Marshalling Our Resources In Afghanistan

David Brooks describes the apparent futility of our vast aid effort to Afghanistan but misses a blindingly obvious point:

Do Marshall Plans work? If this country really did galvanize its best minds and billions of dollars to alleviate poverty somewhere or to solve some complicated problem, could we actually do it?

Well, the U.S. has been engaged in a new Marshall Plan for most of the past decade. Between 2002 and 2010, the U.S. spent roughly $19 billion to promote development in Afghanistan. Many other nations have also sent thousands of aid workers and billions of dollars.

In some spheres the results have been impressive. Nearly two-thirds of Afghans now have access to basic health services, up from 9 percent a decade ago. Under the Taliban, 900,000 boys and no girls attended schools. Now more than seven million Afghans attend school, and 35 percent of them are girls, according to the United States Agency for International Development.

But when it comes to laying the foundation for economic growth and stability, the results have been discouraging.

Ah, well - with the original Marshall Plan we were re-building Europe, not building it.  The underlying culture of a modern economy was already in place.

Comments

[Coldwar Hackmaster III]

What will it take to at last drive a stake through the absurd myth that "exceptional" America can teach the third world how to live by killing the bad guys in their midst?

[sbw]

Teach them to read. Give them a skill so they can earn a better life for their children. Then watch.

Our job is to give breathing room, not make them into Americans.

[narciso]

Mortimer Adler does a primal scream from the
'great beyond'; the Great Books Program. The situations are not comparable. I know the default parallel is Vietnam, but the counterinsurgency campaign in the Phillipines, at the beginning of the last century, would seem more fitting.

[narciso]

Sure, whatever Mitch, 'just pray they don't alter the deal further'

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/short-debt-limit-hike-possible-mcconnell-195539802.html

[Pofarmer]

We need to give them more than a skill. Real advancements require individual property rights which are sorely lacking in most of the worst places on the globe. When all that you work for can simply be taken, what's the pont of living beyond daily subistence?

[Chubby]

((Under the Taliban, 900,000 boys and no girls attended schools. Now more than seven million Afghans attend school, and 35 percent of them are girls, according to the United States Agency for International Development))

I wonder what the hey they are teaching in those schools. Are the schools run by clerics?

[GMAX]

I actually think that small and frequent debt ceiling raises are a better way to go. Get some reduction, and give them a few months. Keep the issue percolating all the way up to the election that way.

[Cecil Turner]

Ah, well - with the original Marshall Plan we were re-building Europe, not building it.

That's part of the problem. The other part is the sheer scale of the effort: billions of dollars in US aid warps everything it touches. And so much is siphoned off in graft and protection money that we actually fund both sides. A buddy of mine running a Provincial Reconstruction Team a couple years ago told me the "reconstruction" funds are the main source of income for the entire country and everyone is looking for a way to steal his "fair" share. End result is one big experiment in unintended consequences.

What will it take to at last drive a stake through the absurd myth that "exceptional" America can teach the third world how to live by killing the bad guys in their midst?

What will it take to get the libtards to understand the point of war is not to "teach the third world how to live," but to kill bad guys?

[GMAX]

Libtards dont think there are bad guys, Cecil. Misunderstood maybe. And they have the man standing on their neck too!

[narciso]

The parallel really has to drift into alt history to work, say the Germans didn't surrender in '45, and continued to fight for
a few more years. Then the Communists took over as we pulled out. And then, after a decade, we invaded the continent, and drove
them out, while they engaged in guerilla campaigns (ala Brigatte Rosse, and RAF)

[Barry Dauphin]

The Marshall Plan was enacted after WWII not during it. Whatever we are trying to build in Afghanistan, the Taliban and al Qaeda are trying to tear down. Even David Brooks can do better than this.

[Danube of Thought]

I don't see either Vietnam or the Philippine insurrection as particularly close parallels. The Philippines had been a well-developed Spanish colony for 300 years, and Vietnam--even long before its colonization by the French--were a thoroughly civilized people.

