Is The "Mandate" Disintegrating?

Today's cruise through BlogPulse finds some serious questioning of the underpinnings of the Bush White House's "mandate."

Less than a week after Bush advisor Karl Rove attack liberals/Democrats for not properly supporting the war on terror, a blog called Taking the Fight to Karl has risen to No. 3 among the most-referred links. The harsh posts are from veterans, current members of the military and military family members. The Moral Values My Ass blogger calls Rove the "round mound of partisan sound." And that's probably one of the nicer descriptions. One vet uses the Dick Cheney expletive as well.

Negotiating with terrorists?
Can the Bushies be negotiating with terrorists? The Times of London says it's true (No. 7 link) and even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says it's true on Fox News, of all places (No. 31 link). The Outside the Beltway blog notes the administration's shift in policy and explanation, InTheBullpen sees it as a bad sign of things to come, while Joel at Joel's Ramblings points out that John Kerry (remember him?) had the same idea.

Guess who said it?
Here's the quote, guess who uttered it: ""No goal, no objective, not until we have those things and a compelling case is made, then I say, back out of it, because innocent people are going to die for nothing. That's why I'm against it." A liberal on Iraq? No, Fox news commentator Sean Hannity about why U.S. involvement in Kosovo was a bad idea. Daily Kos (No. 21 link) has a whole slew of them, from the mouths of then-governor Bush, Tom DeLay and others. Read 'em and weep...literally.

Observations about "minor" things
BlogPulse also has some intriguing posts today, including a UCLA professor's sense that agriculture is the worst thing ever to happen to humankind (my 81-year-old farmer father would have a few counter opinions, and yes, he still lives on MacDonald's Farm), along with speculation that China is awakening militarily and financially.

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