Expert gamblers are always on the watch for signs exhibited by their opponents which give away the value of their hands. The Total Gambler web site further refines this definition: "A tell is any habit, behaviour, or physical reaction that gives other players more information about your hand."
Staying with the gaming metaphor for the moment, DNC wheeler-dealer James Carville (who is married to GOP major leaguer Mary Matalin) is very fond of quoting Finlay Peter Dunne's Mr. Dooley in reminding us that "Politics ain't beanbag!" Assuming (yes, I KNOW all about ass-u-me!) that the Democrats are sufficiently experienced at political beanbag, one has to wonder why it is that they "tell" their moves in the media well in advance of introducing bills to accomplish something the country needs, such as getting out of Iraq while we still have an army to remove.
(And if you think I'm not supporting your oil warriors by saying this, what about Bush's "War Tsar" Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute who doubts the surge will work and has little faith that the Iraqis can handle taking it over? What about Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who led the Iraq war for more than a year after Baghdad's fall and declares the best we can hope for in Iraq is a tie? What about Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, complaining about "a failed strategy that is breaking our great Army"? And what about former Secretary of State Colin Powell admitting that Bush went ahead with "the Surge" despite warnings against it from his top military advisers, such as Sanchez, Batiste and Lute? Are they to be tarred with the brush you were going to use on the likes of me? As if! Get real! They served your country, which is more than you did! But I digress.)
Considering the huge uproar over the retreat from the line drawn in the Iraqi sand, one has to wonder why it is that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are so open with their strategies. Reid himself said in response to the calumny, "I understand their disappointment. We raised the bar too high."
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
A wonderful tour of the insanity which plagues both you and the democratic party, Realist. The irony of your nom de blog continues to amasze and amuse.
The naivete of expecting anything better from the Democrats after all these years is the most inexplicable thing in this article.
Do you not remember WHY the GOP was in power? Somewhere back in the 80s people began to realize that no matter how much the Republicans sucked, the one thing they could be counted on for was to suck marginallly less than the Democrats.
Plus the Republicans have way more amusing scandals. What can the demos offer that's as entertaining as Rick Santorum and his attempt to recreate the Adams Family in real life, or the Mark Foley scandal where an openly and flamboyantly gay politician can get taken down for going out of his way to NOT molest pageboys? All the demos have is James Trafficant and his unionized wig.
Admit it, you'd have more fun if the Republicans were back in control. Hell, let's bring back Al Haig and he'll show you what control REALLY means.
Dave
2 - Dave Nalle
Oh, and don't worry about the surge in Iraq. It's all going to be okay now that the Ba'athists have joined our side because they like killing al Qaeda even more than they like killing Shiites.
Dave
3 - bliffle
Yes, it's quite futile to put any hope in the current crop of dems, since they have decided that it is better to be republican lite than whatever they were. Then maybe they could get some reflected glory from the victorious iraq conquest and have happy triumphalism parties like the reps. After all, the Iraq triumph will be so huge and conclusive and honored that there will be enough glory to spread around, right? Wasn't that the plan?
4 - Baronius
Heh. Realist, the good news is you've got control of both houses of Congress; the bad news is you've got control of both houses of Congress.
You used the right analogy in your article. (Every time I try to use that analogy, my comments get rejected. So I'm going to try to say this without using any red-flag words.) As the R's found out in 1995, you use one set of skills to be a great short-stack player, and another set when you're in the lead.
Like the "feet to the fire" threat. Great if you're out of power; pointless if you're running the show. And the filibuster is a great trick when you've got between 40 and 50 Senators, but when you've got 50-60, guess how many votes your opponents have?
Just as the elected D's are going to have to change their strategies, so you're going to have to change your expectations. It's a bitter pill. Now go watch VH1's Behind the Music, and repeat to yourself: "success can ruin the band".
5 - RJ
Barking moonbat alert!
6 - MCH
"Barking moonbat alert!"
- RJ Elliott
Is a barking moonbat louder than a clucking chickenhawk?
7 - Arch Conservative
Is a barking moonbat louder than a clucking chickenhawk?
Judging by the number of scum in Marxist, Che and other such commie t-shirts behaving so unruly and obnoxiously at so many anti-war protests I would say so MCH.
8 - bliffle
Marxists? As I recollect Marx's goal was to unite the world under one global economic system, a goal which Bush seems to have embraced whole-heartedly. And Lenins favorite saying was "you're either with us or against us!" (remember the Menshiveks? The Muzshiks?) Sound familiar?
Does this make Bush the Marxist-Leninist In Chief?
9 - Lumpy
The neocons are essentially cryptostalinists so the marxism comparison actually makes some sense.
10 - MCH
"Judging by the number of scum in Marxist, Che and other such commie t-shirts behaving so unruly and obnoxiously at so many anti-war protests I would say so MCH."
Naw, no way. They don't hold a candle to Rush Limbaugh's bellicose war-speak and phony sabre-rattling.
11 - Arch Conservative
Bliffle..... did I say anything about Bush in my post?
I didn't and my ridiculing of the portion of those who attend antiwar protests that fall under the heading of worthless anti-American scum does not constitute some great love or admiration for Rush Limbaugh either.
You moonbats had better develop your reading comprehension skills before you make bogus inferences.
12 - bliffle
Archie,
Did I say that you said anything about Bush?
How peculiar. What is the point in your query?