Category: Politics

On the eve of Democratic take over of the Congress, President Bush opted for a pre-emptive strike via an Op-Ed piece in the WSJ.

In short, his message to the new Congress (particularly the Democrats) is simple — Work with me, or face a stalemate. Don’t forget who is the ultimate boss.

I heard on the news that Saddam will be hanged by 7 pm PST today. The proceedings will be recorded on video. No, it won’t be available on Youtube, at least not yet. 🙂

Its interesting that none of Arab countries have tried to intervene to delay/avoid the execution.

Wow! It was kisses all over. Bob Gates Senate Confirmation hearing was a refreshing change. For once you got an insight into the candidate. He spoke candidly and without being evasive. It was a refreshing change to the conventional senate confirmation hearings which are boring and long drawn out and provides little insight. The Republicans were ready for a change after the election debacle while the Dems were happy to have anyone but Rumsfeld.

A majority of Americans are not in favor of N-Deal with India. Check out this new report. Interesting. The report doesn’t say how many were polled. Its good to know that there are Americans out there who are aware of the deal and care about it. 🙂

Nancy Pelosi supported John (lost to Steny Hoyer) in the race for No. 2 spot in the House. It shows the Ms. Pelosi stands up for what she believes in no matter what the outcome of any polls might be. It also shows that she values loyalty. Considering the margin of Hoyer’s victory, its hard to imagine that Ms. Pelosi might not have had a sense for it prior to the actual vote. Yet she stood up for John Murtha. In general, this is a good sign as opposed to the conventional “she started with a defeat” take on the issue.

Firstly, The American electorate deserves a BIG Thank You for setting the stage for at least a semblance of Checks & Balances in Washington. A quick look at the post elections Good, Bad and Ugly.

The Good:

• Chances of some changes in Iraq policy. “Read my lips the US won’t be staying the course”
• When George Bush was re-elected the rest of the world was baffled. Now, the rest of the world can at least be partially in sync with the US because its obvious from the election results that the US public in general are unhappy about the war in Iraq.
• Rumsfled got the boot. Its about time!
• Six years of GOP domination has come to an end. Thankfully, there will be some level of checks and balances going forward. A bunch of investigations (hopefully worthwhile ones) are guaranteed with the Dems in control.

The Bad:

• There is not much difference between many Republicans and Democrats these days (a friend who voted Libertarian thinks that the difference is as bad as the difference between syphilis and gonorrhea!). There are no shortage of people in the Democratic party who are anti-gun control, anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion etc. Makes you wonder what they are doing in the Democratic party? Its just that the Demos seem to have learned from their mistakes. They have now decided to do whatever it takes to win the elections and a majority and then deal with any issues.

The Ugly:

• The Demos might try an impeachment. This will be a complete waste of time and energy.

Even if there might be some truth in Kerry’s recent comments on being “stuck in Iraq”, I think its an awful thing to say. If he runs for the President again, this is bound to haunt him. He is doing the right thing by lying low until the elections!

As the elections draw close the big debate today is between, “Cut & Run” vs “Stay the Course” (sorry, this should be “Get the job done” which is the new Whitehouse mantra). While “Stay the Course” or “Get the job done” means continue to fight the war until the terrorists are defeated (the same boring posturing from different angles), Cut and Run proponents seem to have an interesting view on the issue.

The Republicans are driving home the fear factor that if the Democrats gain control, Cut & Run is guaranteed. The Democrats on the other hand are trying hard to not to seem “soft on terror” (resorting to time tables and other supposed anti-war stands etc.). The Democrats gaining control is likely to result in a host of investigations while the Republicans retaining control will mean more of the status quo.

This election might be all about the war in Iraq. But the sad part is that the mess in Iraq is likely to persist, no matter what the outcome of the election might be. A continued Republican control will mean a further endorsement of the war policy in Iraq. A change of hands will at least signal to the world that the American public is interested in a fresh look at its Iraq policy.