http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Mon, 1 Mar 2004 15:39:37 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/03/01/014813.php#comment-48216 I agree that now that we've stepped in it (Iraq) we can't just leave as that would compound the error. But MD is right in saying that even some "moderate Republicans and independents, as well as Democrats, are also questioning whether the Bush administration's policies there are sound." It's not exactly a ground-swell yet, but we still have a few months until November :-) 48216@blogcritics.org Mon, 1 Mar 2004 15:39:37 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/03/01/014813.php#comment-48210 In fact,I'm not at all that surprised that Bush is vehemently disliked by some people. If you recall the Anti-Clinton forces were equally visceral in their distaste for Clinton. I think that there currently exists a distinct and growing polarization of political opinion in the United States, one that increasingly forces political debate into a radicalized and marginal state by pushing both political parties and the voters into "all-or-nothing" positions. The reality is that Bush is not the embodiment of ultimate evil and neither was Clinton. Both political parties and the general polity itself do themselves a disservice by marginalizing arguments in that manner. It pushes the debate into absolutism, erodes the middle ground that is often necessary to progress on many of these issues, and generally contributes to the growth of voter apathy and disassociation. Not for nuthin' does the US rank extremely low in voter turnout... As for your passing comment regarding Iraq "gradually becomes to resemble an occupation moreso than a liberation", I think it is an accurate statement in so far that yes, it is an occupation, most sensibly an occupation. It should be an occupation. For a time. I think that after having "liberated" Iraq, to abandon it post haste to chaos and civil war would have been abrogating the US's responsibilities to that nation in the most profound sense of the word. Whatever you think of the current administration reasons for perpetrating the war, once instigated, the US has a clear responsibility to ensure that the vaunted "freedom of democracy" doesn't vanish down the rabbithole. Whatever you think of Bush et al, I doubt that many Iraqis would trade the current state of affairs for another 20 years of Saddam-style governance.... 48210@blogcritics.org Mon, 1 Mar 2004 15:10:01 EST