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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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February 8, 2012
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 20, 2006
/ 29 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767
Memo to McCain: More boots on the ground won't fly with the voters
By
Robert Robb
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In the aftermath of the beating the Republicans took in the recent election, John McCain is trying to seize the point on defining the problem and positing solutions, not the least of which, in McCain's mind, is to make him the Republican presidential nominee in 2008.
McCain laid his claim in a couple of speeches given to conservative audiences last Thursday, in which he sketched a program of what he calls common-sense conservatism.
A better moniker would be tough-minded conservatism. McCain is a brave and tough guy. He thinks Republicans and conservatives should be willing to take on tough problems.
McCain has been a useful scold on the gross expansion under Republican rule of earmarking federal spending to the preferred projects of politicians. That, however, is merely emblematic of a larger problem: an unwillingness to restrain spending generally and confront specifically the unsustainability of current entitlements.
In his speech to GOPAC, a training organization for conservative Republican candidates, McCain was scathing in his indictment of the Republican prescription-drug benefit for Medicare, on which many Republicans ran: "We responded to a problem facing some Americans by providing every retired American with a prescription-drug benefit, and adding another trillion dollars to a bankrupt entitlement."
McCain certainly talked tough about entitlement reform: "We have more significant priorities ahead of us than finding new ways to spend money unwisely. . . . By 2045, spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, along with interest on the national debt, will consume 84 cents out of every federal dollar."
The question is whether McCain, during his presidential bid, will propose a tough solution to this tough entitlement problem. In his GOPAC speech, McCain simply referred to bringing all the parties to the table to hammer out a principled solution.
That's happy talk for getting Democrats to join in the dirty work. Ain't gonna happen. Democrats are clearly going to continue milking the political benefits of denial.
The largest obstacle to McCain's path to the presidency was thought to be reconciliation with social conservatives, who still harbor bruised feelings over a speech McCain gave after losing the South Carolina primary in 2000, attacking certain social conservative leaders.
However, a larger obstacle is now looming: Iraq.
In his speech to the Federalist Society, McCain tried to define, and circumscribe, the message the American people were sending about Iraq in this election: "(T)he American people told us loud and clear last week that they are not happy with the course of this war. Neither am I. But let's be clear: that's the limit of what they told us about Iraq and the war on terrorism."
That's wishful thinking. According to a national exit poll conducted for a media consortium, 55 percent of those voting felt that the United States should withdraw some or all troops from Iraq. The American people may be wrong. But getting out of Iraq was clearly part of the message.
Only 17 percent expressed support for sending in more troops, which is what McCain proposes. However, neither McCain nor anyone else has made a credible case that more American troops will make a material difference. Nothing short of full-fledged American martial law is likely to bring security to the country by force, and that would merely unite the various factions against the U.S. occupation.
The American people clearly believe that the United States has reached the end of what we can usefully do in Iraq. McCain disagrees.
McCain sees the challenge to the United States by militant Islam, and the proper response to it, pretty much the same way President Bush does. McCain doesn't disagree with the Bush doctrine so much as he believes it has been poorly executed.
In the GOPAC speech, McCain even reprised Bush's false choice about the alternatives: "Some on both the left and right argue that our advocacy of democratic values in Iraq and elsewhere is reckless and vain; that freedom only works for wealthy nations and Western cultures."
That's not really the issue. The issue is whether it is in the interests of the United States to be forcefully seeking to change other countries, governments and cultures. According to Bush and McCain, our security requires it.
Another view is that our global pushiness makes us more of a terrorist target and reduces our ability to do the things to isolate and disrupt the terrorists that truly threaten us.
In any event, for those looking for a new approach to protecting the United States against terrorist attack, McCain, at this point, isn't offering one.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Robert Robb is a columnist for The Arizona Republic. Comment by clicking here.
Robert Robb Archives
© 2006, The Arizona Republic
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