I think the situation in Afghanistan is much more daunting.

[Jack is Back!]

Talking about history, here is a list of Bami's "firsts" as POTUS. Quite impressive. LUN

[Ignatz]

--The underlying culture of a modern economy was already in place.--

More importantly, the underlying culture of a nation was already in place.
Afghanistan's only national identity is its long history of making foreign occupiers miserable enough to leave, otherwise it is more tribal than Rwanda and Burundi combined.

[OldTimer]

Now that the GOP has corralled, or at least slowed down Obama's ability to wreak total destruction on America domestically, there's nothing left for Barry to do but create chaos in the Middle East, while insuring we are left nearly defenseless at home. Only the blind can't see Armageddon lurking on the horizon.

We will suffer greatly if Panetta prevails at DoD.

Pray for Jerusalem. LUN

[Clarice]

We shoulda sent Protestant missionaries instead of civic reformers.

[narciso]

My reservations about Panetta as DCI were born out, and this was before I knew about
this Delacey character, He seems as entangled
as Lake was a dozen year or so, with leftist
organizations.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

I wonder what the hey they are teaching in those schools. Are the schools run by clerics?

Probably, since the word they translate as "cleric" means "learned man".

Probably not in the sense you mean it, at least not all of them, since 35 percent are girls.

[Extraneus]

Principles, shmintzaples.

Obama Looking for Political Sweet Spot on Afghanistan

[anduril]

Marshall our resources in Afghanistan? Pull them out of freakin' Afghanistan!

Here's what the political class, GOPer/Dems, don't want the citizenry talking about: The World Held Hostage by Credit Default Swaps.

Uncontextualized excerpts:

...the apparent bailout for the EU banks led by BNP, Societe General and the German landesbanks is shared equally by their US derivatives counterparts.

So the more accurate description is that all of the major players in the world of credit default swaps were bailed out on Friday, proof again that this financial ghetto known as OTC derivatives is adding to the systemic risk problem -- and holds the entire world hostage.

The net increase in financial exposures due to the existence of the CDS market in sovereign credit risk has not made the real economy safer, but instead multiplies the dollar amount of the basis risk in all markets, real or imagined. You cannot get rid of systemic risk and "too big to fail" until you limit credit derivative products to holders of actual debt. Instead we have hedge funds and banks gambling on the end of the world.

The impending damage of a mark-to-market event with respect to Greece or Ireland is such that the craven fools who inhabit public offices from Paris to Washington are forced to socialize the losses of the banks. The free market is dead and we have all arrived at a sort of involuntary socialism, where the largest banks rape and pillage, and even hedge funds and other credulous players in the financial markets are turned into victims.

...

...

...

The refusal of the political class to imposes losses on large bank creditors since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual in 2008 illustrates the extent to which the financialization of the western industrial economies has turned into a gradual coup d'etat by the banks and the global speculators who dominate their client base. ...

So much of what goes on inside the typical investment bank today has nothing to do with the real economy as illustrated by the Greek situation. Much of finance today is beggar they neighbor speculation. But even the hedge funds that were betting on raging contagion are getting stiffed by the banksters and their political sponsors. Just as individual savers are being denied their due via low rate policies, the speculative class is also being stiffed by banks that cannot make good on their wagers in CDS.

By saying that the banks and their creditors cannot be made to take losses on even their speculative activities, technocrats such as Germany's Angela Merkel, France's Nicholas Sarkozy and Barack Obama have become the ambassadors for the new global ruling class. The servants of the banksters, Sarkozy, Merkel and Obama, think that they can put the entire weight of restructuring Europe and US debt on the backs of taxpayers.

Do our leaders really think that they can restructure Greece and Ireland via austerity without requiring any pain from investors in bank debt or the managers of the banks? If so, then the decision on Friday is not a solution but instead puts the western market economies on the road to further political and financial turmoil. Just as the unfair peace after WWI led to economic depression in Europe and the rise of fascism, the decision to dispense with the pretense of free market discipline in the industrial economies puts us all on the road to serfdom and political upheaval.

