Obama's Houston Campaign Office:

[TitanTiger 20,511]

Titan, you can quible, but I am correct.

Mismanagement of a war seems to be a prefectly good reason to surrender these days.

The Korean War was managed by the Americans and Truman failed to stop at the 38th parrallel. The Chinese reacted to McAuther's desired to invade China and Truman failed to reassure them. Talk about intelligence failures, the Chinese invasion was a complete suprise. All in all, by today's standards' I would rate the Korean War as mismanaged and was the reason for Ike's election.

We didn't stop at the 38th Parallel because both the CIA and MacArthur assured Truman that the Chinese would not get involved. That's not a failure of Democrats or Republicans, it's a failure of the CIA and your lead general. My point stands: trying to pin that on a political party is bull****.

Democrats voted for the invasion of Iraq. No bill of goods was sold to anyone. Saddam had used WMDs in the past and was set to start up again once the UN was out. Democrats were declaring defeat with the first sand storm. You are relying on the statements of Democrats who were not at all misinformed on their vote., as there statements at the time bear out. Revisions do not alter history only the perception of it.

I'm not relying on any such thing. I was in full support of the war at the time but I was sold a bill of goods too. I've had 4 years to think this over, look up information from all sides, take in the facts from various sources and use my God-given common sense to assess what went down. This administration was hellbent on going into Iraq and used shaky intel, manipulative use of patriotism and high approval ratings to get what they wanted. I'm done defending it. Though the surge is working to some degree and I'm a "you broke it, you fix it" kind of guy, we never should have gone in there in the first place. Saddam didn't have the WMD we claimed he had. Not even close. That's a bill of goods.

Democrats cut off funding for South Vietnam, overrode a veto, and essentially made the country defenseless against North Vietnam.

These are facts.

That is not the reason we lost Vietnam, even if I agreed on every point. We lost long before that because of inept handling of the war over the course of two administrations (Democrat and Republican), both of which did not have any idea what the endgame was or how to get there.

[Ranger12 46]

I just can't abide seeing such obvious poppycock being passed off in the name of carrying the conservative banner around here.

Unfortunately, happens all the time on this board and we all know who the worst offenders are.

Yeah, you just have to look in the mirror. Especially with your comment about the health care system of the United States. Talk about poppycock. I'll take the health care system with all the doctors, hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and walk-in clinics over any other system in any other country in the world.

You are one of the worst offenders of trying to pass along your opinion as fact. As I have said before, you need to sit and watch the other liberals on the board, like TexasTiger and Tiger Al and see how the go about debating with the conservatives on the board, because you really don't help them out with the way you go about it bro. Quantity does not equal quality.

[RunInRed 16,488]

I just can't abide seeing such obvious poppycock being passed off in the name of carrying the conservative banner around here.

Unfortunately, happens all the time on this board and we all know who the worst offenders are.

Yeah, you just have to look in the mirror. Especially with your comment about the health care system of the United States. Talk about poppycock. I'll take the health care system with all the doctors, hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and walk-in clinics over any other system in any other country in the world.

You are one of the worst offenders of trying to pass along your opinion as fact. As I have said before, you need to sit and watch the other liberals on the board, like TexasTiger and Tiger Al and see how the go about debating with the conservatives on the board, because you really don't help them out with the way you go about it bro. Quantity does not equal quality.

Yeah, our current health care system is wonderful: $40M+uninsured, higher costs than ever and a medicare system that is unsustainable at it's current rate. We pay the most for health care of any civilized country in the world and we do not have the best services/results (as our life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. rates show).

You are lecturing me on debating style after dumb health care comments like that?

[bojack34 2]

1. Since when does the U.S. have the world's finest health system? Maybe the most expensive but certainly not the finest.

2. Obama supports tax cuts for the middle class and eliminating taxes for seniors making under 50k. He wants to restore the effective tax rate for those making over 250k to the levels they were at in the 90s - hardly a time of economic depression.

3. Surrender to Islamo-fascism? HUH? Weren't you the one in another thread criticizing Obama for wanting to go in and attack al quada/bin laden in Pakistan if we had credible evidence and Pakistan could not/would not act.

4. Increase college tuition rates? Where has he said he would do this? I've heard him talk about a 4k tuition credit in exchange for community service but...

