To Be Announced...

I guess Jon Stewart will have to find some new material very shortly:

Vilsack will end presidential run today

DES MOINES - The Cedar Rapids Gazette has confirmed from multiple sources that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will announce today that he's ending his 2008 presidential bid.

Vilsack, the first officially announced candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, has scheduled a “major announcement” at his Des Moines campaign headquarters at 11 a.m. today.

See Prediction: Last Gasp Vilsack

And: Vilsack "Campaign" Update

I said he'd be out in August...I was off by a season.

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Labels: vilsack

I keep hearing that we are "stretched too thin" and our Iowa homeland is at risk of a natural disaster that could leave us on our own...because the Iowa National Guard has had to deal with long deployments, low recruiting, morale, funding, equipment, and a host of other problems.

Usually after each complaint, statistics refute each and every one of them.

It's funny how our leaders like Culver and Vilsack before him never seem to listen to the Generals...and complain that Bush is or isn't listening to the Generals with regard to the plan in Iraq, troop levels, etc.

Democrats are all over the board on this. Thankfully, they rely on the short memory lapses that most Americans have. Here's the latest example:

Leader says Iowa Guard is strongest it's been in generations

The leader of the Iowa National Guard says the Guard is "quite possibly the strongest" it's been in generations. Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Ron Dardis delivered the annual "Condition of the Guard" address this morning at the statehouse. Dardis told lawmakers the Iowa Guard is setting recruiting records, but Dardis warned soldiers are worried the public's support for the military may wane as the war continues.

Recruiting records. Write that down along with today's date...because you're bound to see a Letter to the Editor or carpet-bagging candidate say just the opposite.

"How can the Iowa National Guard be in such good shape? The answer is simple: its people," Dardis said. "We are blessed with remarkable and talented members who are committed and they believe in what they are doing, who are supported from understanding families and employers and communities, and who benefit greatly from the benefits and incentives provided by the state and nation."

Just days ago, former Governor Vilsack had an Op-Ed in the Washington Post. As most of you probably missed it (along with the rest of the country), here's some key points he made:

Congress Must Act On Iraq

By Tom Vilsack
Saturday, February 10, 2007; A17

Think of the last time you were in a public place with 1,000 people -- a sports event, a Fourth of July parade, a concert.

Now imagine all 1,000 of those people dead.

If the number of American military deaths in Iraq in recent years is any guide, that's how many Americans will die in that country in the next year if Congress doesn't act immediately to take our troops out of harm's way in Iraq's civil war.

Now imagine the 5,000 more Americans likely to be wounded and maimed if Congress doesn't fulfill its duty to get our young men and women out of Iraq's war zone.

Vilsack has gone completely bonkers on this one. Just imagine anyone dead! We shouldn't be there!

That's totally insane.

The next time you're at a basketball game with 15,000 fans...imagine all of them dead. That's how many are murdered every year in the United States. Withdraw NOW!

I urge you to read the entire enfuriating article. It's full of the most left-wing raise the white flag mentality I have seen yet...

Members of Congress have a constitutional and moral obligation to exercise their authority to stop funding President Bush's failed policy in Iraq. Not eventually, but immediately.

The war in Iraq and the president's mismanagement of our military resources have recklessly endangered our national security and depleted our military and National Guard units across America. By nearly every standard, the homeland security of our country has been weakened and compromised by the president's policies and a lack of congressional oversight.

See? Our state is in danger...don't pay any attention to that nutjob Adjutant General in po-dunk Iowa!

Nearly a year ago, I went to Iraq to hear firsthand from U.S. troops, military leaders and Iraqis.

This is what I heard from our military commanders: If the Iraqi government can't provide better security for its people in six months, U.S. troops in central and southern Iraq should leave...Unfortunately, this administration refuses to listen to our military leaders or our citizens. So the question is: What will Congress do?

Nevermind what that whacko nutjob of an Adjutant General I had in Iowa says! I'm not going to listen to some Bush-loving military commander in Iowa says...

Congress has the constitutional ability and the moral responsibility to pass legislation cutting off funding for the status quo.

Not one soldier will or should be deprived of ammunition or armor.

So, cut off the funding for the status quo the troops, but don't cut off the funding for ammunition or armor the troops.

Which is it?

We'll give you armor...but we don't want you there.
We'll give you bullets...but don't use them.
Withdraw the troops...but don't withdraw them.
Don't get in the middle of a civil war...but maintain the peace.

I'm getting dizzy just thinking about it.

