George Allen in one sentence catch phrases was very good at macho football talk, misrepresenting Jim Webb, and changing the subject of the question when it was convenient for him!
Jim Webb said that we CAN be out of Iraq in 2 years but refused to give a specific timetable. When asked to reply to Webb's prediction, Allen replied, "Completely out in two years? Now he's got a timetable."
Allen took Webb completely out of context and successfully defined the debate in my opinion!
The ABC News media could have done a better job by ALSO quoting where Jim Webb denied a specific timetable when they packaged it up like this which I think helps Allen:
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/story?id=2170020&page=1
"Webb argued for a "clear end point" to the U.S. engagement in Iraq, saying, "There are a lot of people that got us into Iraq who want us to stay there for the next 30 to 50 years," and later adding, "I think we can be out of Iraq in two years."
How I would have loved to see George Allen get asked this question that Tim Russert asked to Nicholas Burns on Meet The Press and how I wish that Russert had some follow up time for it which he did not have:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13740936/page/3/
MEET THE PRESS
Transcript for July 9
Nicholas Burns, Bill Richardson, Richard Haas, Robert Gallucci
Updated: 12:08 a.m. CT July 9, 2006
MR. RUSSERT: Let me conclude with comments by Bill Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard. He used to work for Vice President Dan Quayle: +óGé¼+ôNorth Korea is firing missiles. Iran is going nuclear. Somalia is controlled by radical Islamists. Iraq isn+óGé¼Gäót getting better, and Afghanistan is getting worse. ... I give the president a lot of credit for hanging tough on Iraq. But I am worried that it has made them too passive in confronting the other threats.+óGé¼-¥ Has a preoccupation with Iraq allowed North Korea+óGé¼GÇ¥and Iran+óGé¼GÇ¥to go forward with their nuclear programs and limited our options?
MR. BURNS: Well, I strongly disagree with that criticism from Bill Kristol...
This is Bush's and Allen's huge vulnerability on the Iraq war and this is where they both need to be pressed very hard to get as much media attention on this as possible in my opinion!
Here again in one sentence is where Allen is trying to run against every other Democrat than Jim Webb and is using these people to try and define Jim Webb how he chooses to:
"Yeah, right," Allen responded, telling Stephanpoulos, "He served as secretary for 10 months for Ronald Reagan. I don't think Ronald Reagan would be on the other side of a party that is led by folks such as Sen. Kerry and Sen. Schumer and Harry Reid and Tom Daschle and Teddy Kennedy."
On Taxes, Webb was for paying for a program for veterans to get a 5% tax break which would be paid for from the wealthiest (Halliburton specifically quoted) end of the Bush tax cuts.
Allen then goes on to say that Webb is for raising taxes on all families...
The truth is that very few families fall in the income bracket that Webb was talking about but Allen was successfully able to make it sound like it was in my opinion!
When Allen was asked about his running for President in 2008, he totally turned that question around by saying that people in Virginia WHO WANT HIM TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT are asking him about it:
"There's a lot that will say, 'Oh, we want you to run for president, I hope you run, and so forth,' " Allen said. "I said, 'Fine, fine, but let's pay attention to the task at hand.' "
"It's pretty hard to predict the future," Allen added. "And I'm just happy to be alive at the end of every day."
My response to that is first, who are these people in Virginia who "want you to run for president?" (they would not be your average voter). Second, I would ask Allen to give a straight answer to "is it just on the table that you may run for President in 2008" and if you do run and win, what are your thoughts about Democratic Governor Tim Kaine filling your vacant Senate seat with a Democrat who will disagree with a lot of the positions you are running on now?
Those are some good questions that Allen needs to be asked and be pressed hard on!
Allen tried to get away from his rubber stamping of Bush by citing his position against Bush on illegal immigration and his position against a guest worker program. One of the best questions in my opinion to ask people like Allen about that is "what do you specifically do with the 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants who are already here?"
Allen is for some form of a mass deportation but he will never admit it. I would press him very hard on that because he will sooner or later have to admit to breaking up families and other sensitive things about this issue that will hurt him!
The main reason why Allen brought that issue up was because that is a huge "Mortal Sin" issue that the Neocon GOP activist base who wants him to be President in 2008 is looking for in their next Presidential nominee and Allen is kissing up to his activist base!
The bottom line is that Allen is very predictable and he is bringing up the same Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity arguments that I hear all the time and that are very easy to refute if you listen to and monitor them on a regular basis!
I would give almost anything to get a shot at publicly debating Allen or any of his top people if it could ever be seriously arranged and they would not get away with any of their inconsistencies if that ever happened!
Mitch Dworkin
http://www.securingamerica.com/
http://www.securingamerica.com/ccn/node/7191
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program:
An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda which will help our local candidates to win their races!
http://securingamerica.com/webb
Gen. Wes Clark's endorsement of Jim Webb against George Allen
http://www.webbforsenate.com/
Jim Webb for Senate website