[Grovenet] A worthy Republican Candidate ? ? ? ? ?

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

If demonstrated qualifications of a candidate were required to win the
Presidency of our nation, how do you suppose G. W. Bush ever won? 
 
To me, the amazing thing that popular people like Giuliani, President Bush
and others do is to listen to and believe what their admirers say! They look
out on the masses of applauding, cheering faces and think they are looking
at the intelligentsia of our nation. 
 
Unfortunately they are often looking at voters, and there are other voters,
quaking in fear that they won't be one of the 'herd' who voted for the
winning candidate, who watch carefully and mark their ballot in total
ignorance of the candidate, making their best guess as to who will win. I
think that's why polls are so important in our society: people need to know
who is most likely to win so they can vote for the "winning" candidate, no
matter who he is.
 
Heaven help the USA if an 'Osama Bin Ladin' or 'Hitler' personality ever
leads the popularity polls in an American presidential campaign. 
 
Ron D'Eau Claire 
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Bob Browning
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2007 12:11 PM
To: Grovenet
Subject: [Grovenet] A worthy Republican Candidate ? ? ? ? ?


A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and Rudy seems to be perfectly
happy with a little knowledge . . .




Candidate Paul assigns reading to Giuliani 


By Andy Sullivan 43 minutes ago 

Longshot Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul (news, bio, voting
record) on Thursday gave front-runner Rudy Giuliani a list of foreign-policy
books to back up his contention that attacks by Islamic militants are fueled
by the U.S. presence in the Middle East.

"I'm giving Mr. Giuliani a reading assignment," the nine-term Texas
congressman said as he stood behind a stack of books that included the
report by the commission that examined the attacks on the United States on
September 11, 2001.

Giuliani was mayor of New York when Islamic militants slammed two commercial
airliners into the World Trade Center, a role that has vaulted him to the
front of the Republican presidential pack despite his liberal social
positions.

"I don't think he's qualified to be president," Paul said of Giuliani. "If
he was to read the book and report back to me and say, 'I've changed my
mind,' I would reconsider."

Paul advocates a limited U.S. foreign policy, including an end to the war in
Iraq and a reduction in troop levels abroad.

Paul said he was unfairly attacked during last week's debate by 10
Republican presidential hopefuls, when Giuliani dismissed his contention
that U.S. policies in the Middle East had contributed to the attacks in New
York and Washington.

"I don't think I've ever heard that before, and I've heard some pretty
absurd explanations for September 11th," Giuliani said to wild applause.

A spokeswoman for Giuliani derided Paul's latest comments.

"It is extraordinary and reckless to claim that the United States invited
the attacks on September 11th," Maria Comella said in an e-mail.

"And to further declare Rudy Giuliani needs to be educated on September 11th
when millions of people around the world saw him dealing with these
terrorist attacks firsthand is just as absurd."

OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM

Paul barely registers in opinion polls of Republicans hoping to win their
party's nomination to contest the November 2008 presidential election.

An obstetrician-gynecologist from the Houston area, Paul frequently strays
far outside the Republican mainstream.

He voted against the Iraq war resolution in 2002 and has proposed abolishing
the Homeland Security Department and diminishing the Federal Reserve. His
1988 bid for president as the Libertarian candidate drew just slightly more
than 400,000 votes nationwide.

Paul said it was irresponsible of Giuliani and other leaders to not examine
the motivations of al Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups.

Among the books on Paul's reading list were: "Dying to Win," which argues
that suicide bombers only mobilize against an occupying force; "Blowback,"
which examines the unintended consequences of U.S. foreign policy; and the
9/11 Commission Report, which says that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was
angered by the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.

Another book on the list was "Imperial Hubris," whose author appeared at the
press conference to offer support for Paul.

"Foreign policy is about protecting America," said author Michael Scheuer,
who used to head the CIA's bin Laden unit. "Our foreign policy is doing the
opposite." 

A Giuliani campaign official could not confirm whether he had read any of
the books on Paul's list.

Copyright C 2007 Reuters Limited


bob "hey, get me a good book while you're up" browning