[narciso]

This bit of political anthropology is interesting, ala Kirkpatrick of the Times

http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/rick-perry-2011-6/

[narciso]

Precedent would dictate, Ext, that he will draw down more than Petraeus recommends, as
he provided less troops to the surge, then
McChrystal had demanded.

[narciso]

I feel much more confident, now, don't you:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576399423847035368.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_us

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 14 at Raz today.

[anduril]

much too young to feel this damn old

The fiddle sounds a bit too electric for my taste, but it's good.

Another live session, Suzy Bogguss doing Someday Soon.

For some fun, don't miss her doing After You've Gone with All-World backup.

[Clarice]

OT but I love this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wJfsLafye4&feature=player_embedded

[narciso]

It's a wonder, isn't it Clarice, he says things like this, every single day, yet they still consider him a savant.

[MarkO]

Ian and Sylvia.

[fdcol63]

When future historians review the downfall and collapse of the once mighty USA, they will puzzle over why the American people didn't revolt violently against the MSM, who had become nothing but a subversive 5th Column enagaged in open and deliberate treason against America.

[narciso]

I guess there si a certain degree of fish barreling, with a column like this:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303635604576392023187860688.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

[corn-fed conservative]

'Cut and run' is the best strategy for Assghanistan.

It's too long a 'Long hard slog..." for us to bother.

"Mushroom clouds' are not the threat, Sharia Law creeping into the USA is what we're concerned with.

No "Nation Building' will be supported while Obama is in the WH.

Isolationism is our Mantra, until we have a more war-like (Republican) administration,

[corn-fed conservative]

?House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans regularly rail against "job-killing government spending." Think about that for a minute. The claim is that employment actually declines when federal spending rises. Using the same illogic, employment should soar if we made massive cuts in public spending—as some are advocating right now.

Acting on such a belief would imperil a still-shaky economy that is not generating nearly enough jobs. So let's ask: How, exactly, could more government spending "kill jobs"?"

Is he kidding? It's killing jobs when the government takes money from the taxpayer and then GIVES it back to the taxpayer, rather than giving it to Corporations who could
have less to hide offshore. Then it's not available to them to produce goods and sell them, and so they can't POSSIBLY create new jobs because, see, it's not available for investment.

[narciso]

In retrospect, though, was Eickenberry and
Galbraith right in undermining Karzai and supporting Abdallah, as was the subject of more than one thread here.

[Danube of Thought]

And what will become of Chicago?

The average Chicago household now owes a staggering $63,525 to cover local government debt, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

Suburbanites are deeply on the hook, too, with the average household owing $32,901, according to the treasurer.

And collective local government pensions are unfunded to the tune of $25 billion.

In comments after an appearance Tuesday before The Civic Federation, a watchdog group that has released somewhat similar numbers in recent years, Ms. Pappas said she was "stunned" to learn that county taxpayers on the whole owe more than $108 billion toward local debt.

The figures were derived from a recently passed debt disclosure law. Ms. Pappas said the numbers have never before been compiled in this fashion.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Whaaaaambulance needed, ethanol driven, of course.

[Danube of Thought]

Cleo has done a fine job of cutting and pasting Alan Blinder's column from today's WSJ.

Blinder mischaracterizes entirely the point being made by Boehner and others, which is that in the long term, the servicing and reduction of the added debt will require higher taxes and higher interest rates, both of which are job-killers. But Cleo is far too dumb to grasp that.

[narciso]

108 billion, that's comparable to our national
unfounded liabilities bill, even if you amortized that over 30 years, that's staggering.

[Sue]

Saw this earlier today on facebook:

"I'm off to work. People on welfare are counting on me."

[Rick Ballard]

Narciso,

Does the composition of the freely elected Detroit City Council have any bearing upon the complete failure of the city? Are hand selected thugs expected to do a "better job" than elected thugs when the citizenry is as debased as that of Detroit - or Kabul?

