HELP WE'VE FALLEN AND WE CAN'T GET UP

Rather than put forth effective solutions to the great challenges that face the country, republicans instead will fall all over themselves in their mad, cynical, rush to criticize President Obama for political gain. The funny part is, the only thing they ever manage to do is fall all over themselves.

How can anyone ever take this party seriously? The only way is if you are being intellectually dishonest in order to push a wrong headed right wing agenda. No wonder the republicans are a regional minority party.

Within the past few days both Karl Rove and Michael Steele have fallen all over themselves.

On Thursday, Karl Rove criticized President Obama for an "orgy of overspending."

The fact is when Bill Clinton turned over the keys to the White House to Rove's protege, George W. Bush, the U.S. government enjoyed a budget surplus. By the time that W. handed over the keys to Barack Obama, the federal budget deficit was more than a trillion dollars.

Can somebody please help Karl because he has fallen and he can't get up.

On the same day, republican party chairman Michael Steele claimed in a speech that the war in Afghanistan was "a war of Obama's choosing" and that "This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in." The only problem with these statements, as with most of what republicans say, is that they are factually inaccurate. The war, of course, was begun by President George W. Bush in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These statements are also far out of line with the consensus view among republicans that the president is, for the most part, executing the right strategy to win the war in Afghanistan.

Can somebody please help Michael because he too has fallen and he can't get up.

How quickly, republicans forget. Americans won't.

WINDOW DRESSING

Sanctions are nice if you like window dressing but they won't get the job done.

Iran is on an undeterred course to build and maintain a nuclear arsenal and short of war, it seems there is little that the world as represented by the UN, the United States or Israel can do about it.

While China and Russia are onboard with this latest round of sanctions they have refused to allow them to rise to the level where they would affect the day to day economy of Iran. Add that to the fact that the Iranians as the New York Times has reported Web of Shell Companies Veils Trade by Iran’s Ships have been actively gaming the system so as to avoid the effects of sanctions already in place and the result is in a few short years Iran will become a nuclear power.

If the United States, Israel or anyone else is serious about preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, it is way past time for action. There are few good alternatives. A nuclear Iran will have many consequences for the region and the world but so will war. War will cost lives, be messy and will be unsupported by the majority of the world. There will be many resulting consequences, some intended and many of which will be unknown and unintended. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. War never is.

In this game of high stakes chess, those who would seek to stop Iran are on the clock. Short of war, the best the world can hope for is a draw. The question is can we live with that outcome?