Poignant Letter From A Soldier

[Harlan Huckleby]

Tricky Dick would be a Democrat in today's political environment and Kennedy would be a Republican, based solely on what they had done as president.

Kennedy only gets to be a Republican because he was president at height of cold war tension, therefore he is "militaristic."

Johnson - you can have Johnson. Sadly, I'm afraid Tricky would be a Democrat today. The country is just more conservative than it was 30 years ago.

[Joemailman]

Eisenhower would definitely be a Democrat today, probably to the left of all the Dem presidential candidates except for Kucinich. Goldwater would probably fit in more with Libertarians than with the current Republicans. It will be interesting to see if the post-Bush Republican party returns to traditional Conservative principles of smaller government, fiscal responsibility, (reducing budget deficits) and non-interventionist foreign policy.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Got your Ron Paul bumper sticker, Joe?

[Joemailman]

Ron Paul has no chance. He's too honest.

[Harlan Huckleby]

oh, bullshit.

He has no chance, therefore he CAN be honest.

And by "honest" I think we me forthcoming, direct.

[Joemailman]

Well, I think we're both right. Because he has no chance of winning, he can just speak his mind. However, it would be impossible for someone to say we never should have gone into Iraq, as Paul has done, and still have a shot at the Republican nomination.

[mraynrand]

Ron Paul has no chance. He's too honest.

And he's too non-sensical. He cojmes across as being in denial of reality, suggesting a complete withdrawal of the U.S. from the mideast. Who does he think will move in (China), who will suffer (all our allies) and what will happen to the world economy (it will tank). Plus, he wants to abolish all non-essential government agencies - as do I. It's a nice thought, but it's as unrealistic as Kucinich wanting a 'Department of Peace.' At some level, your presidential candidate has to have the appearance that he understands how the world works. Now if Ron Paul said he was going to eliminate just one department, he might come across as practical. He's not a bad guy at all, and some of his arguments (such as 'why they attacked us') require thoughtful responses, not dismissive denunciations. But his positions are, across the board, too radical to be realistic.

[Harlan Huckleby]

complete withdrawal of the U.S. from the mideast. Who does he think will move in (China)

China won't be stupid enough to get into the Middle East. Perhaps this is what you are saying.

I agree that Ron Paul offers fantasy land solutions.

But that's what we've come to expect from Texas. Ross Perot and his volunteers, ready to fix things.

[Joemailman]

I'm not actually for Paul, but I find his candor refreshing. I think it would be interesting to have a debate with the Republican candidates minus Paul, with Paul asking the questions.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I like Paul OK. He is a man of ideas. Unfortunately one of his ideas is isolationism, which isn't so realistic.

He was the Libertarian candidate for Presdent last election, that's problem where he belongs.