In Debate, Republicans Make the Case for Staying in Iraq

[jefferson_dem]

Source: NYT



August 6, 2007
In Debate, Republicans Make the Case for Staying in Iraq
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MICHAEL COOPER

The leading Republican presidential candidates said yesterday that the military escalation in Iraq appeared to be restoring stability, and they berated their Democratic counterparts for advocating an end to American involvement there.

Gathered for a debate in Des Moines, the Republican field offered a clear contrast with Democrats who, in a debate the day before, declared the troop escalation a failure and advocated a withdrawal. Most of the Republicans pointed to some early evidence of success in Iraq in arguing that it would be a mistake to abandon the war.

“They are making progress, and we are winning on the ground,” said Senator John McCain of Arizona. “We must win. And we will not set a date for surrender, as the Democrats want us to do.”

The debate, on the ABC news program “This Week,” highlighted differences among the candidates on the issues of health care, abortion rights and spreading democracy around the world.

But the Republicans were more apt to attack Democrats than one another — in particular Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, for saying that he would be willing to negotiate with leaders of hostile nations without any preconditions and that he would dispatch troops to Pakistan to search for terrorist camps if the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, failed to take action.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/us/politics/06debate.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

[TheFarseer]

1. My favorite debate moment:

Ron Paul demolishes every argument to be in Iraq and Mitt Romney interrupts him to say, "Have you forgotten about 9/11"? I don't remember what he said back to him, I think he just continued on with his point, but he should have said, "Have you forgotten who attacked us on 9/11"?

[rodeodance]

2. "And we will not set a date for surrender," Surrender???

[valerief]

3. Yeah, the case is "We rich guys get richer. Rich guys we know get

richer. That's our case."

[Acadia Blue]

12. Their G-d is money. The golden calf is what they worship

They are willing to kill for money just like the mob.

[valerief]

13. They ARE the mob. nt

[elocs]

4. Concerning Iraq, hold the feet of every Republican candidate to the flames on it.

From the top of the ticket all the way down. For everyone of them that continues to rationalize and support this debacle, hold their support up for all to see and hit them with it over and over again. Do not let them escape it and try and weasel out from underneath it.

[Omaha Steve]

5. GOP candidates delicately try to separate selves from Bush

Source: Associated Press

DES MOINES (AP) — The Republican presidential candidates walked a delicate line in their latest campaign debate, seeking some distance from President Bush and the war in Iraq while offering assurances of change in a new Republican administration.

"I can tell you I'm not a carbon copy of George Bush," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday, even as he called for a "surge of support" for troops fighting in Iraq.

The Republican rivals, meeting at Drake University for a debate sponsored by ABC News, generally disagreed with Bush's fundamental foreign policy goal of exporting democracy around the world and quibbled with the handling of the war even while backing it.

"All of us feel frustration, sometimes anger and sorrow," Arizona Sen. John McCain said of the war. "It was badly mismanaged."


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2835&u_sid=10096647

[Solly Mack]

6. nothing delicate about an enema

and that's what it would take

[Hissyspit]

7. Dance with who brung you, guys. n/t

[opihimoimoi]

8. They backed the pyscho for 6 years and now they jump the ship?

How CONVEENEE ent.....

No...they gatta stay the course...show some balls and continue w Bush.

[radfringe]

9. too little distance too late

http://www.comicssherpa.com/site/feature?uc_comic=cscwc&uc_full_date=20070714

[mcg]

10. They're flipping while they're flopping. n/t

[liberal N proud]

11. Yet they will let him have what ever power he desires

This is nothing but propaganda. With bu$h's numbers in the toilet, they want the public to think they are moving away from bu$h and his regime all while they are turning more and more power over to him.

If they want to divorce themselves from his policies, they need to start showing opposition to them in Congress and when they speak.

NONE HAVE!

[Speaker]

14. Well, I can understand why Rooty wants to stay.

His bagman, Berni Kerik, is making a killing for the two of them.

http://leftintheheartland.blogspot.com/2004/12/baghdad-bernie-for-homeland-insecurity.html

Bernie is raking in the contracts for Giuliani Parters.