I have a question. Let's discuss a hypothtical.

[Dr.Phool]

It kind of dawned on me last night as I was watching Jon Stewart's rerun last night with John McCain.

Years ago, I always had a little,-a little respect for McCain. His being a POW and tortured and all. And back in 2000, he wasn't as bat-shit crazy as most repukes back then. Now, as I've watched him leave the rails of reality, and support chimps invasion and occupation and sell his soul to the devil to be president, he's really a tragic figure.

Let's assume that Karl Rove and the chimp didn't destroy him in South Carolina in 2000, and he got the nomination. And then let's fantasize that Gore actually lost the election.

Now, let's suppose that 9/11 happened right on schedule. Here's the question.

Do you think that after 9/11, John McCain (the sane one) would have invaded Iraq? It's just my opinion, and it means shit, but I don't think he would have. I always gave him credit for being smarter than that (back then).

What do you think?

[Mist]

1. He might not have wanted to, but would have, at the insistence of TPTB. McCain would

have discovered in the first few days of his admin. that he was there to do as he was told. Just my opinion.

[iamjoy]

2. McCain Would Have Beat Gore

just for starters. McCain had tremendous appeal with NPAs and many Democrats. He would have beat Gore fair and square. Instead of making big speeches about being a uniter, he would have actually tried to reach out to his opponents. This is not to say he would have been ideal, I still oppose him on many issues, but I think I could have respected him.

I don't think he would have invaded Iraq, because he didn't have a personal grudge or vendetta against Saddam Hussein. And he was never afraid to tell radical elements to go shove it.

But, I also think if he had decided to go to war, he would have been much smarter about it. He wouldn't have tried to deceive the American people about the reason or the cost.

[daninthemoon]

3. I don't think anyone, nobody else, absolutely no-one but * and

cheney would have in any way taken 9/11 and jumped to inavding Iraq. No, McCain would not have, and neither would any other president. One exception would be if something had happened to Gore and Lieberman had taken office, something far too terrifying. Now, jump to present day and upcoming election: Giuliani, McCain, Thompson, and a couple of the other rethug candidates would be more than happy to bomb,bomb,bomb Iran. Maybe Hilary, too. This is part of what the Iraq debacle has brought us to.

[jobycom]

4. No, and I doubt 9-11 would have happened.

McCain sold his soul, but he was intelligent enough back then to read a memo and step up airport security. And he was sane enough to not reject the Gore Commission's recommendations just because they came from Gore. So I think he would have implemented some of the Gore ideas when it became clear that something was in the works--remember, the whole summer before that was full of terrorist threats and warnings, and this came close on the heels of the USS Cole attack, so everybody but Bush seemed aware of the threat.

No, he wouldn't have invaded Iraq. Bush was put into power by a consortium that ran him just to invade Iraq and Afghanistan (and Iran and Syria--we'll see how that goes). McCain was running in opposition to that group.

Not to mention, McCain understands war in ways that Bush can't.

I don't even believe that McCain likes what Bush did to Iraq now. I think he went along for two reasons: one, is was popular in his party and he thought he had to to become president, and two, he couldn't have stopped it, anyway, so he might as well grab hold of the wagon and make people think he was happy to be on it. It was all about ambition.

Just my attempt at re-writing history. I don't believe that Bush orchestrated 9-11, but I do believe he left the back door open just a crack, knowing that someone would come in and do something he could then use to start a few wars. I think he was probably stunned by the scale of it, but probably not overly troubled by it.

[madinmaryland]

5. Well, assuming he won the election,

a couple of things about the last few years.

He would have taken OBL seriously and may have avoided an attack of the magnitude of 9/11 (The same thing can be said about Al Gore).

Assuming 9/11 did happen, I don't think he would have invaded Iraq, but would have invaded Afganistan and tryed to root out OBL.

Also, we would not have seen the government infiltrated by religious zealots.

[Catchawave]

6. I was a McCain supporter in 2000

I don't think there would have been a 9-11, he would have read the PDB because he would have surrounded himself with a much smarter staff.

But, suppose 9-11 did happen on schedule? We would have found OBL within weeks using all the power that legally comes with the presidency.

Of course, I will never, EVER forgive McCain for not even defending his family in 2000. He could have stopped Bush.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

7. I agree about not defending his family..

I post on right wing fora a good deal, no one ever replies when I post about what Bush did to McCain in South Carolina.

I really enjoy rubbing their noses in their own offal.

[Zavulon]

8. McCain would have invaded in 1998.

I remember him saying something to that effect around 2003; "We should have done this five years ago."

Hell, McCain would have found a reason to invade France.