The Way (The Clintons) Were?

How young and thin Babs was in this video.

There is no denying her God-given talent. In the immortal words of Linda Richmond: "She's like BUTTAHH!"

This is probably The Flying Curmudgeon's favorite Streisand song. It speaks to a number of common themes: lost love, enduring friendships, what might have been, the melancholy that sometimes comes as we contemplate our own mortality, etc.

What a shame she couldn't confine herself to the singing.

Now, Barack Obama has won in South Carolina.

Even before this latest victory, the Clintons have been "pulling out all the stops," in their efforts to derail Barack Obama's candidacy. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120104819435508233.html

Don't you just love this?

The good Senator is getting a taste of what so many others that have crossed the Clinton's have experienced over the years. If the Clinton's political history is any guide, he's in for a tough year.

Cliff Jackson. Billy Dale. Paul Jones. Linda Tripp. Ken Starr.

The names of people who have had the temerity to cross the Clintons, and have suffered their wrath, is legion.

Somewhat amusingly, former Senator Tom Daschle, among others, worries that Bill Clinton may have harmed his "legacy," with his strident attacks against the "uppi....," er, "upstart" Senator Obama. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/26/politics/main3755521.shtml

"Legacy"? What "legacy"?

If engaging in extra-marital sex, in the Oval Office itself, with an employee young enough to be one's daughter constitutes a "legacy," then Bill Clinton's legacy is intact.

If subborning perjury, in an effort to cover up that illicit sex constitutes a "legacy," then Bubba's place in History is secure.

If failing to do anything to stem the global spread of Islamo-fascism constitutes a "legacy," then the former President has nothing to worry about.

But, if the "legacy" that William Jefferson Clinton so desperately seeks is the kind of legacy that the Great Presidents - Lincoln, Truman, Reagan, and (in TFC's opinion) George W. Bush, (as History will undoubtedly judge President Bush's foreign policy) - are known for, he is sure to be disappointed.

If anyone knows Bill and Hillary Clinton, it's Dick Morris. Having served Bill Clinton for years, as Governor of Arkansas, and as President, Dick Morris knows as much about Bill and Hill as they know of themselves. In his latest e-mail newsletter, Morris provides special insight on Bill Clinton's recent outbursts, having been on the receiving end of his share of red-faced, Clinton rants. http://www.vote.com/mmp_printerfriendly.php?id=694

During the height of the Lewinsky scandal, when polling data indicated the American people would favor his impeachment or resignation if it were proven he lied under oath, Clinton said, "We'll just have to win, then."

As the confirmed Machiavellian that he is, when it comes to helping his wife defeat Barack Obama, Bill Clinton's tactics don't appear to have changed much in the last ten years.

TFC

Is Conservatism Dead?

Well, McCain has won in South Carolina.

The hoped-for "come-from-behind" effort of Sen. Fred Thompson seems to have floundered on the shore of Lake "Too-Little, Too-Late."

Is it possible for Fred Thompson to pull a miracle out of Florida and Super Tuesday?

Who knows? The odds are against it, however.

Maybe someone can finally convince Condi to allow her name to be brought forward at the convention - a la Ike.

If John McCain can run for President at age 71, surely Condi can be convinced to put aside her desire to be NFL Commissioner long enough to save the Republican party, and the Conservative movement within, from the Rockefeller wing of the party.

Well, Condi, how 'bout it?

TFC

On Loss and Liberty

It's funny how the mind can sometimes play tricks.

This is never more true than when one is mentally and/or physically exhausted.

The other night, after having arrived late to his hotel after a long day of flying, The Flying Curmudgeon had a dream about a childhood friend.

Like TFC, in the dream his friend was an airline pilot. Unlike yours truly, this friend lived in a beach-front home, with his wife and three(?) children. (The Flying Curmudgeon's home is not on the water.)

TFC had not seen his friend in some time. Throughout the dream, the primary theme seemed to be the frustration of not having seen him in a while - and why -and what had happened to the friendship. (As high school classmates, they had been best friends.)

Just as The Flying Curmudgeon was confronting his friend on what had happened to their friendship, he awoke, realized it had all been a dream, and that he was lying in bed in his hotel room. With this, TFC got up, proceeded to his laptop and began to write.

A couple of things about this were odd.

First, TFC rarely remembers dreams, unlike Mrs. TFC, who claims to remember all her dreams. This remarkable gift of recall is not always convenient, when applied to those things that occur during the waking hours.

