4 years will mean with regards to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan?

www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11553.html

From that story:

"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico."

Assuming that Bush's tax cuts are extended (which McCain has promised to push for), the deficit by the end of that fourth year would be over $420 billion according to the CBO. If McCain cuts all of the safety net programs (welfare, food stamps, housing assistance, ADC, WIC, etc.) completely...down to ZERO, we will only save $250 billion.

He says he "would reserve all savings from victory in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations in the fight against Islamic extremists for reducing the deficit. Since all their costs were financed with deficit spending, all their savings must go to deficit reduction." That means, under his plan, we will have savings from these two areas within the next four years. This flies in the face of current Pentagon estimates which see costs RISING for maintaining the security in Iraq and resuming the fight in Afghanistan. Where does he see cost savings in these two conflict areas?

It sounds to me like McCain is making a promise to conservatives that he knows he cannot keep. Any conservative smart enough to run the numbers will know that he cannot keep this promise.

So...will conservatives roll over and let McCain scratch their tummies like Bush did for eight years, or are they going to demand specifics and hold his feet to the fire?

How about it Michele...does your belly itch?

Well, I'll agree with the ad as soon as someone tells me one thing.

Define 'finish'.

What do they claim is success or working? I also wonder how many people they had to ask to find them? My family members in iraq paint a different story.

"So did Bush 1, Bush 2, And Reagan. But it was always off in the future. Clinton actually did it, which is why many think of him as basically a moderate Republican. Any actual moderate Republicans now are keeping very quiet, because they will not be treated well in today's GOP."

Here's something that might put the Clinton years in perspective:

http://thephantomrepublican.blogspot.com/2006/04/did-bill-clinton-really-create-budget.html

BTW, remember who was in control of Congress during the Bush 1 and Reagan years.

Michele's link is typical of GOPers using figures that mislead. The facts show that Reagan and Bush ran up huge deficits, Clinton turned that around, and Bush brought us right back to the irresponsible borrow and spend policies that have run up the debt once again. No amount of spin can change that.

The debt will be $10 TRILLION when Bush leaves office. 80% of that was run up under the GOP.
There isn't anything you can say to spin your way out of that.

Many people want the war to end. So do I. I think victory,however, is the way to end it and not a hasty redeployment to disguise what it really means - defeat.

Victory in Iraq is not a Jeffersonian democracy. It's putting a government and a people back on its feet after we've knocked it down and ensuring Iraq is not a threat to her neighbors. The latest benchmark reading (the whole 18 points plan) has 15 that are satisfactory. The Iraqis have responsded to the political and military plan, termed "The Surge," positively.

al Qaeda has suffered demoralizing defeat after defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and elsewhere. It's difficult to see it because if you study LIC, or counterinsurgency, or counterterrorism, you realize that the enemy always appears far stronger and more pervasive than they actually are. The mouse peeps from al Qaeda over the last year or more shows, to me, a group that's had the floor mopped with their morale.

So, we can quickly declare defeat and relive the end of the Vietnam War, with a resurgence of violence and recriminations against those that stepped up to help us. Or we can honor our commitment to the troops that have served and are serving and give them the means and the time to achieve victory. I feel we owe it to them to stick with them for a while longer. We've weathered tougher spots and now the clouds are breaking.

Now is not the time to blink.