1) Bush proudly admits he is illegally tapping Americans' phones in violation of the FISA law. Some of us find this criminal behavior by our president and the hubris informing it disturbing.
2) America under the neocons, starts wars while not being threatened, runs gulags, and tortures prisoners. Some of us find this version of Amerika disturbing.
3) It was apparent that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and that a secular ruler like Saddam by definition would be an enemy to a radical Islamic movement like Al-Qaeda. Yet our great leader very quickly pulled the vast bulk of our resources away from the hunt for the terrorists who killed 3,000 of us and took us into a boondoggle in Iraq. Now, after the deaths of 10s of thousands of innocents, Bin Laden is still out there 5 years later. To some us this looks like scary incompetence and indicates these people have not a clue about how to defend this country against another terrorist attack.
4) Years after 9/11, our great leader has even begun the process of strenghtening the defenses around our our ports, nuclear plants, chemical plants, etc. This is disturbing.
5) The Bushies have run up a stupendous debt that even our great-grandchildren are unlikely to dig out from under, all the while insisiting on huge taxcuts for their rich buddies. This is disturbing.
6) While playing the "patriot" card, this group trashes true war heroes whenever said heroes disagree with them (McCain, Kerry, Murtha, etc.) Do we have any reason to believe this group won't trash any one of our current heroes in Iraq if he/she gets in their way? Oh yeah, and they cut vets' benefits on top if all. Disturbing.
And, of course this could go on and on.
Waht do you find incoherent in the above concerns, LJD?

We are going to hell in a handbasket with this system, even though we all know a majority of Americans sit comfortably in the middle. Yet we have candidates push the division, creating greater polarity and voter dissatisfaction. Taking stupid cheap shots at one another in endless rounds of election year sparring. Totally counter productive, an embarrassment on the world stage, and a great disservice to America.

It seems special interests have ruined our great experiment in democracy. No longer does the sytem provide for all equally, but the one who screams the loudest 'there oughtta be a law!'. The sense of entitlement is astounding. Amazingly we see strange role reversals. Liberals for 'rights' yet against the 2nd Amendment. Conservatives for families, yet supporting damaging drug control laws. We need to drop a good half (or more) of all the stupid laws on the books. 'Majority rule' does not override my Constitutional rights to do whatever the hell I want as long as I'm not hurting any one.

Yet we continue to add dumb legislation, try to tell people how to live their lives, produce polarizing candidates. Most were dissatisfied with the last few elections, yet nothing has been done to prevent a repeat performance in 2008. Anybody who thinks getting Bush out of office will solve all of their problems is seriously disillusioned.

I have yet to understand the liberal phrase the United States armed Iraq. Did we send some weapons...of course we did since they were at war with Iran, an enemy we thought at the time was worse. However, France sold more weapons to Iraq. Most of the Iraqi armor are from Russia...their plans were a combination of Russian and French aircraft. In other words: although we did have a part in arming Iraq, our contribution was a minor one.

Also, while we are at it, when was the last abortion clinic bombing exactly? And just how many Christian leaders cheered it?

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing
health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable
offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

Supporting "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born( in perpetuity.)

Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

Embedded in all the above is stupidity, arrogance, elitism, disregard for people, cowardice, racism, mendacity..... basically why most progressives I know can't stay in the same room with most right wingers who begin to share their political and social insights.

But Americans are not dumb. We know that you, for example, if it were not for the liberal infrastructure we have built and nutured along since the founding of our nation, would be not only a gibbering idiot but a much poorer gibbering idiot to boot.

Anyone knows that Donald Rumsfield, for example, had a better relationship with Saddam than Ossama bin Laden ever did. Hell it was the conservatives that helped arm Saddam and gave him the power he enjoyed as President of Iraq. Bin Laden, on the other hand, wanted to replace the Iraqis secular government with one based on shirria and his extremist view of Islam. Saddam was his number one enemy. Saddam, not being totally insane, had on interest in finding out more about this threat. This is all well known.

As long as you approach reality through the handicap of conservative ideology you will continue to be frustrated by the facts.

But it seems that without the wierdness that makes conservatives conservative, it is difficult for the rest of us to sink among the sewage for long before we fight our way back to clean air. There is something about conservatives that keeps them there.

...like the political party that has a former KKK leader as a major party leader? Or the one that was (and still is) allied with such groups as the Socialists and Communists (and you don't know bile-filled hate until you've spent some time around an old American Communist who never saw the revolution come)? Or the lifelong eco-freaks who grind their teeth and spit when they see someone driving an SUV? Or the current flock of left-wingers who hate the current sitting President with a fiery passion, when most of the things they hate him for are figments of some reporter's imagination?

Meanwhile, if you want hate, look at the "fellow travelers" of the current American left (start with Hamas and go downhill from there)... not to mention the unspoken anti-Semitism that isn't that far under the surface of many Democrat policies.