Does anybody in the other 49 states really care about Iowa right now? Should they?
Of course not.
Before delving into the ultra serious event that has justifiably rocked the world, I want to take a brief moment to thank Frank and Shane from Political Vindication for a festive yet lighthearted evening with a panel that contained Jenn from “Screw Liberals,” Justin from “Right on the Right,” and yours truly.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalvindication
I want to say that some people might have objected to the incredibly lighthearted discussion, and the rehashing of topics that were significantly less important than Pakistan. Let me defend Frank and Shane by saying that the format was set in advance, and as somebody who did radio for 15 years myself, to scrap a show at the last second would have left it unstructured. I would have been fine having a serious discussion only about Pakistan, but given how little we know at this point, I am totally comfortable with the decision they made to keep the topics at hand. I would have supported their decision either way. They did an excellent job putting the show together, and I appreciated their hospitality. It was a great respite from the powder keg on the horizon.
Now back to the powder keg.
Pakistan is a nation that has nuclear weapons, and if those weapons fall into the wrong hands, God help us all. 9/11 was a nightmare, and I would never ever want to minimize the horrors of that day. However, if Pakistan falls, 9/11 will be a day at the beach compared to what will be in store for us.
While Pakistan was burning, the media was forced to focus on the situation, rather than the hopefully soon to be abolished Iowa Caucuses.
Before the murder of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the following issues were prevalent in Iowa:
1) Did Mike Huckabee insult Mitt Romney’s religion? Did he use a cross in his ad?
2) Did Hillary Clinton prove Barack Obama is a liar because of what he said in kindergarten?
3) Did Mitt Romney lie about marching with Martin Luther King Jr.?
What a bunch of nonsense. I have spent several months stating that democrats were children and republicans were adults. In general I still believe this, but in the wake of the Bhutto assassination, both parties showed candidates that were children and adults.
George W. Bush showed again why he is an adult. He stated simply, “The terrorists who did this will be brought to justice.” This may seem simplistic, but that is what needs to be said. We need to find the guys, and kill them.
Fred Thompson made a very adult statement when he pointed out that, “this is not a criminal investigation. This is a war.”
Rudy Giuliani brought up 9/11, and was totally right to do so.
John McCain, when asked what the first thing he would if President in this situation, replied, “I would first make absolutely sure that the nuclear weapons were safe. I would then immediately get the National Security Council together.”
There are adults in the democratic party. Granted, they are wrong on so many levels, but two of their candidates got it right.
Hillary Clinton spoke in a manner that clearly connected. She is normally an ice princess, but this time, she got it right. Her comments were appropriate.
Joe Biden remains the main adult running for the democratic nomination. He said that it was very important that the elections go on as scheduled. His years on the Foreign Relations Committee were not a waste.
As for the children, Bill Richardson was once a potential adult in the democratic party. On this issue, he was a joke, and I was not laughing. He wants to immediately replace Pervez Musharraf. This suggestion is as idiotic as it is destructive.
John Edwards called Musharraf, and then backtracked by stating it was to “press him” regarding his involvement in the murder, and the march towards democracy. John Edwards may be Matlock, given that they both played lawyers and had ties to North Carolina, but on foreign policy he is more a member of the Andy Griffith Show, specifically Barney Fife.
Barack Obama gave a speech about hope. Can this guy ever go beyond blather and platitudes? He looked cold, detached, and remains a deer in the headlights on foreign policy matters. Are there that many guilty white liberals in America that they are scared of calling a man an empty suit because he is black? The guy has no credentials. Getting beyond race means telling a man, regardless of race, that he is not up to snuff. Obama is a nice kid who needs to go back to school.
On the republican side, Mike Huckabee made the insane suggestion that we should cut off foreign aid to Pakistan.
Mitt Romney was neutral. He said nothing noteworthy, but nothing disastrous.
Thankfully, the media did not interview Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul. Even the media understands that life and death issues involving civilization do not merit giving these people media oxygen. Also, as expected, the National Organization for Women stayed silent as the most powerful woman in Islam was murdered by men. Then again, any time they stay silent, even for hypocritical reasons, is good enough.
Reverting back from domestic terrors harping about nonsense to domestic nonsense while ignoring real terror, Iowa itself is nonsense. At no time has it been relevant to what goes on in the other 49 states. As Iowa goes, so goes Iowa. I have nothing against the people of Iowa, but the people do not even choose the candidates. A caucus is not a primary. It is a zoo. Few people understand how it works, and few people vote.
New Hampshire is just as worthless. Does anybody really care about the 32 people in Dix Hill Notch?
In the same way college football punishes late season losses more than early defeats, these two states take two years out of our lives, and not one issue in either of these states rises to the level of the War on Terror.
South Carolina at least has a military presence. Iowa is all about who can be the most hardline on abortion for the republicans, and New Hampshire is about who promises to carpet bomb the IRS. The democrats in both states focus on healthcare benefits for homosexual illegal immigrants.
It should not take another political assassination to force people to confront the threat of Islamofacism. It should have been front and center the whole time. There is no time for “war fatigue.”
