DIGGING DEEPER
By Ivan G. Goldman
By Ivan G. Goldman
When you have lots of applicants for a position, one way to sift through them is to use the process of elimination. Implementing this method, I just eliminated my second Democratic candidate from the presidential derby. The first was Hillary Clinton, a cynical supporter of the war in Iraq long after it became clear to even the stupidest of people that it was a pointless debacle. She also promises a shared Ferdinand & Isabella kind of administration with her hubby, which would foist their weird relationship on the whole world. Also, she may be the only Democratic candidate capable of losing the general election.
Now the second to be eliminated is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who recently threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Peking Olympics as a tool to pressure China over the Darfur genocide.
“This is what I would do," Richardson said when asked about how he would try to bring peace to the region. "Number one, more U.N. peacekeepers. The government is refusing to make this happen. Secondly, economic sanctions. We've imposed them, but they're weak. We need European countries to make them happen. Third, we need China, to lean on China, which has enormous leverage over Darfur. And if the Chinese don't want to do this, we say to them, maybe we won't go to the Olympics."
THREATENS TO REPEAT BLUNDER
Boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games was one of the stupidest decisions of the Carter administration. Done in reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it accomplished nothing diplomatically but was a cruel, mindless blow to thousands of athletes and hurt one of the greatest vehicles for world peace in modern history. Every four years Earthlings get together and compete in peaceful athletics. Why ruin it? Ask Carter. He politicized and ruined two successive Olympics because the Eastern Bloc retaliated with a boycott of its own for the ’84 games in Los Angeles. Richardson had 27 years to study the dismal results of this monumentally idiotic decision and so misunderstands it that he threatens to repeat it.
We have a President who read aloud from a children’s book for seven minutes after he was informed the nation was under attack. Then he ran away and flew Air Force One in circles for seven hours. We don’t need any more panicky presidents. We need people who can handle pressure.
Richardson is a smart guy. So is Carter. But they’re smart people who make dumb decisions under pressure, which isn’t any better than a dumb person making dumb decisions. The results are the same. So long, Richardson. I’m pulling you out of the game.
Now the second to be eliminated is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who recently threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Peking Olympics as a tool to pressure China over the Darfur genocide.
“This is what I would do," Richardson said when asked about how he would try to bring peace to the region. "Number one, more U.N. peacekeepers. The government is refusing to make this happen. Secondly, economic sanctions. We've imposed them, but they're weak. We need European countries to make them happen. Third, we need China, to lean on China, which has enormous leverage over Darfur. And if the Chinese don't want to do this, we say to them, maybe we won't go to the Olympics."
THREATENS TO REPEAT BLUNDER
Boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games was one of the stupidest decisions of the Carter administration. Done in reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it accomplished nothing diplomatically but was a cruel, mindless blow to thousands of athletes and hurt one of the greatest vehicles for world peace in modern history. Every four years Earthlings get together and compete in peaceful athletics. Why ruin it? Ask Carter. He politicized and ruined two successive Olympics because the Eastern Bloc retaliated with a boycott of its own for the ’84 games in Los Angeles. Richardson had 27 years to study the dismal results of this monumentally idiotic decision and so misunderstands it that he threatens to repeat it.
We have a President who read aloud from a children’s book for seven minutes after he was informed the nation was under attack. Then he ran away and flew Air Force One in circles for seven hours. We don’t need any more panicky presidents. We need people who can handle pressure.
Richardson is a smart guy. So is Carter. But they’re smart people who make dumb decisions under pressure, which isn’t any better than a dumb person making dumb decisions. The results are the same. So long, Richardson. I’m pulling you out of the game.
