Thank you Gary Hart! Finally someone blames Bush.

[gulliver]

Thank you Gary Hart! I've been gritting my teeth as the MSM blames "decades of failed policies." Finally someone puts the blame where it lies, squarely on Bush and his bunch of geniuses...

<snip>

Sometime in the fall of 2002, I likened a U.S. invasion of Iraq to "kicking open a hornets' nest." I predicted that, if the Iraqis decided to fight in the cities, our casualties would be between five and ten thousand U.S. troops at least. Now, U.S. casualties exceed 20,000.

But the "hornets' nest" I predicted was not just an interminable and
intractable U.S. occupation of Iraq. It was wider war in the Middle East. The larger hornets' nest is now swarming.

More...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/welcome-to-the-hornets-n_b_25061.html

[dsc]

1. It is a total shame he was so arrogantly unfaithful to his wife

He probably made it possible for Clinton to make it despite his behavior but he really blew it for himself.

[serryjw]

2. HE was my choice for 2004

I posted this several times. I was having a Starbucks on 16th Mall in downtown Denver...I looked to my side and there was Gary Hart. I walked over and asked him for the short version of why he didn't run. His answer is very revealing." I had been gone from the political arena too long. I didn't realize how ugly it had gotten!

Nucky or not...He is a great man.

[Demit]

3. I am fascinated by him & what happened, why he did that.

That's when I first became aware of him, when he dared the reporters to follow him, they did, and discovered his cheating. I thought he must be some kind of nutcase to do that. Then, a couple of years ago, I saw him interviewed--on Charlie Rose, maybe?--and he was so incredibly intelligent, and I learned he was (had always been?) a foreign policy expert, and I thought, how sad. What we lost.

[dsc]

6. The only rational explanation that I can come up with

is that he was doing a high stakes bluff. It was a monumental waste.

[still_one]

4. The Hart/Rudman report warned about 9/11

I wouldn't mind if Gary Hart ran for President, but I doubt he will

[sonroadera]

5. Too bad he had the same achilles heel as Clinton.

I am surprised that so many men cant control their willies when they have so much at stake.

[BlueCaliDem]

7. I disagree. Being unfaithful has never been the "achilles heel" for either

...Gary Hart OR Bill Clinton. Perhaps to their aggrieved wives, but NOT to the rightwingers, and republicans.

I have asked myself why do so-called "christians" on the "right" who are also self-proclaimed "conservatives", seem blind to the adultery committed by politicians in their own party---like Gingrich, and Hyde just to name two---while having NO PROBLEM condemning adultery in the other, so-called "liberal" party, for which they never would vote for anyway?

I mean, by sheer definition of "conservative values", shouldn't they be more aghast by the loose-crotch antics of self-proclaimed "conservatives" (who should, after all, know better!), and less about "loose-crotch" liberals?

I could never understand why Gary Hart and Bill Clinton were held more strictly and judged more harshly by them ( with tons of help by MSM ) without any "christian" forgiving than repubs have ever been.

Therefore, and in light of these facts, I've now come to believe the "achilles heel" has never been Hart's OR Clinton's unfaithfulness.

It's been the fact that they are Democrats. No more. No less.

So, let's just drop that whole MSM trumped-up myth that's given rightwingers, republicans, and their like-minded ilk (that are anything BUT "conservative") an argument (excuse) that they can't ever vote for a Democrat because they are disgusted by lack of Democratic politicians' "ethics and morals" because it just ain't true.

[leesa]

10. That's exactly right. If WE are so stupid as to let something as silly as

an affair take away this brilliant man from leadership, then we don't deserve good leaders.

[BlueCaliDem]

15. Or worse! Are no better than the sanctimonious christian-rightwingers...

...because we too bought into the MSM's demonizing of Presidents, and candidates (they all seem to be Democratic candidates & Presidents!) that actually care about America and her people, no matter their many human faults.

As liberals and progressives, we should know better, yet too many times I've seen that some of us are still buying into the Republican crap the MSM are feeding us, and that's really sad.

[Skittles]

13. but I understand what the poster is saying

sure it should be between them and their wives but COME ON - HOW NAIVE ARE THESE MEN TO NOT UNDERSTAND IN THIS DAY AND AGE THEY WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH IT (press-wise)???

[BlueCaliDem]

16. It's not a question of whether or not married but unfaithful politicians..

...are "naive", or "think they can get away with it".

It's a question of, as you put it, "in this day and age", whether we're going to let the press dictate to us what reasons we should focus on before we cast our vote.

Bush has been (as far as anyone knows) faithful to his wife, but he's been unfaithful to his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution; to the poor in this country, and to our children--just to name a few.

Bill was unfaithful to Hillary and was even impeached for it, but he was faithful to us; to his oath to the Constitution, to the poor, and to so much more that politically mattered.

Which President between the two was best for America?

Aside from being Democrats, Hart and Clinton's "achilles heel" seems to be the rightwing MSM. Short and simple.

[Skittles]

17. the press will ALWAYS go after "sex scandals"

that's a given and politicans KNOW THIS

[BlueCaliDem]

19. So what? Does that mean WE have to listen to them?

We need to remember, and keep remembering, that it's not in the best interest of MSM to have a Democratic WH and Congress.

MSM are, after all, corporations; the very enemies of the masses of paycheck working men and women.

Let them spew all they want. It's up to US to decide whether or not we'll let them influence our decision making.

As for the rightwingers who still believe MSM crap, they're lost causes. They'll never vote for a Democratic politician no matter what. They don't see political parties as lawmaking members of government. They seem to have devolved to seeing political parties like their favorite sports-team.

As Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives, we should know better by now, and be armed against MSM brainwashing, right?