None of your statements make any sense. How about you try to provide some facts if you are going to try to make these blanket assertions.

Don't know about you but I payed a lot more taxes back in the 90's under Billary while making less than $30k and I make a substantial more now and pay a lot less in taxes. God forbid we revert to the economics of the 90's.

[Wishbone 0]

What do you think it is-- a symbol of unity and racial harmony?

It has nothing to do with race. Its a symbol of unity for the southern states.

Yes, unifying in opposition to the United States of America. It is a symbol of revolt against the United States of America. It is a symbol of a group of folks who no longer wished to be a part of the United States of America. It is then, by definition, Anti-American.

Hey genius, George Washington was a rebel. Nothing is more American than a group of Anglo people who unite together to achieve self-rule against a gov't that no longer represents their self-interest and beliefs. The people are the Gov't in America, therefore Southerners had every right to form their own gov't, just as the founders rebelled against the gov't in London.

[TexasTiger 13,026]

What do you think it is-- a symbol of unity and racial harmony?

It has nothing to do with race. Its a symbol of unity for the southern states.

Yes, unifying in opposition to the United States of America. It is a symbol of revolt against the United States of America. It is a symbol of a group of folks who no longer wished to be a part of the United States of America. It is then, by definition, Anti-American.

Hey genius, George Washington was a rebel. Nothing is more American than a group of Anglo people who unite together to achieve self-rule against a gov't that no longer represents their self-interest and beliefs. The people are the Gov't in America, therefore Southerners had every right to form their own gov't, just as the founders rebelled against the gov't in London.

George Washington was an American rebelling against the Anglos. Actually, many folks in the South aren't Anglo-- they're Gaelic/Scots-Irish.

So you're still Anti-American, I see, wishing the South had successfully succeeded from the good 'ole USA.

It's your right to hate America, I suppose.

[AFTiger 282]

Titan, you can quible, but I am correct.

Mismanagement of a war seems to be a prefectly good reason to surrender these days.

The Korean War was managed by the Americans and Truman failed to stop at the 38th parrallel. The Chinese reacted to McAuther's desired to invade China and Truman failed to reassure them. Talk about intelligence failures, the Chinese invasion was a complete suprise. All in all, by today's standards' I would rate the Korean War as mismanaged and was the reason for Ike's election.

We didn't stop at the 38th Parallel because both the CIA and MacArthur assured Truman that the Chinese would not get involved. That's not a failure of Democrats or Republicans, it's a failure of the CIA and your lead general. My point stands: trying to pin that on a political party is bull****.

Democrats voted for the invasion of Iraq. No bill of goods was sold to anyone. Saddam had used WMDs in the past and was set to start up again once the UN was out. Democrats were declaring defeat with the first sand storm. You are relying on the statements of Democrats who were not at all misinformed on their vote., as there statements at the time bear out. Revisions do not alter history only the perception of it.

I'm not relying on any such thing. I was in full support of the war at the time but I was sold a bill of goods too. I've had 4 years to think this over, look up information from all sides, take in the facts from various sources and use my God-given common sense to assess what went down. This administration was hellbent on going into Iraq and used shaky intel, manipulative use of patriotism and high approval ratings to get what they wanted. I'm done defending it. Though the surge is working to some degree and I'm a "you broke it, you fix it" kind of guy, we never should have gone in there in the first place. Saddam didn't have the WMD we claimed he had. Not even close. That's a bill of goods.

Democrats cut off funding for South Vietnam, overrode a veto, and essentially made the country defenseless against North Vietnam.

These are facts.

That is not the reason we lost Vietnam, even if I agreed on every point. We lost long before that because of inept handling of the war over the course of two administrations (Democrat and Republican), both of which did not have any idea what the endgame was or how to get there.

You injected the Korean War. I never blamed either party, but using today's standard for managing wars, I think my conclusion is the correct one.

Your opinion of the Iraq war is well known, but wrong. The Democrats have spent much more energy fighting Bush than Al Qada.

We left South Vietnam strong enough to defend itself until the Democrats in congress cut funding as they have tried to do to Iraq.

The history of the Democrats for national defense is what it is; weak, untrustworthy and sordid. Such is the legacy of the Democrat Party.