A modest number of peacekeeping troops would temporarily remain in northern Iraq, protect civilians against sectarian violence, discourage Iran from border incursions and help maintain regional stability -- without recklessly endangering American lives.

The writer, a former governor of Iowa, is a Democratic candidate for president.

Soon, that will read:

The writer, a former governor of Iowa, is a former Democratic candidate for president.

Vilsack has lost his marbles.

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Labels: iraq, vilsack

It is usually those who need to...that first ask:

Vilsack wants to debate Obama in Iowa

DES MOINES (AP) --- Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has challenged Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to a debate before union activists in Iowa later this month to talk about "central issues confronting America."

In a letter, Vilsack said he's willing to fly out immediately after [a] Nevada debate [on Feb 21] to attend a similar forum in Iowa.

You forgot to say, "please" Governor...
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Labels: barack hussein obama, vilsack

Sometimes I wonder about the laziness of reporters. Mike Glover of the AP in Des Moines is one of them. Someone should update his rolodex...

Iraq Is Main Issue for Iowa, N.H. Voters

Among rank-and-file Democrats in early voting states like New Hampshire and Iowa, anti-war passion is so strong that it's difficult for their party's presidential candidates to oppose the war too forcefully. On the other hand, candidates don't want to go too far and risk losing swing voters critical to winning the general election.

"If the situation remains the same, you better not be against the war, you better be really against it," said former Iowa Democratic Chairman Dave Nagle.

But Michael Mahaffey, a former Iowa GOP chairman, said, "Most Republicans want the president to succeed, they want this surge (Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq) to succeed."

I'm sorry I don't know my history as well as Glover, but I don't remember Dave Nagle ever being the former chairman of the Iowa Democrat party. I searched and searched and could find no previous reference to his being Chairman. I found a few drunk driving arrests and the reference to his current status as "alive" but nothing beyond that. Am I wrong?

Michael Mahaffey was in-fact a former chairman of the Iowa GOP...but even still - for only two years in 1987-89.

The article goes on to make good on the promise of the headline...which makes me think the headline was written first - then the article.

In New Hampshire, 92 percent of Democrats said going to war against Iraq for regime change was not worth it, and 78 percent said they favored a drawdown of troops before 2010, the year the Pentagon has set for maintaining its current troop levels. In Iowa, 86 percent of Democrats said the war wasn't worth it and 76 percent favored a drawdown.

Over the weekend another candidate, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, went even further than his rivals, calling for Congress to cut off funds for the war.

Democrats who supported the war in the past will be forgiven if they make their current positions clear, Nagle said. But he warned that equivocation will be fatal.

"Anybody who raises a real banner against it is going to do well," said Nagle. "Anybody who tries to toe-step around it is going to have a real problem."

We'll just see how long Vilsack will last with his radical stance taken over the weekend. As I said, I predict he'll be out by August. It helps to have a "fall back" and he's got two already. He seems to already be setting himself up for failure:

Former Gov. Tom Vilsack has signed on to advise MidAmerica Energy Holdings Company on renewable energy and environmental issues

Vilsack has signed on as a visiting professor at the Drake University Law School


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Labels: vilsack

I don't think he honestly believes this lunacy. I think he's just trying to get some attention. The attention he'll get, though...is going to hurt more than help him:

Get troops out, Vilsack says on CNN

Washington, D.C. - Presidential candidate and former Gov. Tom Vilsack, on national television Sunday, repeated his call for Congress to demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, saying it can be done safely and without the predicted bloodbath between warring sects.

How? He doesn't say. So after reading the entire article and combining it with the one from yesterday's Cedar Rapids Gazette...my conclusion is he's guessing. Basically, he's just saying the predictions of a bloodbath are wrong...and we should take his word for it.

More Vilsack wisdom...er...desperation. From the Gazette...

"I want our troops out of harm’s way now," Vilsack said. "We should not have to wait on the president and the Congress for this to happen. The Congress, under the Constitution, has the responsibility and the moral obligation to act now — not to cap (or increase) the number of troops. Those who voted for this war and to fund it can surely vote to stop the war."

We shouldn't have to wait on Congress and the President? Should we just ask Hugo Chavez to take them out of harm's way for us?

"We should not continue the funding of this war," Vilsack said. "This 'Sense of the Senate' (resolution), what has that to do with saving a single life?"

Wow. Vilsack has tacked waaaayyyy left. Translation? He's desperate.

As long as we're into predictions and guesses without having to explain how we reach those predictions or guesses...

My guess is Vilsack is out of the race by August this year following a bloodbath among the other Democrats. Supporters should not continue the funding of his presidential race.

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Labels: vilsack