Why They Lost

This administration apparently believes that the voters are stupid. Rumsfeld's recent statement that the the strategy in Iraq is "too complex" for mere mortals to understand shows the contempt this administration has for the voting public. To assume that those who have a vested interest in the strategy, namely those who may be called to serve and those with family members serving, and those who follow the administration military decisions, are too stupid to understand the strategy is fatal to any elected official.

The American public is a lot of thing including apathetic, disinterested, busy and suffering at the hands of government decisions to cut back on various social programs. One thing it is not is stupid. The strategies that are being implemented in Iraq are far from being too complex for the average American to understand. There is nothing confusing about Cheney's statement that the insurgents are in their last throws, Bush's statement that he want's Bin Laden dead or alive and his statement during the debates that he does not give Bin Laden much thought, or other administration statements indicating that (1) we should expect immediate result from their brilliant decisions and (2) there is no coherent strategy except the "stay the course" mentality that has been the policy from the beginning.

The GOP has blindly followed the administration into the war. At no time has the GOP controlled Congress or Senate tried to call the administration to account for any of its actions. There were never questions about why the administration was firing generals who said things that were true but not part of the scrpt they wanted to read from. There were never questions as to why the soldiers were not being provided the proper equipment. There was never a question as to why Haliburton and Bechtel were receiving huge contracts. There were never questions as to why the cost has topped $10 billion per month. This lack of independent thought by the legislature and the contempt the administration shows the general public comes through in an election. The results of this past election provided the just dues to the party that does not believe in the people's ability to question the war and understand that those who are in charge of the military do not know what they are doing.