[427TJ]

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Anyone who believes Hillary is the answer needs to SERIOUSLY review the question.

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I think it's gonna be Fred Thompson. He appears folksy/wise, southern with the perfect drawl, tall, fatherly/grandfatherly, actor (can read a script without falling all over himself). Fred beats Hillary in the general election because he's male and he doesn't seem like a politician, he seems like our dear old uncle Fred. I see him as the cool, wise old admiral in "The Hunt for Red October." He may not have Reagan's long resume full of staunchly conservative credentials but we're no longer in the Cold War era. This is the War on Terror era (which is permanent, by the way) and a guy like Fred is the father figure the country needs now, especially after the bumbling son has been in for eight years. If it is Thompson, I hope he can restore a more adult sensibility and maturity to Washington and brush aside the "whiz kids" who have been running amok for eight years.

The Republicans would LOVE to dump Iraq in Hillary's lap but the drawback would be Hillary as president. Might be fun to have Bill back in the D.C. social scene though and Republicans could raise billions if Hillary was president. (That's one thing Republicans say they miss about Bill Clinton's presidency: they raised TONS of money.) I'd bet that Fred can easily maneuver his way out of any talk of an Iraq pull-out just by acting fatherly and stern about the facts and reality of the situation there. Besides, Iraq is where the oil is so we aren't going anywhere, although no politician is ever going to acknowledge that out-loud. They say "America's national interests" but that is properly vague political language. They dare not say "We cannot leave Iraq because we must to retain control over the vast oil fields and prevent China, India, and Russia from gaining any foothold in the region."

Obama may be the liberal's "feel good" candidate but, as Chris Rock said about Colin Powell ten years ago, white Democrats will not vote for him (even though they say they would) in high-enough numbers. Obama is running for president but he's also running for a spot in Hillary's presidential cabinet, as are John Edwards and Bill Richardson.

I think we can rest assured that things aren't going to change that much in 2008. I think a Republican (probably Thompson if he doesn't screw it up somehow) will win in a close election and the war will continue and domestically things will plod along just about the way they are now.

Troop withdrawls: Yeah, maybe a few thousand will be brought home next year for political reasons as the 2008 election draws near. Then, no matter who gets elected, the troops will go back to Iraq after the elections. That you can count on.