[Danube of Thought]

Actually, although this fellow rivals Cleo for incoherence, I don't believe it is he.

[Melinda Romanoff]

DoT-

They hire, I mean "appoint", the best of managers for those pensions as well. No conflict of interests, no experience needed, either. Political loyalty? That's vital.

[narciso]

Some weeks ago, the city manager, and finance chief in Miami, both unexpectedly decided to step down, now just a week ago, we discover
the budget has a 40 billion dollar shortfall.

[Danube of Thought]

Narc, the national unfunded obligations are around $100 Trillion with a "T."

[corn-fed conservative]

Effluent, whose judgement he alone, trusts.

[Heh, they've been capitalists longer than we have been.]

Uh, schools and health care aren't 'laying a foundation for economic growth'?
===========

[narciso]

That's why I should have said proportionally,
that's unsustainable as well

[narciso]

And some unintentional humor from Meghan McCain (no I'm not giving a link)

[Danube of Thought]

even if you amortized that over 30 years, that's staggering

I think it's already been amortized over an infinite time period. I believe the number represents the discounted present value of the difference between the future obligations and the sources of revenue to pay for them, forever. (Once you get out past, say, fifty years, the discounting makes the numbers beyond that not very significant in terms of present value.)

Have I got this right?

[Danube of Thought]

Yep, it's Cleo--dumb as a box of hammers.

[rse]

Given what I now have documented, schools,K-12 and higher ed, should best be viewed as the foundational termites in the transformational change plan.

Why do you think PISA and NAEP are suddenly getting such attention when they are normally downplayed?

To get support for the proffered remedies which actually shift us even further from academics. Who is really in a position to notice the difference between the rhetoric and the reality?

[Danube of Thought]

Article on the story daddy was telling a few days ago about the lady who swims with the belugas. The pics are extraordinary (and she looks to be in great shape).

[Rob Crawford]

Actually, a critical difference is that the Europeans at the time still had the concept of fending for themselves. They still lived with the belief that only those who worked, ate.

It's been, what, three, four decades of international assistance for the whole of the Third World? For two generations they've not had to feed themselves?

Look at Egypt -- the conditions that made them the bread basket of the Mediterranean haven't changed, but they couldn't feed themselves without bags labeled "Given by the People of the United States of America".

The surest way to being Afghanistan back into the fold of civilized nations -- where it was, back before the Soviets wanted it for themselves -- is to cut off the food aid. No free food? Well, they're not going to be able to grow enough poppies to buy the food they need (food is bulky, shipping bulk is expensive, and anything coming in from Pakistan will get stolen by the people of that glorious nation), so they'll move towards growing food. The tribal warlords won't be their customers, but their predators, and a stable government that lets them feed their children will sound like a really good idea.

Or not. Either way I think we come out ahead.

[narciso]

You see in the work of Ahdaf Souief, written before September 11th, and Ala Alaswani, set in early 90s, what a nasty corrupt place, Egypt has been. And foreign aid is not a small part of this.

[Sue]

I see where it says she can hold her breath for 10 minutes. That must explain why she thought it would be a good idea to get naked an swim with the whales was a good idea. :)

[centralcal]

Dear gawd - Obama is addressing the nation from the W.H. tomorrow at 8 pm. Whoopie-doo. Apparently about drawing down troops from Afghanistan.

[narciso]

She's european, Russian I think, I see the comments at the Daily Mail has been disabled.

Rush is opening up with Reagan's clear statements against Carter, unlike Huntsman's
sad pablum.

[MarkO]

Doomed, I say. Doomed.

[Army of Davids]

Waiting for Superman

[centralcal]

Uh oh - Gingrich's finance team has now quit too!

[Bear1909]

Being in Afghanistan and Iraq won't last much longer if the Saudis and the Qatari forces get out talked and rioted out of Bahrain where our regional fleet is headquartered. Will we end up stranding our forces and materiele if the unthinkable happens in Bahrain? Just askin.