[CCTAU 3,346]

I have no idea...but I would be willing to bet the minute BO finds out about it, it will be gone and so will those responsible.

The problem I have with these types of posts are that they are done with the intent of branding Obama as embracing people like these when we all know he does not and would not.

I don't think osama Obama is embracing "these" people. I thin you missed the point. The sad part is that "these" people seem to be embracing osama Obama. That in itself should tell the world about what he stands for.

If demons are following your lead, you just might be the debil.

Huh??? Please attach a link for your accusation.

LNK

[AFTiger 282]

I have no idea...but I would be willing to bet the minute BO finds out about it, it will be gone and so will those responsible.

The problem I have with these types of posts are that they are done with the intent of branding Obama as embracing people like these when we all know he does not and would not.

I don't think osama Obama is embracing "these" people. I thin you missed the point. The sad part is that "these" people seem to be embracing osama Obama. That in itself should tell the world about what he stands for.

If demons are following your lead, you just might be the debil.

Huh??? Please attach a link for your accusation.

LNK

We used to call this a do loop.

[aumd03 2]

I just can't abide seeing such obvious poppycock being passed off in the name of carrying the conservative banner around here.

Unfortunately, happens all the time on this board and we all know who the worst offenders are.

Yeah, you just have to look in the mirror. Especially with your comment about the health care system of the United States. Talk about poppycock. I'll take the health care system with all the doctors, hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and walk-in clinics over any other system in any other country in the world.

You are one of the worst offenders of trying to pass along your opinion as fact. As I have said before, you need to sit and watch the other liberals on the board, like TexasTiger and Tiger Al and see how the go about debating with the conservatives on the board, because you really don't help them out with the way you go about it bro. Quantity does not equal quality.

Yeah, our current health care system is wonderful: $40M+uninsured, higher costs than ever and a medicare system that is unsustainable at it's current rate. We pay the most for health care of any civilized country in the world and we do not have the best services/results (as our life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. rates show).

You are lecturing me on debating style after dumb health care comments like that?

I think you should be careful quoting health care statistics like you do because I doubt you really understand what you are quoting. For example, not all infant mortality data is the same. In many countries they do not even try to save infants under 29 or 30 weeks and count them as still births whereas here we routinely save infants of that age. If they die, we count them against infant mortality data. We also have survival rates in most areas with a quality NICU unit with 33 week babies that have outcomes as good as term babies. I think people take those numbers at their surface value and never analyze them. If our health system is SO flawed, why do doctors all over the world come here to practice and to do research??? Go ask a physician from north of the border or a patient from there how easy and efficient their system is to use.

[CCTAU 3,346]

I just can't abide seeing such obvious poppycock being passed off in the name of carrying the conservative banner around here.

Unfortunately, happens all the time on this board and we all know who the worst offenders are.

Yeah, you just have to look in the mirror. Especially with your comment about the health care system of the United States. Talk about poppycock. I'll take the health care system with all the doctors, hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and walk-in clinics over any other system in any other country in the world.

You are one of the worst offenders of trying to pass along your opinion as fact. As I have said before, you need to sit and watch the other liberals on the board, like TexasTiger and Tiger Al and see how the go about debating with the conservatives on the board, because you really don't help them out with the way you go about it bro. Quantity does not equal quality.

Yeah, our current health care system is wonderful: $40M+uninsured, higher costs than ever and a medicare system that is unsustainable at it's current rate. We pay the most for health care of any civilized country in the world and we do not have the best services/results (as our life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. rates show).

You are lecturing me on debating style after dumb health care comments like that?

I think you should be careful quoting health care statistics like you do because I doubt you really understand what you are quoting. For example, not all infant mortality data is the same. In many countries they do not even try to save infants under 29 or 30 weeks and count them as still births whereas here we routinely save infants of that age. If they die, we count them against infant mortality data. We also have survival rates in most areas with a quality NICU unit with 33 week babies that have outcomes as good as term babies. I think people take those numbers at their surface value and never analyze them. If our health system is SO flawed, why do doctors all over the world come here to practice and to do research??? Go ask a physician from north of the border or a patient from there how easy and efficient their system is to use.

