(no subject)

[hannibalv]

Well, hell.

They got him.

What does this do to the 2004 election? I don't know that it locks things up, but it does cause some difficulty for the party in opposition. Finding OBL--that would lock things up.

Comments

[zarfmouse.livejournal.com]

Do you really think people care that much more about these jokers than they do about the economy? Do you really think the electorate's attention span is that long?

Now if capturing Saddam means an end to hostilities in Iraq and capturing Osama means an end to the domestic security lock-down (roll back of the PATRIOT act) and an end to hostilities in Afghanistan..then maybe it'd be a lock. But as long as our troops are dying and we're constantly reminded of the "dangers" of unknown imminent terrorist attack by our lack of daily freedoms, I don't think people are going to attach too much value to the capture of Saddam and perhaps someday of Osama.

[serendipidy.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with you. Personally, my reaction to Saddam's capture was more of, "Oh...alright." than anything close to rapture and twittering birdies. I think that at this point, as far as American pride and feelings of justice go, a lot of people have accepted that there will never be true justice for what happened on September 11th. Can we truly make Osama pay for his crimes? No, not in a way that would do justice to the dead. So a certain degree of apathy settles in.

Say what?

[somebodystrange.livejournal.com]

Maybe you guys hang out with a different type of people than I am forced to, but around here, the news that Saddam has been captured has had the same level of reaction as a Super Bowl win (or perhaps since I'm in Indiana it would be better to say an NCAA basketball tournament championship).

In many, MANY areas, people care WAY more about the brief news soundbites and the sense that something major has been accomplished (bear in mind, I'm saying the SENSE that something major blah blah blah) than the economy; when the economy is struggling, big cities are affected more consistently than rural areas. The rural areas are hit only when a specific plant shuts down.

I'm grossly oversimplifying, but my own grasp of economics is only slightly better than the average American's, which is really my point.

Take your average American (and please, do NOT overestimate the intelligence of the average American) and compare their understanding of the administration's role in shaping the country's economic situation with their understanding of "We got him."

The average American doesn't know that the President refused to sign a bill that would eliminate importing steel and help save Pittsburgh's economy because if he had signed it, several European countries were going to put stiff tariffs on imported orange juice, thus hurting the economy of Florida, a state with more electoral votes... but they get the idea of "Saddam's a bad guy. Bush said to stop him, and we stopped him."

I hope and pray that people like Dean are able to explain in everyday terms to the public that just because Bush "assigned" the mission to capture Saddam and we accomplished it doesn't mean that we were right to be there in the first place or that he actually had anything to do with it. If Gore had been elected, and if he had also sent in troops to accomplish the mission, it would be just as accomplished. This is an honor for our military, not our administration.

A final note: our local news last night interviewed the man on the street to get their reactions. Now, I have seen some stupid responses in local news pretty much everywhere I've been, but usually we get at least one or two "sensible" opinions.

The question was, "What do you think should be done with Saddam Hussein now that he is in U.S. custody?"

Answers ranged from "Put a gun to his head and say 'the heck with it'..." to "I say take him to the White House and let him and President Bush duke it out."

These people were serious, and I'm betting they're registered voters.

Frankly, the majority of Americans scare me.

--Strange/David

oof.

[(Anonymous)]

You know, that's exactly what I was thinking. Damn it all.
-Jen Hendricks