surveyor: I was not trying to credit or blame you for the use of the word “neocon”. Rather, I was making the point that when that word appears in any of the posts on this thread, it is code for “brutal, fascist, imperialist exploitation”. As such, it becomes an automatic dialogue killer. If you are a labeled a neocon, then, as such, any of your opinions are without basis and should be dismissed.
As to the idea that the term “Leftist” or “Left” is benign: I disagree. We may be splitting hairs here, but I find the Left to be an entirely discredited, intellectually and morally bankrupt, infantile holdover from the counterculture movement of the 1960s. From Hillary’s invocations of the Summer of ’68, to those selfsame Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro apologists, I find the Left revisionist and repressive.
The entire Politically Correct movement (which is a product of the Left) is built on the Orwellian notion of controlling language to control culture (as if referring to someone as “physically challenged” somehow alleviates or ameloriates their condition). That is why I become suspicious when someone starts using labels like “neocon” without clearly stating the argument supporting the use of the term. The ad hominem attacks generally follow shortly thereafter. Both methods are straight out of the Red Diaper Baby Handbook.
As to Obama and how he fits into this: I made mention before that I think he is a foreign policy dilettante. He is a newbie on the scene, and cannot and should not be expected to have much experience. However, he is advancing strategies and discussing engagement as though he was a policy wonk along the lines of someone like Joe Biden. While I don’t agree with Biden’s politics, I do respect his acumen and experience when it comes to foreign policy. The problem I have with Obama is the same problem that existed with JFK at the outset of his Presidency: He was no match for someone like Nikita Kruschchev, who used Kennedy’s naivete and inexperience against him ruthlessly.
Forget partisanship and focus on Obama’s voting record and tremendous lack of experience, both domestically and internationally. Being completely objective, and armed with those facts, do we believe that he is the best person for the job, especially in light of those enemies we now face?
