PDiddie, your source offers a well thought, and to my mind, quite reasonable assessmrent of the state of The Candidate Circus ... though I have a niggling suspicion Lieberman may prove tougher than currently perceived. Maybe not. At this point, I see Dean, Kerry, Gephardt and Lieberman going to the quarter-finals, so to speak, with Kerry and Lieberman as underdogs by the current rankings. I do expect the field to narrow precipitously, the winnowing likely beginning well before the actual primary and caucaus series begin.
I'm curious, though, what amuses you about my partial recitation of Clark's established credentials and related comparison with some of his most recent compatriots? In what way is what I presented there unreal?
nimh, while case can be made against running deficits in time of crisis, and certainly case can be made for overall fiscal responsibility, I will say the Dutch have, particularly recently, exhibited far more financial restraint and fortitude than have a number of larger EU parners. I surmise much of the Dutch economic stance is due to need arising from commitment to the EU, both in spirit and letter. I would however, submit, that as tax cuts are stimulative, deficit spending during time of recession is a means of increasing liquidity in a cash-poor economy. In concert, the two foster general economic expansion. I do not deny that both are needful of dilligent attention. I believe the current US deficit, as a percentage of the overall US economy, to be eminently supportable,; it is as yet comapratively low by such consideration, as deficits go. The combined effect of deficit spending and tax cuts, by their stimulative impact, will occasion increased revenue through expanding taxable cashflow, thereby mitigating and eventually eliminating the current deficit long before it becomes particularly burdensome.
The Afghanis minus the Taliban Regime are overall in positive prospect, as are the Iraqis minus the Ba'athist Regime, though admittedly confronted by significant challenge in the prevalence of religio-tribal partisanship and general brigandry. I excuse nor condone neither, but recognize them as natural consequence of the inevitable power vacuum which follows the violent overthrow of one authority without the immediate and draconian imposition af a successor authority. No such draconian successor authority has been imposed, either in Iraq, or in Afghanistan. I would submit that on whole the peoples of both nations see their situations improved, and their prospects enhanced, even while some in each nation will harbor resentments and enmity.
I disagree than 9/11 was a standalone event; I see it as a point in a progression which began with embassy bombings, the initial attack on the WTC, and escalating attacks in the Persian Gulf region. Following proactive American response, the efficacy, and audacity, of international terrorist action has declined, hardly indicators of maintenance of cohesion, strengthening position or substantive acheivement of gain, real or perceived. I believe the captures and demises of major terrorist-oranization infrastructure individuals, siezures of assetts, and exposure and thwarting of plans have been of significant, if not crippling, inconvenience to stateless terrorism. I do not submit that the beast is beaten, but I notion the notion it is winning. I contend it has been actively engaged, and is disadvantaged by contest with superior force.
I submit that in real terms, employment, though lagging other indicators, as is customary, is entering recovery, and I submit further that as employment increases within an expanding economy, poverty will accordingly decrease. There simply is no counterargument, unless one is to deny demonstrated economic trends.
As to the Patriot Act and appropriateness in wartime, I probably should have said "much legislation" was "wholly appropriate". I concede there is bipartisan opposition to various of the Act's components and provisions, but I contend that established checks and balances, not least of which including the electoral process, preclude substantive reduction of American Liberty.
Finally, I did not mean to imply you, or all The Left, campaigned against religion, I more meant to compare that perception to the opposite, and equally questionable, perception that The Right was driven by religion.
BrandX, as to what position Kucinich is trying out for, I would submit that he is more likely believeable as a performer in a regional RenFair than as a leader of international stature.
I like Dean now, but despite his successful fundraising, I think Clark will get the nomination beacuse he has the support of the party apparatus. 