Second, how real the dream seemed. Upon awakening, it took The Flying Curmudgeon a few seconds to get his bearings and remember he was not standing in his friend's beach-front home, but lying in bed in a hotel room, instead. (And why was his friend's home on the beach?)

The strangest thing about the dream - as of last month, TFC's friend has been dead for 16 years. He died in a military plane crash, shortly before Christmas, a few months shy of his 30th birthday - leaving a wife, an 18-month-old daughter, and the son his wife was carrying that never knew his father.

Waking up angry with a friend who had been dead for 16 years got the wheels in TFC's head turning. With all the things that vy for attention in this world, it had been some time since his friend had crossed TFC's mind.

The sad thing is, this particular person is not the only friend TFC has lost over the years.

Quite a few of The Flying Curmudgeon's friends never lived to see their 30th birthdays - young men all, who gave their lives in service to their country - the majority during times of "Peace."

Friends of the same age, former students, and others, some close, some not so close - all lost in the prime of their lives. Aviation, especially military aviation, can be a very unforgiving business if one is not careful.

Thomas Jefferson once said: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Although the United States currently finds itself at war, in the quote above, Jefferson does not differentiate between "Peace" and "War."

Freedom is never free, and must be guarded jealously, lest we forget what it cost our nation in blood and treasure to acquire and preserve it.

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, and nearly seven years since 9/11, The Flying Curmudgeon remembers those friends who gave their lives in Peace, and those who continue to do so in War.

May we never forget them.

TFC

Linus May Have Been On to Something

In the immortal words of Linus Van Pelt: "I love mankind. It's PEOPLE I can't stand!"

Linus Van Pelt - that blanket-trailing, thumb-sucking, font of pre-school wisdom, from the beloved Charles Schulz comic strip Peanuts.

Linus was wise beyond his years.

Dispensing advice to his long-suffering friend, Charlie Brown, Linus always knew the right thing to say. Whether it was a problem with women (in the person of Peppermint Patty), whether Charlie Brown should trust Lucy, (Linus' sister) to not pull the football away when he tried to kick it, or the deeper, esoteric questions about the nature of Man's existence, Linus had the answer.

C'mon, admit it. You choked up during Linus' soliloquy about the True Meaning of Christmas, in the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.

No? And you didn't cry during Old Yeller, either. Yeah, right.

It's hard to believe it's been nearly 43 years since A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired.

Since it's debut, the debate over Christmas has changed. It's no longer whether the holiday is too commercialized, but whether the expression "Happy Holidays," or "Merry Christmas" should be used in the marketplace.

Just to be clear where he stands in this debate, during the holiday season, The Flying Curmudgeon is proud to greet his passengers with a hearty "Merry Christmas!"

In his travels, TFC comes into contact with people from all walks of life. Poor people, rich people, the famous and not-so-famous. The overwhelming number conduct themselves with decency and respect.

Occasionally, he has a person get on his aircraft like the "gentleman" who came onboard the other day.

"Did you get over your being drunk last night," he asked TFC upon boarding the aircraft.

"Excuse me, sir? What did you say?"

He repeated, "I said, did you get over being drunk last night?"

Incredulous, TFC responded, "Sir, if you would like to fly to (our destination that day), I would suggest you not say that again."

At that, the man didn't say anything else and proceeded back to his seat. Had he pushed the issue, TFC may have had to delay the flight, in order to have an FAA mandated urinalysis, to prove his sobriety to perform his duties.

It's amazing how presumptuous people have become these days.

Before TFC became a pilot, he would have never dreamed of saying something like this to the captain of a commercial flight he was boarding.

Unfortunately, thanks to the past actions of an irresponsible few, from time to time, the rest of us have to deal with the occasional smart aleck like the man above.

When it comes to folks like him, Linus may have been on to something.

TFC

What This War is All About

The following video is extremely disturbing and not meant for children. Please do not click on the video link if you are someone easily disturbed by graphic images and audio.

With the passage of time, it is tempting to want to forget about the events of 9/11 and to consign them to the past, like so many other tragic events in our history.

It is tempting to do so, because given the option, Americans would rather not be embroiled in war. At our heart, we are a peace-loving people, we are a generous people.

What other country puts its money where its mouth is, when it comes to global disaster relief and foreign aid, like the United States? The answer is: NO OTHER COUNTRY.

