When Atheists Attack

I think above all what bothers me the most is the lying that takes place in Washington. We have watched the very foundation of our nation decay over the last 8 years. I would have voted for Bush both times (I am active duty military and see voting for POTUS as a conflict of interest) and I shook McCain???s hand when he won New Hampshire in 2000. The John McCain of 2000 and 2008 are two different people. I followed his campaign and him very closely since 2000 and I can not believe how much he has changed. As I have moved forward in rank and responsibility I see the nuance of foreign affairs and international relations. Having been shot at both in Iraq and Afghanistan and I know there is more to a political answer then the black and white that we have received over the past 8 years. Only recently have we seen the nuance (Sec. Gates has done an incredible job) applied to our foreign policy. I am greatly disappointed that I see the continuance of this same thinking, the denial, the changing of facts, the foolish one sided views from the McCain campaign. I hate the people that are running Washington and what they have done to this country that I signed up to defend. I can't stand to see another Alberto Gonzalez stand before a panel in Congress and say "I don't recall"...or claiming executive privilege to circumvent the law. (Much like Palin is doing with the whole Trooper Gate thing in Alaska) I am tired. I am tired of the lies and the lack of honesty with the American people. The foolish portrayal of patriotism as the only means to an end

We are better then this...we deserve better then this. Do I think McCain deep down is the man that he has been over the past year while running for president, not completely. But how he has acted and who he has hired to run his campaign strikes at the very integrity of the man. I never thought I would say that. I've seen the wars that we are fighting and yes, they are much more complicated then we are publically being told. If McCain is elected I see the same people running this country, and it pains me to think of that as a possibility. It pained me to watch the Palin interview (both of them...for different reasons...ABCs because it was confirmed that Palin only knew what she was reading on a teleprompter and Fox's because Hannity was throwing softballs that my 1 year old could hit) and see how little she knew. I mean how hard would it have been to download the National Security Strategy from the Department of State website???or the National Defense Strategy, just published in June 2008???and read the damn thing. Seriously? How hard is that? Do you think if you want to be vice president you might want to be able to talk those pieces. Damn. She should have correct Charlie when he brought up getting Musharraf ???s permission to enter Pakistan???he wasn???t president at the time of the interview. Those two things would have shown me that the republicans were serious about this election and they were not playing on voter emotion???damn it???how hard is it to be substantive when you are running for the most powerful position in the world. Don???t insult me???don???t insult this nation??? It???s late people???and I am tired. It???s time for a change.

I thought that we were a country with freedom of religion? Quite frankly i do not care what religion some one is as long as they do not run the country according to some misguided belief that God "made them do it". Every religion at its core, even Islam, believes that you do not do unto others that which you would not have done to you. Let's stop this Obama is a muslim stuff! Learn something about the religion, Obama's character and the quality of his relationships with his family indicate his quality. Palin's religion and the breakdown of her family and her lack of important governing qualities indicate her lack of ability to lead. Smartness has to be worth something, and quite frankly a degree from Harvard has to count for something....let's not hear any more about being elitist. It is silly!!

CRao - If that was "the most wonderful article", please broaden your horizons and read an informative article or two, or maybe even an actual book and get some really "wonderful" knowledge!

As a thinking Christian, I'm glad someone finally looked critically at Palin. A literal understanding of Scriptures is one thing for a fundamentalist church, but don't force that unthinking creed onto the nation. Doing so is dangerous, and it also gives a bad name to the rest of us who call ourselves Christian but do not think we should throw science out of our schools in favor of a creation myth (Palin is a creationist, and yes, I hate to break it to you literalists, the creation story is a myth, meaning it connotes the deepest truth, but not literally). Please, for the love of this country, if you are considering voting for McCain/Palin, study history (I'd suggest the Crusades), learn to think critically, and act reasonably. So much is at stake in this election, and any thinking person should be uncomfortable with the potential second-in-command replying glibly when asked whether the United States might have to go to war with Russia, "Maybe so." What more illustration of Palin's incompetence could one need?

With but a few (not very convincing) exceptions, no one criticizing this article disputes what Sam is saying is accurate. All they seem to do is say..."Well yeah but what about Obama!"

Whats wrong with being ordinary? Last time i checked you didnt need to be super- human to be in a position of authority, you just needed to be good at what you do and willing to work for it. Once again it comes down to experience, which both Obama and Palin are unfortunately lacking. We will not know how they will handle the situation until the election has taken its course. And, "guaranteed ignorance"? A writer from Newsweek has no position to guarantee anything. Sorry, but please leave it as opinion and not a guarantee. All I can say is that it is up to us as Americans to inform ourselves, as it is hard to find forms of media that give us the proper and important information on one of the most important issues in the world.

It's about time someone looked at Palin--and too large of a percentage of the American electorate--with an intellectually critical eye. Literal interpretations of religious texts are one thing for your unenlightened, unquestioning church, but they are downright dangerous in national leaders. Those who are so certain the Bible dictates (such anti-life) politics should learn a little history--study the Crusades and the history of slavery for examples of how previous generations were sure thieir dogmas justified behavior that can only be termed "sin." For the love of this country, learn to thinkg critically, get some education, and

Thank you for a most wonderful article. Someone finally wrote about the stupidity of Palin's nomination, not to be mistaken with Palin stupidity, of course.

"As a parent what do you think of the fact that Obama voted Pro-Infanticide and calls babies...burdens?"
this is exactly the kind of polarizing and irrational extremism the author is writing about. when people see the world as built out of good and evil they tend to see divergent opinions as something to be denigrated. if the world consists of good and evill, than the small differences are blown up into absurd caricatures (pro-choice is misrepresented as pro-infanticide). "if my side is good and just, then different opions are evil." it's not a good way for a president to think.

Foreign experience? Come on, look it up...

2005
Moscow
Kiev
Baku
Azerbaijan

2006
Qatar
Kuwait
Iraq
Jordan
Israel
South Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kenya
Djibouti
Chad

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002595.php

I will admit that Sara Palin may not be the most experienced V.P. candidate that we have ever seen. What astonishes me is that supporters of Barack Obama seem to have blocked out the fact that he is a relatively new junior senator with less meaningful experience than Palin. He's not just running for V.P., he's running for the Presidency! I haven't even mentioned some of his rather shady associates he has had, or the fact that his campaign is all about change, but he hasn't had much in the way of a real plan. He is a fantastic speaker....I will give him that!