I agree. As hard as it will be for some to believe. I DO listen to BOTH presidential candidates in EACH presidential primary since I became of age. I would gladly vote the republican candidate IF they seemed more aligned with my political values and priorities.

This last election, I mainly got BOMBARDED with information about the war 'hero' McCain USED to be. I heard too little about the type of President he will make and War is no campaign to run on(for this voter anyhow). Once he picked Palin, it got interesting for a moment(her speech at the innaugaral was excellent in delivery), until she started speaking on her own,,,, and that was enough for me to say ,,,a very strong no(would have loved to see a woman heading this country, but not a woman THAT weak on her feet,,,).

I preferred OBamas platform of uniting and putting in hard work. It was in line with the values and priorities I (and apparently many others) hold.

What a quandary.. I say the hell with both of them and wash our hands of this whole region..


US-Israel row highlights quandary over settlements

RAMALLAH, West Bank – An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal.

Biden's handshakes and embraces gave way to one of the strongest rebukes of Israel by a senior U.S. official in years after Israel's announcement during his visit that it plans to build 1,600 homes in disputed east Jerusalem. Israel apologized for the poor timing but is sticking to its plan to build the homes, enlarging one of the settlements that have impeded negotiations with Palestinians.

The vice president on Wednesday assured Palestinians the U.S. is squarely behind their bid for statehood and urged the sides to refrain from actions "that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks."

"It's incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations, and not to complicate them," Biden said, standing alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel's announcement was widely seen as a slap in the face to its all-important U.S. ally. It stirred significant anger among U.S. officials and widespread skepticism about whether the Obama administration would have the courage or the backing to take Israel to task as the U.S. relaunches long-stalled peace negotiations. The future of those talks was called into question late Wednesday when the Arab League recommended withdrawing support for them.

"This is a global message of American weakness and Israeli arrogance," said Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi.

The vice president's visit had been largely aimed at repairing U.S.-Israeli ties strained over the very same issue now overshadowing Biden's trip: Jewish settlements. Palestinians and the U.S. consider settlements built on lands claimed by the Palestinians to be obstacles to peace.

Biden condemned the Israeli announcement and pointedly arrived 90 minutes late to a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a way I think McCain knew he was not up for that job this time...if he had been he'd not allowed Palin on the ticket...now THAT was their biggest mistake...or was it his great hope and his final relief...who'd want to continue the GOP's disasterous reign? Not him.

P.S.: The 'he's a muslim' approach hasn't worked. The 'not born here' hasn't worked. The 'socialist' mud sling hasn't worked.
So now the dogmatic fear tactic (GOP fans believe 'believe' in fear tactics: you know the good old 'god fearing' BS) IS NONE OTHER THAN THE OLD AND RELIABLE 'HITLER's GHOST!!!

What's the relation with President Obama!?!?!? None!!! But facts, pertinence and reality are but a profound annoyance to the 'Dogmatic' GOP preaching ones.

well Chavez hates America and called Bush the devil..by conservatives' definition that's a dictator....so i guess that means i'm a dictator. I'll take Sean Penn's word over any Fox talk show host's since Penn's visited the country many times.

The USA created the above mentioned countries? Strange.........I was taught in history class that they were formed in biblical times.....how many thousands of years ago?........always have been here.............What history book did you learn from?????

lol,, just for the record, about 66 percent of non hispanic white voters turned out and 65 percent of black voters turned out for the 2008 election.

Ask.. and you shall receive..



New poll spells potential trouble for Democrats


Mon Mar 8, 5:23 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new poll on Monday found signs of trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and his Democrats on national security issues such as the handling of terrorism suspects.

The poll was conducted jointly by Democratic Corps, a Democratic organization, and Third Way, a progressive non-profit organization. It was done mainly to gauge voters' views on Democrats' handling of national security.

The poll also found weaknesses for the Democrats on other issues ahead of November elections, in which they hope to defend their strong majorities in Congress.

The poll found 60 percent of Americans believe the United States is on the wrong track. It also found that people rated Democrats at about the same level as Republicans, in what amounted to an erosion of the advantage Democrats have held.

"We would not want the election to be held today, with this poll," said Democracy Corps' chief pollster Stan Greenberg. "If the election were held today, this would be a 'change' election."

Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, interviewed by Newsweek, shrugged off a question about whether she was worrying about the November elections, saying they are a long way off.

"We can't afford to focus on the day-to-day polls," she said. "If you think that we should second-guess (Obama's) decision to do fundamentally big things, there are plenty of other people who would have been that kind of president. That's not the kind of president he wants to be."

Obama received strong ratings in the poll on his handling of national security challenges such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But, the pollsters said in a memo, "Historical doubts about the Democratic Party on national security show signs of reviving and many voters worry the president and his administration are not dealing forcefully enough with terrorist suspects."

The poll found that the Democrats' gap on national security has widened in the areas of "keeping America safe," "ensuring a strong military" and "making America safer from nuclear threats."

Singled out by the pollsters was the Obama administration's response to the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day.

The Obama administration has drawn fire from Republicans for treating the bombing suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, as a typical criminal suspect instead of as an enemy combatant. The administration has fought back by insisting he has been handled no differently than alleged shoe bomber Richard Reid.

The poll found a 51 to 44 percent majority of likely voters disapproved of Obama's efforts "on the prosecution and interrogation of terrorism suspects."

The pollsters said to improve Democrats' standing on national security, they need to develop a stronger narrative on terrorism, and stress toughness and results by pointing out the increased use of Predator drones against Islamic militants and that FBI interrogation techniques that persuaded Abdulmutallab to produce "actionable intelligence."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_politics_democrats_poll

Oh please. You seriously expect THIS 'justice department' and THIS 'attorney general' to do anything other than be the good little puppets they've shown themselves to be already ... ?

its a shame that people wish physical harm on others, let alone death,,,and its disappointing that humans actually act on those wishes too...


freedom of speech or enticing to riot,,,,,tricky sometimes deciding the balance

Wasnt it Reagan the shifted the way those numbers we figured? Florida is at 10% but am told if it was figured the same way as it was in the Great Depression we would be some where around 16-18%!! Not far off of those depression numbers. If Im wrong please correct me. I like to learn!!!!!!

the disparate propensity for police to suspect black drivers of carrying drugs,,,for one

there are many things going on TODAY that could be listed, they dont please me that there are and I am not here to boast about them or point fingers,

I am here only to ask that people not be blind enough to believe that racism has magically disappeared or that peoples hearts and stereotypical beliefs have magically been changed(even, sadly, within our institutions and government)

This is fning hilarious..

We have had 3 left wing nutjobs committing terrorist acts in the last month.. And you have the balls to post this BS...

1. Amy Bishop... Killed 3 people at the University Of Alabama because she was refused tenure..

"A family source said Bishop, a mother of four children - the youngest a third-grade boy - was a far-left political extremist who was “obsessed” with President Obama to the point of being off-putting".

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1232943&format&page=1&listingType=Loc

2. Joe Stack.. Flew his plane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas.. His unibomber style manifesto sounded like something coming from the religion haters here on mingle, and then summed it all up with ...

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

3.John Bedell.. The Pentagon shooter..

The Associated Press reports that Bedell was connected with a social networking page that believed the government was responsible for Sept. 11, 2001.

What a surprise.. A 9-11 truther..