Edwards Withdraw Speech (ON NOW....4:37PM ET)

[Khephra]

CNN...I don't know about other stations.

Starting NOW.

[pinto]

1. thanks for the heads up. I like the guy, he has a future in the party.

[Khephra]

2. kick

[Eurobabe]

3. amazing CNN hasn't cut him off

yet like they did Wes Clark, when he gave his withdrawal speech during Judy WoodRUFF's time slot.

[maveric]

4. He's endorsing Kerry right now!!!

A class act!

[liberalnurse]

7. Not exactly true.....

This is getting interesting indeed.

[proud patriot]

5. :-(

Wow what a great speech ..

[liberalnurse]

6. I thought I heard he was only

suspending his campaign.....and just supports kerry....not an endorsement.

[chimpymustgo]

9. He pledged his support to Kerry, promised to work for him, asked his

supporters to - I'd call that an endorsement.

It was really unequivocal support.

Kerry/Edwards 2004!!!!

[McScotty007]

8. I have some questions

I will preface my comments by openly telling you that I am new to being politically active, so I'm not really sure whether I would consider myself a republican, a democrat, or somewhere in between and some of my friends told me this is a great place to ask questions/ receive answers, and it seems like you guys are pretty smart over all, so I wanted to start a dialogue with you if I could. I have many topics which interest me, so I wanted to hear you guys thoughts on them.

IRAQ:
I am more than dismayed that we have found no WMD's in Iraq. I don't know how the entire world was so wrong about this and I fully agree we should have waited for more conclusive proof, but I have a few problems with saying we should not have gone. First, why did Saddam kick everyone out if he was not operating or trying to creat another WMD program? I haven't heard either side really talk about it at all, and that seems to me to be an argument in favor of him beng taken out. Second, even if he had no WMD, Iraqi's no longer have to live under a brutal dictatorship, where he gassed his own people and even if the new constitutional society which is attempting to be put in place fails, then at least they will have had a shot at freedom. I do not want anyone to rant about the fact that we gave him the gas in the first place, it still doesn't give him the right to use it on his own people/ The war still does not sit easy with me, but I feel like the world is safer with him captured. Also, I have read reports that France and Russia's unwillingness to go along was based on Oil contracts they were likely to try and secure. Anyways, please tell me where you think I have gone wrong on this topic. I realize it is limited, but just initial feelings

Government:
I still don't know how I feel about big government/little government. I have always been very independant and I don't like the thought of when I reach the upper limits of earning potential as a lawyer, that if Kerry is in the White House, his goal is to take half of my earnings for other people. I've always felt like a safety net is supposed to be there for those who can't/won't take care of themselves, but I feel like individual donations for charity is the best way, rather than government mandate. Individual responsibility is very important to me, and it scares me when I see a federal program being created for everything under the sun. I know George Bush is the worst spender of all, so should I just assume that large government spending is here to stay?

Please ask me more questions on other topics or offer comments. I would like to start a dialogue. You guys can be my litmus test for the 2004 election. LOL

[chimpymustgo]

10. And another fantastic speech by JRE. Carville is still raving.

Calling for Kerry to pick JRE.

Crossing fingers - just think about it - 16 years. What a team.

[liberalnurse]

11. You could start with shorter replies.

Later, you could post a thread with all this information. I sense you are excited and wanting to learn from the community here.

Relax, follow along and you'll get the flow.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[Beetwasher]

12. Here We Go

I'll take you at your word that your sincere, but boy oh boy have you got some bad info.

Saddam didn't kick anyone out. The inspectors were there inspecting and were forced to leave by the Bush admin. because the US was invading. Saddam was cooperating.

The world is now infinitely more dangerous because of the war. We've essentially just stirred up a hornets nest and created thousand of new terrorist recruits and created a chaotic breeding ground of terrorism in Iraq. The Iraqis are NOT better off nor are they free. Are the tens of thousands of dead Iraqi's better off? You think because he supposedly gassed his own people almost 20 years ago that that's cause for a war today? Puhleeze.

On government, you need to get your priorities straight. Bush has created the biggest government that ever existed. The largest spending increases ever and wants to expand it into your bedroom and force his personal religious views onto you. As a matter of fact, he wants to codify his religion into the constitution. How's that for bigger gov't. You don't want to pay your fair share of taxes to support this great country? Then move. You're attitude is "I gots mine, screw you!" I hope you never suffer a debilitating illness and have no coverage and deplete your savings. Talk to me about personal responsibility then.

[jab105]

13. Welcome...but I also suggest to ease into the questions...

anyways...Saddam lived in a "bad neighborhood"...he didn't want to advertise that he had no way of defending himself, but he didn't...however, his claims for what he had were true (the 12,000 pages, we just didn't believe him)...Hussein Kamal said he had nothing, and the inspectors said the same...we should have responded to the overwhelming evidence...
Iraq is the opposite of a country that would work as an example of democracy...three warring factions that hate each other and want power for themselves...AND IF WE FAIL, it is a very very big deal...to the rest of the mideast...france's and Russia's contracts were very limited compared to the ones that we had no-bids for, the argument against that is...France and Germany have both had experience with trying to manage the middle east, both failed miserably...the could have been trying to warn us that it is very hard to do...the real reason why they were stubborn IMO is because we approached it so arrogantly ourselves...we said "with us or against us"...we called them "old Europe"...we said they weren't appropriate...
As for Hussein, no one is claiming that he is anything less than a horrible dictator...however, who are we to dictate who should be in charge...democracy is a ground up movement, it is not top down...if you are putting evil dictators on a scale and getting out the worst, then you aren't going to start with Hussein...the inasion was seen as another example of us dictating what we want to the rest of the world...this war has lost us more friends and gained us more enemies than we will ever realize for a while...blowback is a bitch...

As for government...start with the presumption that you wont be making millions as a lawyer...start with being in law school, how much does that cost...getting a job...the support systems that support the lower end of society show the society that you are trying to establish...not to mention that without a progressive tax system, you wont have a democracy for one, and your economy will tank...progressive taxes are a necessities for economics...propensity to spend and propensity to save...google it...

enjoy DU!

[Voltaire99]

14. Good questions

Iraq:

1) We should not have gone. Anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 civilians have been slaughtered. You do not barge into a nation, blow it up and kill thousands, and then say, "Whoops."
2) Vile as he was, the region is more dangerous with Saddam gone, ironically. Saddam's worst abuses occurred over a decade ago when the US gave him arms, when it smiled upon his atrocities because the net effect was to deter Arab unity by pitting Iraq against Iran. But now Iraq is in anarchy, attracting militants and breeding future terrorists. Iran is determined to have nukes so that it, too, is not subjected to the Whoops school of foreign policy. And the rest of the region is more hostile to the US than ever. Moreover, the world has new reason to mistrust our imperial power.

Government:

1) If your vision of government is simply reduced taxes, yes, vote for Bush and stop bothering with "dialogue."
2) If you're scared by the creation of federal programs, you have to be pretty damn scared by the Bush administration's huge new Homeland Security apparatus.
3) Large government spending is here to stay. The military will expand under either Bush or Kerry.

My view: Our economic problems are deep, our acrimonious cultural divisions are widening, we face a world deeply distrustful and unwilling to cooperate with us, we are staring at dire environmental threats, and we are looking less and less willing to fulfill our civic duty to keep our democracy alive. America needs drastic political reform that neither party is offering.