Lindsey Graham on Press the Meat: How much time did we have to win World War II?

[Lasher]

I couldn't believe my ears. Graham was arguing that Junior should continue to have a free hand in his Iraq adventure, with no limitations imposed by Congress. From page 4 of the transcript:

MR. GRAHAM: Mistakes, we have made plenty. It has made this war more difficult. It has cost us more in blood and treasure. We make mistake in every war. The biggest mistake is yet to come, and I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and be silent about it. We’re not going to allow the Congress to become the commander in chief. We’re not going to send a signal to the terrorists that, if you do the five things in these resolution, you win. The biggest mistake would be leaving Iraq as a failed state. There are some early signs of success. General Petraeus is a general I have confidence in. I love my colleagues in the House and the Senate on both sides of the aisle, but I don’t have confidence in them being generals. I have confidence...

MR. RUSSET: How much time do you give General Petraeus?

SEN. GRAHAM: Whatever resources he needs and whatever time he needs, he’s going to get. How much time did we have to win World War II? Did we ever think about just fighting the Germans and not engaging the Japanese? This to me is World War III.

Before Graham finished this particular tirade I was screaming, "Tell him, Russet! Iraq has already lasted longer than WWII! Tell him that by the very standard that he himself just held up, the war in Iraq has gone on too long already!"

But I knew Russet wouldn't do that. There is a reason Lord Vader picked out Press the Meat as his favorite Sunday talk show where he could appear and control the agenda.

American involvement in WWII began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It ended with the Japanese surrender on August 14, 1945. The duration was 1,348 days. Our involvement in the Iraq war exceeded that last November. And we're still in Iraq with no end in sight.

[Purveyor]

1. Lindsey was indeed, quite 'shrill', on yesterdays MTP! n/t

[GeorgeGist]

2. Treasure?

IOW OIL.

[Wickerman]

3. I heard that and thought same

but I reasoned that Timmy is just a pundit - he had no advance research and even though he wrote a book on that great generation and his courageous father "Big Russ" he surely wouldn't know the length of the 2nd WW. :grr:

[Lasher]

14. Guess you must be right, Wickerman

When I watch these shows it's fairly often I say to Mrs. Lasher that if I were conducting the interview I would ask this question or that question. But they seldom do. In this case I knew the Iraq fiasco had gone on longer than US involvement in WWII - and I'm just a dumb hillbilly from West Virginia. Doesn't say much for Russet and the rest of the pundits, huh?

[The Stranger]

4. Be careful of that little Nazi.

[European Socialist]

5. Nazi Germany comparisons are absurd because back then there was no..

800lb. gorilla called the USA controlling the world.

[Lasher]

16. That's another good point.

This ain't no WWII and Junior sure ain't no Winston Churchill or FDR.

[quiet.american]

6. "The WHOLE WORLD was wrong about WMDs, Tim."

And Russert just let it go. No surprise. Also Graham did the "Democrat Party" thing, too. Human filth is too good a phrase to describe him.

[Lasher]

17. That was another screaming point for me.

Mrs. Lasher eventually left the room. "No, the whole world wasn't wrong about WMDs!! Tell him, Mr. Potatohead! What about Canada? What about France and Germany? There were people in the US who didn't believe it and said so!"

[lectrobyte]

7. And I think in Germany and Japan, they were functioning societies

even after surrendering, hence from what I can glean, very peaceful occupations after the hostilities ceased. I ascribe that to being "defeated in war fair and square" vs. "invaded by infidels who want to plunder our natural resources".

[opihimoimoi]

8. Lindsey is full of BS CRAP....his reasoning is fucked up. He has swallowed the cool aid

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. That's because his "reasoning" is partisan based

and straight from Karl.

[opihimoimoi]

20. amazing talking points of faux lojeek are consistent w Homo Pubics

They could do us a favor and disappear forever....

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. He was such a hoot I had to turn him off and get chores done!

Actually, I kept it on in the background but the crap he kept throwing had me talking to the TV again. LOL!

First, his "We’re not going to allow the Congress to become the commander in chief." Now, I have to wonder if George W. Bush gave an address to the nation this Tuesday to announce we're bringing home 75% of the troops now in Iraq, would Lindsay Graham take steps to stop him? If George W. Bush had a (D) next to his name, would Lindsay Graham be introducing bills and amendments that are different than the Commander in Chief and effectively tie the President's hands?

Second, he claims the Congress is trying to micromanage. Okay, let's go with that and just ask the questions: If Congress is the only branch that is Constitutionally authorized to declare war, is that where their responsibility ends? Does the Congress declaring military authority cede all responsibility of the military engagement beyond complete and unwavering support for the Commander in Chief?

[zbdent]

10. And FDR didn't declare victory in February 1942

[Lasher]

19. How succinct of you, zbdent.

Gotcherself a pretty good dry wit there.

[TwilightGardener]

12. I will never understand

the deification of Petraeus. Ever. He is but one man. I understand that he has a "counterinsurgency" doctrine that's he's trying out, but it's untested. Why the blind faith? If he doesn't come out of Iraq looking like Grant, all of the GOPers are going to look like absolute asses. Hey--wait a second! Who wants to guess what the new GOP spin will be in six months, if there is anything short of total disaster and troops getting choppered out from rooftops? Headline: "Petraeus is the New Grant". Well, Rudy Giuliani is "America's Mayor" just for appearing on TV on 9/11, right? And then Petraeus will be the next Colin Powell, headed for a WH run in 2012.

[gratuitous]

13. So, when do we storm the beaches at Normandy, Mr. Graham?

Because I sure don't see anything that could be labeled as progress. Your solution to this clusterfuck seems to be to cluster more and fuck harder. This solution doesn't appear to be working, unless you're an undertaker's assistant worried about job security. This situation appears to have gone the way of Terri Schiavo, and none of the carefully edited footage of her face turned toward a balloon changes the fact that she was blind and her brain had ceased all higher functions.

[sutz12]

15. Those WWII comparisons are sooooooo bogus. nt

[brentspeak]

18. "We" alone didn't win WWII

In the European theater alone, the Soviet Union pretty much fought 60% of the war before D-Day even occurred.

Doesn't matter anyway: the comparison to WWII makes no sense. I thought Graham was supposed to be one of the smarter Republicans in the Senate.