At some point when does the USA swallow its pride and pull out, re-tool, and get ready for a new commander and chief with Allen West as SecDef? Anticipation is the key now. Israel may end up needing to pave (nuke) Iran and Pakistan as we create a new power vacuum by withdrawing. It's getting to that point.

As for nation building ironies, Hanoi is asking for the US to send a fleet into Cam Ranh Bay to check the Chicomms exploits in the region. So many said that Vietnam was a waste of resources and US blood... maybe in the immediate time frame it could be seen that way, as so many said the same thing about Korea...not so much now.

Give people a taste of capitalism and education (no matter how second rate those might be to our standards) and they will wake up to the ludicrous promises of theocratic fundamentalism and/or Marxism.

The Chicomms and the Mullahs in Persia are in deep doo-doo. We can play some cards by redeployment that just might take their hands off the sewer valves and let those run full open and bury their retarded politicos in what they wont be able to hold back much longer (nice way of saying "shit they made over the past 4 decades").

[mikey]

Separated at birth Jon Huntsman and Joe Conason. That is all I need to know.

[narciso]

True, but that's like leaving the Poseidon after it flipped upside down,

[narciso]

The Saudis aren't taking our calls, sadly that's probably a good thing. Did I hear on CNBC that they voted to raise production, that's news to me.

[peter]

There are plenty of baleinophiles in the world. There was a book (and maybe a documentary) about a guy who had a love affair with a dolphin.

[rse]

Bear-

It's not a matter of 2nd rate standards. The model being pushed has virtually nothing to do with the transmission of the cultural knowledge created or stumbled over by the best and the brightest over the centuries.

The same model the Soviets used to keep their population subordinate has simply received new names and is being imposed all over the world. The template is in place. I felt like a world traveller recently as I kept moving from continent to continent tracking terrible ideas designed to limit, not raise up.

On the real topic. Now that we've discussed light bulbs, has anyone started adding phosphates back into their dishwasher and washing machine?

[Extraneus]

Interesting post, Bear1909.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Pres. Blather-More did not dare go up *tonight* against NCIS. Remember when the regular stations just ignored Dubya's addresses?

[Melinda Romanoff]

rse-

I hadn't started my search yet, but it's on my agenda.

[lyle]

Give people a taste of capitalism and education (no matter how second rate those might be to our standards) and they will wake up to the ludicrous promises of theocratic fundamentalism and/or Marxism.

And yet here in the US...

[bgates]

Obama is addressing the nation from the W.H. tomorrow at 8 pm.

Maybe he's killed bin Laden again.

[narciso]

Even though it's a repeat, when Gibbs first met Dinozzo, still a classic.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Anyone know the status of Darryl Issa's ATF investigation? The media is ignoring it, and I'm wondering if it will now trickle down the memory hole or if we still have a chance of people hearing about it.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Holy cow, that whale story is just amazing.

[centralcal]

Did you say dishwasher. Heck with the phosphates, the machine itself could be killing you will harmful bacteria and mold and fungi - oh my!

[centralcal]

will = with

[matt]

the problem is that @ 75% of all of the aid spent either is siphoned off by ridiculously expensive contracts or simple graft.

A lot of the work for cash programs are administered by organizations and companies that have several layers of management, who are usually very well paid. In country managers make serious money. So the overhead is absurdly expensive. Security is another huge cost, which is inflated through Afghan corruption, which is in many cases extortionate.

Mortenson's projects have been turned on their ear. I cut off my contributions when the news hit.

And then in large swathes of the country, the tollybons destroy the schools or intimidate locals into shunning them.

There are islands such as the major cities, mainly in the north, but it is almost like archipelagos in the Pacific with thousands of figurative miles between them instead of say, the East Coast barrier islands.

And the subject of hundreds of billions in aid to the Afghan government simply disappearing into bank accounts in Dubai and elsewhere is another topic completely.