If a disaster strikes anywhere in the world, it is the U.S. that ALWAYS takes the lead in providing aid and comfort to the victims, regardless their race, religion, or their government's opposition to our government.

This is why, when The Flying Curmudgeon hears the Left in this country talking about how "...we need to find out why they (the Islamo-fascists) hate us...", or words to that effect, it is so unbelievably infuriating.

In the case of the Islamo-fascists, they hate us because WE ARE, because we breathe, because we are alive. They hate our very existence, our way of life, and given the opportunity, they would kill every man, woman, and child in our country.

And this is not hyperbole, this is reality.

The stated objective of Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda compatriots is to kill as many Americans as possible. It is important to note, he never differentiates between Republicans and Democrats, Conservative or Liberal, he merely says "Americans."

The bad guys couldn't care less about our politics, except when our political infighting helps them achieve their ends.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS SENATOR REID? SPEAKER PELOSI? DO YOU GET THIS MR. SULZBERGER?

Every time you stand on the floor of the Senate, Sen. Reid, and rail against the Administration's efforts to defeat terrorists, you provide aid and comfort to those that would kill you and your entire family.

When you go overseas, without diplomatic portfolio, and sit down with a brutal thug like Bashar Assad, Speaker Pelosi, you help out those who would set off nukes in your beloved San Francisco.

And you, Mr. Sulzberger, of all people, a Jew, should understand the nature of those that would do us harm. If there is any doubt what the Islamo-fascists would do to you or members of your family if given the chance, just ask Danny Pearl's widow.

Your paper's actions during a time of war have been nothing short of treasonous. By revealing sensitive intelligence-gathering sources and methods, you have, quite likely, contributed to the deaths of future victims of terror.

Way to go, Art! I'm sure your grandfather would be very proud.

The reason TFC put this tragic video on his blog was to remind people what this war is all about.

It is tempting to want to relegate the events of 9/11 to the past, to forget about them, and move on with our lives. In so doing, we are able to delude ourselves into thinking that we are not at war, and, in our minds, at least, pretend we are back in the 90s, when everything was "right in the world."

Unfortunately, back in the 90s we WERE at war, the average American, who was more interested in where the NASDAQ index was at the time, just didn't know it.

There were a lot of powerful people at the time, however, who DID know we were at war and chose to either ignore the fact, or, treat it like a law enforcement problem.

As the year 2008 progresses, and the different presidential candidates vy for position, The Flying Curmudgeon encourages you to think about the video above and understand this - the War on Terror trumps every other issue. As you decide who to support, think about which candidate, if elected, is going to do his or her best to keep you and yours safe from those who would kill us.

If we are all dead, nothing else matters.

TFC

Iran, Al-Qaeda, and the Lessons of History

"I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."

With those words, five Iranian "Boghammers" approached the USS Hopper, USS Port Royal, and the USS Ingraham, which were operating in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz, this past Sunday, January 6th.

Ignoring repeated warnings broadcast from the U.S. vessels, the Swedish-made boats, capable of attaining high speeds, (manned by the fanatic Iranian Revolutionary Guard, armed with Rocket-Propelled Grenades and machine-guns), continued their provocative approach. Just as the the U.S. warships were about to fire on the boats, the Iranians turned and sped away.

We should have blown them out of the water.

The reluctance to engage what were, obviously, Iranian vessels bent on testing our resolve, can only solidify the view in Tehran that the U.S. does not have the political, or military will, to challenge their efforts to gain regional hegemony.

In light of the recently released, factually and motivationally-questionable National Intelligence Estimate, the window of opportunity that the U.S. still has to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, thereby changing the balance of power in the entire region, is rapidly closing.

How many times in history has weakness in the face of such naked aggression led to more aggression?

In the absence of a French or British response to his remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, (in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles), Adolf Hitler was encouraged to annex Austria in '38, and invade Poland the following year, plunging Europe, and the rest of the world, into WWII.

Throughout the 90s, the U.S. failure to respond to repeated terrorist attacks only encouraged more of the same.

Most specifically, the ineffectual U.S. response to the "Black Hawk Down" incident, and our impotent Somalia policy, in general, actually encouraged Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to pursue their Jihad against the West. In an interview with ABC News in 1998, Bin Laden said, "The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows ran in defeat."