[Skittles]

23. no, WE don't listen

but a great many voters DO fall for that shit

[BlueCaliDem]

29. Lucky for us, those who *do* buy into MSM brainwashing are in the...

...minority, according to all the polls that showed that John Kerry would've won over Bush 51 to 48%, as one example. Of course, when the e-voting machine tallies were done, Bush miraculously "won" by that exact same margin.

Even at the height of President Clinton's impeachment, his approval ratings were 70%! I've even heard on CNN that it was 78%, which helped make the Senate back down from removing him from office, of course.

The point is, the majority of Americans aren't listening to MSM witch-hunting Democrats (although some continue to say otherwise publicly).

So when the poster to whom I'd responded here claimed, that Gary Hart had the same "achilles heel" as Clinton, that was a POV that needed correcting, and so I tried my best to do just that.

After all, the last thing we need to do is validate any success of mass mind-control the MSM's spending hundreds of millions dollars to achieve in favor of Repubs.

[PinkyisBlue]

24. It's all about the media being run by Republicans.

You're right, Clinton and Hart have been attacked not because they were unfaithful to their wives but because they are Democrats and not Republicans. Don't forget the millions of dollars spent while Clinton was president in the "Whitewater Investigation"; only when nothing was found to implicate Clinton did they search for another way to bring him down. They tried with Paula Jones and, when that didn't work, they found Monica Lewinsky (through some good "investigative journalism").

If George Bush's past business transactions were scrutinized as closely as Bill Clinton's were, it would uncover all kinds of dirt. Unfortunately, they never will be.

Anyone who puts the interests of the average person above the interests of the wealthy person/corporation is guaranteed to be attacked by the media. A lot of people don't seem to understand this.

[Totally Committed]

26. It's also about Democrats being set up by Republicans, too.

If you Google "Donna Rice" (the woman who Hart had his "Monkey Business" dalliance with), you find out she is in professional RW Republican politics up to her eyeballs, and thaht her star didn't rise in those circels until AFTER she took Hart down.

Clinton was also set up. Monica was young and impressionable, and Linda Tripp and Lucianne Goldberg set Bill up through her.

The Republican influence on the news, plus the tabloidization of public people's private lives as news has led to this feeding frenzy, and the Rligious Right has played on people's "holier-than-thou"-ness to bring down candidates THEY choose for annihilation. Notice none of THEIR perverted indescretionists are ever the victim of their witch-hunts.

Nope... Gary Hart was taken down on purpose. So was Clinton.

TC

[gulliver]

9. Bush is all Achilles Heel, except maybe his heel.

I'm kind of stunned at how a certain element is so quick to focus on personal foibles over matters of leadership and policy. I do think both Clinton and Hart were idiots for what they did, but only because of the effect it had on the yahoos. It's the yahoos I really despise though.

Clinton and Hart were 98% good leadership, 2% idiotic asshole. Bush is the reverse. People who continue to makes excuses for him are pathetic.

[daydreamer]

25. Most men can't control their willies

even otherwise very intelligent men.

[speedy gonzalez]

8. p.s. And, by the way, how do you like $4 a gallon gasoline? GH

I would love it!! People will drive less and that would lead to less pollution and hopefully save the ice caps before they flood the Florida peninsula.

[leesa]

11. speedy's lost again.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. I have a question for you:

Which of these is gramatically wrong, and why?

1) Barbara Boxer is a Democrat.
2) Barbara Boxer is a member of the Democrat Party.

[annabanana]

14. one of them is troll spoor. . . .

(AND grammatically suspect)

[FrenchieCat]

18. Finally Someone?

Hell, Wes Clark has been wanting Bush held accountable since long ago...and said everything Gary Hart said and more.

Considering the Avatar you sport, I'm surprised at the title of your OP! :(

[gulliver]

20. I'm talking about the currentl boil-over specifically.

I totally agree Gen. Clark has been holding the Bushies' feet to the fire like no other -- before and after the war started. I'm just narrowing in on the current crisis. Hart has clearly blamed Bush for it. I don't know that anyone else has, even Clark.

There is a big step from telling people Bush is screwing up the ME to blaming him once everyone sees it actually is screwed up. Hart is prosecuting Bush for this failure, not criticizing him. I'm not sure I would even like to see Clark doing the same thing. It's risky to point the finger at the current ME crisis, then point it back at Bush and say "That's your fault!"

One thing is for sure, if Clark did it it would be powerful.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Well, Wes was blogging on his site yesterday.....

and he was asked about the current crisis.....
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7469#comment-115872

Current Events
Submitted by howardpark on July 14, 2006 - 2:58pm.

Things seem to be sprialing out of control in the Middle East -- any reasons for hope or optimism?

Spiraling out of Control
Submitted by Wes Clark on July 14, 2006 - 3:31pm.
There are many forces working to dampen the conflict and return it to the usual state of low-level hostility, bombings and the occasional rocket attack. But what these events illustrate is the melt-down of the Bush Administration's approach to US foreign policy: an invasion we didnt have to make, namecalling an axis of evil, thereby cutting off diplomatic opportunities, and a reluctance to engage in the kinds of hands-on leadership that other US leaders have successfully undertaken. This Administration actually profits from raising fears among Americas, and after watching this for five and a half years, i believe that there is much to be afraid of if the Administration persists in its approach.

[gulliver]

22. That's excellent! I hope he keeps it up.

The man is fearless and tells it like it is.

[NashVegas]

27. "U.S. casualties exceed 20,000" ?

Is that a typo?

[dansolo]

30. Casualties are injuries.

Not just deaths.

[kentuck]

28. He is presidential timber...

still...