[narciso]

The fact, she bought that excuse, makes me think she's a little gullible, or just an exhibitionist.

[Extraneus]

If Issa accuses Holder of lying to Congress, the MSM will have to cover it.

And let's hope that's exactly what happens.

I was reading PowerLine this morning, and John quoted the piece from Bob Owens, where Owens proposed the gun-control ulterior motive. John basically said "Ewwwwww!"

[narciso]

Sometimes I think Hinderaker and co, are too naive, or they really want to ignore contrary
evidence,

Meanwhile back at the Ranch:

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/shock-dept-of-defense-vindicates-fort-hood-killer/#respond

[JackisBack!]

The whale story doesn't seem on the up and up with me. The water temperatiure is only a few degrees above freezing and she is as naked as a jaybird. That to my experience is hypothermia conditions especially if she is staying down for 5 to 10 minutes. Sure she is Russian and she may have ample supply of vodka but that only accelerates hypothermia. If this is factual then she is one special human specimen.

[Clarice]

Jane, so amazing it has b.s. written all over it.

[Extraneus]

Below freezing, too, Jack. "The skilled Russian diver took the plunge as the water temperature hit minus 1.5 degrees Centigrade." Then held her breath for 10 minutes. Right.

[Sue]

I think the lack of oxygen to her brain has impaired her judgment. Just sayin'....

[Extraneus]

Imagine how many hits they got for that article, though?

[daddy]

We get Rush tape delayed 1 hour.

Just caught Rush's brilliant segment in hour 1 where he is playing Ronald Reagan's opening Presidential Campaign speech at the Statue of Liberty criticizing Jimmy Carter. Rush is doing that for the purpose of contrasting Reagan's speech to John Huntsman's opening Presidential Campaign speech today at the same location.

Rush did the montage of the MSM saying Huntsman is "Channelling Ronald Reagan" as he opens his campaign where Reagan opened his. Rush played Huntsman's "milk-toasty, kumbaya" speech about respecting Obama, play nice, please don't speak harshly about our President, etc.

Then Rush played Reagan. What a contrast. What a straightforward, hard-hitting, no bullshit, no PC, and take no prisoners speech. What a wonderful contrast. He destroyed Jimmy Carter. What a way to put the lie to Huntsman "Channelling Ronald Reagan." Great 20 minutes of Radio Rush. Absolutely Brilliant. Sure hope you guys heard that.

Good morning!

[jimmyk]

Summary of Blinder's article: Keynesian policies really work! Why? Because I say they do. Oh, and the CBO says so too! So there!

[centralcal]

I did hear it daddy. Damn it made me miss Reagan even more! Our bland candidates (so far, anyway) just melt into meaningless nothingness in comparison.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Since the beginning of the ATF scandal I've always thought it was about gun control. That isn't a new theory at all.

Now I'm quite sure I didn't think it up all by myself so it must have been going around.

I loved loved loved hearing the Reagan cuts.

[Sue]

I always love hearing Reagan. My favorite of all times is his speech the night we lost Challenger.

[Extraneus]

I heard it and agree, daddy. It goes into the Rush Hall of Fame.

Reagan, 9/1/80: Labor Day Speech at Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey

[JackisBack!]

daddy,

Which only goes to prove Rush's point about "no apologies, no prisioners" style of campaigning that the repubs need to do. Whoever breaks out of the McCain/Dole mold and decides to get under Obamas skin like Reagan did to Carter will energize the base and the Indies and Dems who are watching their jobs, incomes, home values and planned retirements go south.

[Danube of Thought]

Yeah, sea water can go below 32 degrees Fahrenheit; I think the Titanic went down in 29-degree water.

My first thought was that no one can hold her breath for ten minutes; my second was hypothermia. I searched around a little using the iPad, and couldn't find anything saying what I thought would be the case, namely, that a person would be unconscious or dead in quite a bit less than ten minutes. Will look a bit more on the computer.