We didn't learn of Al-Qaeda's involvement in Somalia until 1996, when former Al-Qaeda operative, Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl defected to the U.S. http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/jamal_ahmed_al-fadl.htm

(A side note: Have you ever noticed how adept the "Drive-By Media" is in securing interviews with the World's thugs and tyrants? If they can find Bin Laden, why can't our military? Although Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is certainly in a delicate situation, perhaps it is time to tell him that he either gets serious about finding Bin Laden, or we are going to send Matt Lauer to Peshawar, with a Special Forces escort, and get him ourselves. )

Once again, the U.S. finds itself in direct conflict with Iran.

In 1987, during the height of the Iran-Iraq War, in response to Iranian attacks on neutral shipping in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. began escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers from their terminals in the Northern Gulf, through the Strait of Hormuz, under the codename Operation Earnest Will.

As part of this effort, the U.S. had staged two oil platform construction barges, named Hercules and Wimbrown VII, in the Northern Gulf, as staging bases for patrols designed to thwart Iranian mining activities and attacks. http://faculty.washington.edu/neelyd/NSCI%20113/Selected%20Readings/Appendix%20-%20Selected%20Readings%20Lessons%2012-18.pdf

On several different occasions, U.S. Marines and Navy SEALs, supported by Army helicopters engaged Iranian forces, killing dozens. These coordinated attacks, along with Operation Praying Mantis, (the U.S. response to the mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts on 14 April 1988), effectively ended the Iranian naval threat in the Gulf at that time.
As the 20th Anniversary of Operation Praying Mantis approaches, and in light of Iran's obvious attempts to acquire nukes, the United States needs to heed the lessons of history, and refuse to back down in the face of Iranian provocation.

TFC

Bill, Hill, Jesse, Al, Barack, and the Politics of Race

The aircraft was just pulling into its designated parking space, as the captain and first officer stood behind the gate agent, watching her manuever the jetway up to the main cabin door.

The ear-splitting noise began to dissipate, as the engines began to wind down - the captain who brought the aircraft in having shut off the engine fuel switches - the two waiting pilots could now pull their fingers out of their ears.

With that, the first officer opened the door to the stairway leading down the backside of the jetway.

"Hey, there's a police car out here, with a limo." The waiting captain stuck his head around the corner to see who would rate such special treatment.

"I don't believe it. It's Jesse Jackson."

Sure enough, the Reverend himself was climbing up the jetway, accompanied by a local police officer, and three other people. The other people turned out to be two of Jesse's personal assistants - one male, one female - and another person, also male, who the captain assumed was from the mayor's office.

Evidently, the Good Reverend had an "in" with SOMEBODY in high places, with a direct line to the airline, and could therefore bypass the usual routine reserved for the Great Unwashed.

As soon as word got out, a large group of airline employees had congregated at the aircraft, watching the Reverend and his aides being screened by TSA for the flight. Regular boarding had been delayed so the VIPs could be screened privately. Shortly thereafter, the police officer left.

When the screening was over, the crowd left, and the only people still standing at the aircraft were Jesse, his two aides, and the "mayor's" aide.

Having said their "Good-byes," the "mayor's" aide turned to leave. Before he opened the door to the back of the jetway, however, he stopped, turned, and pointing to his lower lip, in an apparent attempt to imitate Bill Clinton said, "You better get some ice on that."

(As the astute reader of TheFlyingCurmudgeon must surely recognize, these are the words that Bill Clinton "allegedly" said to Juanita Broderick after "allegedly" raping her when he was Attorney General of Arkansas. As has been reported in the past, Ms. Broderick's charges are very credible, and have never been denied by the former President.)

Hearing this, the Reverend turned to his aide and, referring to the "mayor's" aide responded, "He always be clownin'."

(The irony of hearing this was particularly striking, since Jesse Jackson was supposed to have been Bill Clinton's "Spiritual Advisor" during the whole "Monica Lewinsky Scandal." As it was later revealed, while "ministering" to the President in his hour of need, the Good Reverend was already making payments to his own mistress in California, who had borne his "love child," some time before.)

All four of them seemed to get the joke, and no one seemed the least bit embarassed by this - least of all Jesse - since they all started laughing. The "mayor's" aide then opened the door and stepped off the jetway. At this, the Reverend turned, and began to board the aircraft, followed by his two aides. As he entered the aircraft, he shook hands with the two flight attendants in the front, and then turned and shook the captain's hand.