There is also no time for impractical and reckless foreign policy proposals that will make the situation worse. Pervez Musharraf is who we bet on, and our poker chips had better be pushed to the front of the table, not pulled from the table. He is not perfect, but he is far better than the extremist alternatives. We absolutely must fall in line behind him for now. Cutting off aid or trying to oust him is nuts.
The world is teetering on the brink. So I ask again, for those that will soon develop Pakistan fatigue…Does anybody really care about the garbage that is discussed regarding the Iowa Caucuses?
The Presidential race just got blown up in Iowa. Good. Now we can focus on the fact that an important past and likely future world leader in one of the most crucial nations in the world just got blown up for real.
I don’t want platitudes. I want answers. I want to know who did this, and how they can be captured, dead or alive. Then I want action.
eric
If Pakistan were to fall to Islamist fanatics, India, Israel, and maybe even China, would remove Pakistan from the map. That is the worst thing that can happen, and that’s very bad. Pakistan is an existential threat to itself, but not so much anyone else. Still, that is bad. Fortunately, the Pakistani military, and a big, tough, smart force it is, seems to grasp all this quite firmly. They aren’t going to let that happen. Period.
As for “who did this,” well, that guy blew himself to bits. So that’s that. The other people involved should be “brought to justice,” but none of this will change the reality on the ground. It’s time Pakistan claimed it’s contiguous integrity by pacifying it’s hinterlands – disarming, mainstreaming, public investing in infrastructure, etc. We should help, if and any way we can. Pakistan is on the verge of civil war of the kind any aficionado of American history should know quite well. This must be averted and averted strongly. Lincoln’s great mistake was not understanding the will and resolve of the Confederacy and the effects modern weapons and tactics had on war. We should not make that same mistake (like the Iraq mistake).
JMJ
Hmmm, I thought the left and even Ru Paul said we should butt out of middle eastern affairs ?
Now we are supposed to help them put there selves back together ?
Which is it ?
The last time we helped in this magnitude was in Iraq while they were fighting Iran. That worked out real well.
Maybe we should expect Musharraf to actually “DO” something about the extremist in his country, then he would be believable.
A huge sign of compliance would be to execute A.Q Khan for treason , but not untill he tells us everything he said and sold to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
The only help Pakistan needs is a leader who will start kicking some asses.
When I said “help” them, Micky, I meant help them in a positive way. I didn’t mean invade and occupy them and make things worse – or God forbid kill them en mass. I’ll leave that to you cons.
JMJ
Lets play stupid here, alright !
It has long been known thet the left has consistantly said we should mind our own business and get out of the middle east.
But its O.K. if we are going to hand out charity right ? Its O.K. in the case with Kuwait , right ?
It was O.K. when we helped Saddam arm himself against Iran , right ?
Its O.K. when earthquakes and Tsunamis wipe out millions , right ?
We have our interests also. And in the case with Pakistan and the middle east we are justified in expecting certain terms in return for our assistance.
We already have given billions of dollars in aid in various forms to Pakistan from military funding to food and flat out cash.
Its not Americas fault that they cant makes use of the help and opportunitues we have given them already.
Musharraf needs to get busy, period.
I say we just turn the whole northern section into a dust bin.
If the majority of radical islam is stupid enough to all hang out there together, oh well.
Its time we start fighting a war the way it was supposed to be fought. All those who are living in close proximity are well aware of the risk involved in living next to a hornets nest.
Take them out. Badda bing ! , screw the badda boom
And by the way Jersey.
I dont know where you get the idea that I was talking about invading and occupying.
I never suggested , implied or even hinted at any such thing.
“Edwards may be Matlock, given that they both played lawyers and had ties to North Carolina, but on foreign policy he is more a member of the Andy Griffith Show, specifically Barney Fife.”
I always thought Ron Paul had that role ? He even looks like him.
“A caucus is not a primary. It is a zoo. Few people understand how it works, and few people vote.”
I’ve read the rules, all 73 pages. I still dont get it. And if I did it would be like playing pixie sticks blindfolded.
Bhuttos assasination should by all intelligent process cause the war on terror to become the main talking point with all the candidates for a decent span of time.
Lets see who focuses on it and who doesnt.
I think that will be an indication of truly worthy candidate.
Not one who dodges and would rather talk about health care for illegal homosexual immigrants.
Hillary may have hit the right notes, but missed a few significant facts. Bhutto’s father was hanged, not assisnated and she has three kids, not two. She certainly was trying to make it sound like she was a closer acquaintence of Bhutto than she was. Not a great sin. Paul blamed U.S. Policy, as he does for everything bad in the world; typical.
All of this is a blow to the War on Terror and makes Pakistan a very dicey situation, increasing the scary (but long) odds of a large, glowing hole in New York within a decade.
In the short term, expect that the ‘hawks’ on the GOP will get a minor bump up from this in Iowa: McCain, Giuliani and Fred Thompson. Every one of them would pass on that bump in a heartbeat to have this not to have happened.