[tehox]

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You failed to mention security, which is a divergent issue between the dems and the republicans. While I identify with most of the OP and your comments, I struggle with security. I do not believe that you can bribe or negotiate or appease evil. I know the horror of combat, but it is necessary in order to defeat evil.

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I agree that security is important. However I honestly don't think it divides Repubs and Dems as much as you think. The entire country and the rest of the world lined up behind us as we invaded Afghanastan (for God's sake France sent troops to Afganastan). Admittedly there were some anti-war protesters but these were on the fringe of Democratic Party.

The divisive issue has been Iraq. I personally have been against the war since day 1. President Bush used all of his political capital and good will of the world and Democratic Party to stage this war which has been shown 1) To have been persecuted on false grounds 2) To have been bumbled beyond imagination.

As far as security goes, I do feel safer than right after the 9/11 attacks. But it is because we as a country are taking terrorism seriously and the law enforcement agencies are actually doing their jobs. I don't think Bush has done anything that any other president wouldn't have done in his situation.

And in some ways I think Bush has bumbled Homeland Security. He could have done literally anything he wanted at any expense to make this country safer to prevent antoher attack and prepared if antoher attack occured. Instead we get inefficent Homeland Security spending, the travesty that is the TSA, and from the looks of Katrina, a federal government not prepared to respond to emergenices.

On these last points I do think this has a lot to do with the inefficiency of the federal govt versus any real inherent deficiencies of Bush. But they are the ones that say that Democrats don't appreciate that we are in a "post 9/11" era, as IMO their responses have been decidedly "pre 9/11"