Upon seeing Jesse Jackson in person for the first time, the initial thing that struck The Flying Curmudgeon was how big he was. Well over six-feet-tall, and easily 250 lbs., he is a HUGE man.

Television does not do him justice.

As the Reverend and his entourage had shown up at the last minute, and since the flight was booked "full," the only seats available to the three were all the way in the back. So - to the back of the airplane they went.

Finally, the aircraft was boarded with the rest of the passengers, backed off the gate, and we taxiied to the runway and took off for our destination - a large, mid-western city.

Upon landing roughly two hours later, TFC taxiied the aircraft to the arrival gate, and the process was reversed. First, all the "regular" passengers deplaned, and next, the Reverend and his aides. As before, Jesse was very cordial, shaking hands with the flight attendants on the way out. When he got to the cockpit door, just prior to turning to leave the aircraft, he stopped, stuck his hand out and said, "Captain, ya'll gave me the Rosa Parks treatment."

Somewhat taken aback by this, extending his own hand to shake Jesse's, TFC replied simply, "Sorry, sir, we were booked."

Obviously, Jesse didn't care for the accommodations in the rear of the aircraft. Apparently, he had assumed he would be put in First Class. On this completely full flight, however, this would have meant bumping passengers who had already paid for the privilege of sitting there.

"Okay, TFC, where are you going with THIS one?"

First of all, the Reverend's comment was revealing. EVERYTHING that Jesse Jackson perceives in this world is perceived through the prism of race. Anyone else, arriving at the last minute to an otherwise full airplane, would have accepted the situation for what it was, and not personalized it the way he did.

And why wouldn't he? Jesse Jackson has built a rather lucrative career around injecting race into every conceivable situation. Ditto the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Maybe TFC missed it, but, did Al ever publicly apologize for the Tawana Brawley thing? Did he ever apologize to the falsely accused New York City police officers, and their families, for putting them through that years long ordeal?

How is it that now, after that disgusting episode, the Freddie's Fashion Mart tragedy, as well as a number of other tawdry affairs, the Reverend Al is treated so "reverently" (pun intended) by the media in this country?

Calling this man a charlatan is an insult to charlatans everywhere.

And yet, Democrats still flock to Harlem, in order to kiss Al Sharpton's ring. Though TFC is not exactly a fan of the "I-man," where does the Reverend Al get off pointing fingers at Don Imus, or anyone else?

Also, returning to Jesse for a second, the fact that he and his aides could find humor in something as tragic as a woman's rape is nothing short of repugnant. To people like Jesse Jackson, (and Bill Clinton, for that matter), "regular" folks like Juanita Broderick, Monica Lewinsky, et al, are not really human beings at all, but merely objects, meant to satisfy some brief, primal need - to be disgarded as soon as they are "done" with them.

Now, here we are in 2008, an election year.

Hillary has just staged a "comeback," as it were, in New Hampshire, after the beating she took in Iowa at the hands of Barack Obama.

Barack Obama. What to do about Barack Obama? In their quest to regain their "rightful" spot as the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this is the conundrum the Clintons are faced with.

Senator Barack Obama is not Jesse Jackson, nor is he Al Sharpton. A polished, charming, and extremely likeable individual, the Clintons are forced to tread a very fine line. Notorious for attacking anyone who would dare stand in their way, in attacking Barack Obama, they risk alienating the very people who have helped them get where they are.

After all, as Nobel-prize winning author Toni Morrison told us back in 1998, Bill Clinton was the "First Black President."

Break out the popcorn, folks. To say the least, the next several months should be very entertaining.

TFC

Are The Wheels Coming Off the Hillary Express?

It's been a rough couple of days for Hillary Clinton since her drubbing in Iowa. Could the wheels be starting to come off the Hillary Express?

Possibly. However, one should never underestimate the Clinton Machine's capacity for dirty tricks, and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve its ends.

(Check out the latest on the Gateway Pundit and TFC's comments regarding the same.) http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/01/hillary-booed-in-new-hampshire.html

One must be careful what one wishes for. With an electorate that seems to want change, and no clear front-runner on the Republican side, (Huckabee's showing in Iowa, notwithstanding, November is a long way away), the GOP may want to reconsider its opposition to the Hildabeast.

A Hillary nomination would solidify the base much more so than an Obamination.

An Obamination? Sorry. An Obama nomination. Where was TFC going with this? Oh yeah.