At the age of eighteen I went overboard from a destroyer in 38-degree water and the shock of it is still vivid in my memory. The first thing that happened was it took my breath away. They had me back aboard in under three minutes. Unforgettable.

[Cecil Turner]

First thing I thought when seeing that was: "dang, wonder how long she can hold her breath?" [Thwack. --ooops, time for some damage control]

Honest, Honey. I mean, she's certainly got the lungs for it . . . [err--that didn't go over too well, either--gotta go]

[Extraneus]

Last week, more than three years after be became President, he finally came up with what he calls a new economic program. It is his 5th new economic program in 3 ½ years. He talks as if someone else has been in charge these past few years. With two months to go until the election he rides to the rescue now with a crazy-quilt of obvious election-year promises which he’ll ask Congress for--next year. After three years of neglect, the misery of unemployment, inflation, high taxes, dwindling earning power and inability to save--after all this, American workers have now been discovered by this administration.

Well it won’t work. It is cynical. It is political. And it is too late. The damage is done and every American family knows who did it.

In 1976 he said he would never use unemployment as an economic tool to fight inflation. In 1980 he called for an increase in unemployment--to fight inflation.

In 1976 he said he would bring unemployment and inflation down to 3 percent.

Who can believe him? Unemployment is now around 8 percent, inflation is 12 ½.

And most of us have begun to realize that so long as Carter policies are in effect, the next four years will be as dark as the last four.

But here, beside the torch that many times before in our nation’s history has cast a golden light in times of gloom, I pledge to you I’ll bring a new message of hope to all America.

I look forward to meeting Mr. Carter in debate, confronting him with the whole sorry record of his Administration--the record he prefers not to mention. If he ever finally agrees to the kind of first debate the American people want--which I’m beginning to doubt--he’ll answer to them and to me.

[narciso]

Now who sounds like that, in this day and age,
only a very select few.

[huxley]

The "female scientist" is on record as a freediving champion -- see LUN.

I don't believe that she stayed underwater over ten minutes, but perhaps she trained for the cold and managed just enough time to get the photos. Great publicity as someone pointed out.

[Danube of Thought]

Just found a site that says in 32-degree water exhaustion time is <15 minutes; time to death is 15-45.

And like I said, she's in great shape.

[Extraneus]

Damn right, narciso.

[JackisBack!]

Ex,

The benefit of being direct and going for the jugular. Reagan also had the national embarrassment of The Iran Hostage crisis that Ted Koppel kept front and center every night.

Quick poll: Who out there in Repub land has the hard ass politics to take Obama on like Reagan did Carter? None of the announced IMO, not even The Hermanator. Palin? Perry? So far, only Trump has made him jump and I still believed that was a set up.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vnjagvet]

It is amazing, Reagan's speech could be given today with the names changed to convict the guilty:

Last week, more than ______ years after be became President, he finally came up with what he calls a new economic program. It is his __ new economic program in 2 ½ years. He talks as if someone else has been in charge these past few years. With __ months to go until the election he rides to the rescue now with a crazy-quilt of obvious election-year promises which he’ll ask Congress for--next year. After 2 and 1/2 years of neglect, the misery of unemployment, inflation, high taxes, dwindling earning power and inability to save--after all this, American workers have now been discovered by this administration. Well it won’t work. It is cynical. It is political. And it is too late. The damage is done and every American family knows who did it.

In 2008 he said he would keep unemployment to __ percent.

Who can believe him? Unemployment is now over 9 percent.

And most of us have begun to realize that so long as Obama policies are in effect, the next four years will be as dark as the last four.

But here, beside the torch that many times before in our nation’s history has cast a golden light in times of gloom, I pledge to you I’ll bring a new message of hope to all America.

I look forward to meeting Mr. Obama in debate, confronting him with the whole sorry record of his Administration--the record he prefers not to mention. If he ever finally agrees to the kind of first debate the American people want--which I’m beginning to doubt--he’ll answer to them and to me.

Is there anyone in the Republican field who has the guts to deliver this speech IMHO s/he would win hands down.