Do you think anything HRC is real? And Btw, Bush IS POTUS and will not be running in '08. And yes, I think we need another 43 million killed in the future...you know those "scarey conservative views" on abortion.

unsane -- dittos.

Even the Hilderbeast is "electable"... God forbid.

Rudy is eminently electable if he wins the Republican primary. And so far, his lack of true conservative credentials is being trumped by...

#1. The Republcan base putting national security above all else.

#2. The Republican base understanding that Lady McClinton is electable.

In a two horse race, to claim one of them isn't electable is just dumb.

Who da thunk a prize chump like Kerry could have got within 3 million votes of the Oval Office. Pause to shudder.

The answer is socialism. But only if the question is:

"What's the fastest way to impoverish, enslave and destroy people?"

"His biggest obstacle now is not the liberals, but the conservatives......"

I respectfully disagree Shawn.  Now I could be wrong on that point but actually, I have been surprised at the number of die-hard conservatives that have embraced Rudy.  I'm not talking about blue-blood conservatives but the give-me-everything-conservative or give me nothing conservatives - you know, the ones that held their nose (and votes) and gave the last election to the libs.

That said - I haven't been surprised at the early lashing out at Rudy by the left. They realize he is electable and have already started the disinformation and fear campaigns - doing so this early on (Rudy is still in the "exploratory" phase of his campaign) is quite unusual.  Certainly this is to be expected by the Demediacrats and will only increase as the months drag on, but more to your point, I have not seen the vitriol by conservatives directed towards Rudy coming close to that of the left.  But like I said, I could be wrong.

One other thing Shawn concerning one of your other points. I agree totally with you about decriminalizing pot.  I realize this is anathema to many conservatives and I understand their point of; why decriminalize something else that many people abuse (laziness and lack of constructive motivation). However, I attribute this to their lack of first-hand knowledge of the herb and try mightily not to let this one difference of opinion cause division between others and myself.  Like Jefferson, Franklin and many other reputable people, I have seen first-hand the medicinal benefits as well as other benefits weed offers and certainly don't see why herb shouldn't be available to someone if it helps their medical condition.

That said, I believe you are tunnel-visioning unfairly on this administration and conservatives in general concerning this issue.  I caught one of your earlier derogatory comments on another thread referring to this administrations "drug czar".  To be fair, I hope you will remember that Bill Clinton was far more evasive (I never enhaled) and let a great deal of his base and others down by doing nothing to assist in the decriminalization of weed.  He had a Dem controlled Congress for 6 years and yet Clinton and the Dems did absolutely nothing (except to continue to toke up in the closet).  Bottom line - I think your fight is with Clinton and the Dems and not with conservatives or the Bush administration.  The conservatives have always stated clearly and honestly their anti every drug policy so I hardly would expect them to act differently.  On the other hand Kucinich and other like-minded Dem politicians have openly stated their support of decriminalization. But in the six years they ran DC, they did nothing to back that up legislatively.  Why?  Political self-preservation.  They understand it would be political suicide to support something the majority of voters don't want.  This has been and continues to be a recurring theme with the Dems.  They portray themselves one way to American voters to get elected, then act differently when they get elected.  Then to cover these actions or non-actions with their base or centrists they simply blame the Republicans for preventing them from achieving the goals they campaigned on. Unfortunately, some Republicans do this as well but not to the degree the Dems do and concerning this specific topic as I said earlier, I think your fight is with the Dems and not this administration or conservatives in general.  The Dems are the ones that let you down of pot.

I observe a general willingness on your part to do the right thing, which IMO is a strictly conservative ideal and I conclude that this is why you lean to the right even though as you stated, you lean left on most social issues.  However, I also detect a pattern in you that wants to go along with what the media portrays as the majority opinion.  This is by no means a slam at you.  I think this is prevalent behavior in society - be one of the gang and all that.  I started observing this behavior around junior high school or before (some 45 years ago).  I think this pattern you exhibit is the reason for your disaffection with Bush and his Administration.  i.e. - it's the cool thing to do.

The media would have America believe that slamming Bush is the popular thing to do. Who knows it might quite well be now.  The reason I am bringing this up however, is because I think it is the wrong thing to do.  Look past the media talking points, pop-culture concepts directed at Bush, Bushs' role as President along with all the spin associated with that position and just look at the man Bush.

Bush is highly educated, yet likes working with his hands and driving around his ranch in a pick-up truck when he's not biking.   He chooses to live on a ranch, not in a trendy high-rise in some fashionable city. This exhibits his closeness to nature, love of animals and a genuine care for the environment.  He is modest in his means living in a slightly above-average sized home that he decided to build eco-friendly long before this was fashionable.  While firm in his beliefs, he is modest in his demeanor, open to criticism, acknowledging his short comings and a loving husband and father.  He realizes his smallness in comparison to his Creator and set's time aside everyday to thank his Creator for all he has been given.  He is frank yet tolerant of others conflicting ideology even attempting time and time again to have a working relationship with those that disagree with him.  He cares about his Country and his fellow Americans.  He is compassionate to those that live in poorer Countries giving a great deal of his own money and time to assist them.

I could go on but I think you get the point.  Notice that all of these qualities have nothing to do with his position as President.  They are qualities that any sane person would agree are good qualities if not try to emulate.  My whole point of bringing up this topic is to ask you to try to see the good man behind all the hate-filled propaganda directed in his direction.  He is not perfect but who among us can claim that distinction?  But his heart is in the right place.

Anyway, I think if you contemplate these points it will be easier for you to understand why most conservatives support Bush and hopefully you too will determine that such a good person has no desire to supposedly take away the freedoms of other Americans (think the warrantless wiretapping charge), supposedly lie to Americans (think the war in Iraq), supposedly have his AG fire people for political reasons (think the current witch hunt concerning Rove, Meirs, etc) and all the other non-sensical charges the left daily hurls at what is basically just a good guy trying to do good things for his country.

Sorry for being so long-winded Shawn, but I think if you replaced listinening to liberal self-serving talking points with some critical thinking on your part, you will be of great service to others, your Country and the world.  Sometimes that means disagreeing with the pop-culturalists, the media elites and those whose approval we would like to have. You are our future Shawn and we are counting on you to employ some rational thought and critical thinking skills to serious issues if America and the individual freedom she offers the world are going to survive and that is something I don't mind devoting some extra keystrokes towards.