Obama could wind up capturing the Black vote, and all those single/divorced women who see Hillary as the female version of the Second Coming. Though TFC disagrees vehemently with his politics - if elected and manages to effect a wholesale pull-out of Iraq, for instance, the bloodbath that will ensue will be of Biblical proportions - Obama seems like a sincere, likeable fellow, albeit a naive one. If much of the Republican base stays home on election day, he might manage to attract enough independents to win the general election.

The Flying Curmudgeon was going to devote another post to this subject, but this seems as good a time as any delve into this.

Not since Ross Perot ran his aborted campaign in 1992, can TFC recall being so unsure of which candidate to support.

When Perot first entered the race that summer, the civil war in Bosnia was raging, and as TFC mentioned in an earlier post, he was flying missions in support of NATO operations there.

With his straight-forward manner, and "down-home" folksiness, Perot seemed like a man who could "get things done."

In addition to the famous 1979 mission Perot arranged to gain the release of two EDS (Perot's electronics company) employees from an Iranian jail, in 1969 he had attempted to have humanitarian aid delivered to U.S. POWs in Hanoi. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/long.beach/perot/life.career.shtml

This willingness to take risks in order to do what he felt was right, and his "no-nonsense" manner was very appealing at the time. However, as soon as he "tossed his hat into the ring," the political heat began to rise, and Perot backed out.

Okay, fine. Not everyone can put up with the media scrutiny that comes with being a presidential candidate. But when he later re-entered the race, Perot just seemed wishy-washy.

TFC would vote for George Bush, the Elder.

As it happened, and would be the case four years later, Perot turned out to be a "spoiler," splitting the Republican ticket just enough to allow Bill Clinton a slight edge in the Electoral College.

Some have suggested Perot colluded with Clinton, in an effort to "get back" at the Bushes for a personal grudge he held against the elder George Bush. http://brothersjudd.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/reviews.detail/book_id/306

The fact is, since Ronald Reagan passed the baton to Bush '41, there has not been a "true conservative" in the White House. Bush the Elder was beholden to the Eastern-establishment wing of the Republican party. Sadly, his son seems to be similarly beholden to less-than-conservative elements of the GOP.

Therein lies the problem with the party of Lincoln - it forgot who "brung it to the dance."

In 1994, when Newt and the Contract With America wrested control of the House away from the Democrats for the first time in a generation, the GOP had been given a mandate by the American people to stop the big government, big spending ways that had become de rigeur in Washington.

Unfortunately, Bill Clinton outsmarted Newt with the government shutdown of '95, and much of the momentum the Republicans had had to enact long-needed changes was gone. In '96, of course, we had scandal-after-scandal, culminating with Clinton's impeachment two years later.

The controversy surrounding the 2000 election need not be delineated here. Suffice it to say, in spite of winning the White House with the narrowest of margins, George W. Bush began his presidency acting as if he had won a clear mandate.

The Flying Curmudgeon admired him greatly for this.

When 9/11 happened, President Bush demonstrated the kind of resolve that only a few of our Presidents have possessed. This was the defining moment in his Presidency. Leadership is about doing what is right, not necessarily what is popular. In TFC 's opinion, in spite of a few missteps, (the early Iraq policy probably the best example of these), when it comes to foreign policy, George W. Bush has been right on the money.

When it comes to domestic issues, however, "43" has been a huge disappointment. Failing to wield the veto pen throughout the first six years of his Presidency, the Republican party received its just reward with the loss of the House and Senate in 2006.

Under the guidance of former Clinton War Room-operative, Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic National Committee shrewdly fielded candidates who ran as social conservatives, thereby capitalizing on the GOP rank-and-file's, (AKA Reagan Republicans), as well as the country's, growing frustration with the Adminstration and Congressional Republican fecklessness.

Two years have passed and we find ourselves in the beginning of the runup to Election Night 2008. In The Flying Curmudgeon's opinion, not a single Republican candidate stands out as "The One."

To one degree or another, every contender for the GOP nomination - Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Thompson - has something that disqualifies him from being called a "true conservative."

Needless to say, TFC will vote for whichever candidate winds up being the nominee.

However, until one of them (Thompson, perhaps?) starts appearing a little more Reaganesque, those of us in the Vast, Right-Wing Conspiracy might want to consider easing up on Hillary, at least long enough for her to gain the nomination.

TFC