Not only that. Who wants some government hack operating on them when they need a spinal operation. I suggest that when one of you libruls get injured, you request to use Canada's (or Cuba's) system. I'm sure the choice of quality doctors will be abundant.

It's easy to call for a national health care system if you have never experienced a major operation. If you never get sick, you think it's all just doctor visits.

[TitanTiger 20,511]

You injected the Korean War. I never blamed either party, but using today's standard for managing wars, I think my conclusion is the correct one.

I injected it because you cherry picked a few wars you thought you could pin on one party to blame for failures and it went against your argument. Your conclusion is based on only half the facts and not a little bias.

Your opinion of the Iraq war is well known, but wrong. The Democrats have spent much more energy fighting Bush than Al Qada.

Actually, the facts...from the bad intel, to the way this thing was run for the first 3.5 years, to the frickin' money-sucking black hole it's been, to the distraction from handling our business like we should have in Afghanistan...completely back me up. I'm sorry it happens to coincide with the view some Democrats either had to all along or were that they shifted to so they could look better. That wasn't my purpose. I'll agree that some Dems had a one page playbook called "Bash Bush" from Day One, no matter what he did. But that doesn't change the fact that we were led into this war under false pretenses and that until things fell into utterly and completely chaos it was a clusterf*** if there ever was one.

We left South Vietnam strong enough to defend itself until the Democrats in congress cut funding as they have tried to do to Iraq.

Key word. We left. And we left under a Republican. This does not support your point. And no they would not have held off the Vietcong without us there. You're dreaming.

The history of the Democrats for national defense is what it is; weak, untrustworthy and sordid. Such is the legacy of the Democrat Party.

No, the history is much more of a mixed bag. Roosevelt/Truman (WWII) and Kennedy were pretty good. Johnson and Carter sucked to the uttermost. Reagan all but ended the Cold War but cut and ran in Lebanon. Bush, Sr. prosecuted the first Gulf War almost as good as anyone could ask. Bush, Jr. has done a half-ass job in Afghanistan and only now is beginning to see some measurable reduction in violence in Iraq. The jury is still out there.

None of this is as cut and dried and black and white as you would like for it to be.

[autiger4life 3]

First of all, wow, I go to work for one day and come back and we are five pages into it. Wow.

I don't think osama Obama is embracing "these" people. I thin you missed the point. The sad part is that "these" people seem to be embracing osama Obama. That in itself should tell the world about what he stands for.

If demons are following your lead, you just might be the debil.

If you ever want anyone to listen to you, stop saying osama Obama. While it is encouraging enough that our school system taught you to rhyme they seemed to have forgotten to tell you that rhyming does not mean the two terms are the same thing. For instance Bush sounds just like Busch, part of Anheuser-Busch. So this must mean that George Bush gets wasted because beer can get you wasted. Just like you asserted that because he has a name that rhymes with a terrorist, then Obama too must be a terrorist. The logic is just not there, but once again kudos on the rhyming accomplishment(mission accomplished anyone) gold star for you today.

Also, since I came to Aunation not to long ago I noticed that you have a habit of purposefully spelling words incorrectly. At first I thought it was just "dimocrat" to assert that democrats are stupid. But then we got liberul, and now the debil. I figured it was either two things: one you let one of your four year old kids type for a minute or you figured by dumbing down your spelling no one would actually notice your even worse logic. Either way, it is probably not the best path to take.

Your opinion of the Iraq war is well known, but wrong. The Democrats have spent much more energy fighting Bush than Al Qada Qaeda.

And Bush(the commander and chief, meaning the one really responsible for fighting Al Qaeda) has spent way more time fighting Iraq than he has terrorist). I know, hard pill to swallow, but the two are actually different.

On the subject of healthcare. This is one I truly cannot figure out. My father was a healthcare lawyer(representing doctors, not malpractice suits) and will be the first to tell you we get some of the best doctors in the world because they know they can make more in the US than in universal healthcare systems of their own country. Now that of course sounds wonderful but to make so much more money than they would have in their own country they generally always work for the most wealthy patients, the top 1% if you will. So the average American really does not benefit much from this. The prescription pills thing is also a two edged sword. On one hand we have people who have to choose food or medication(a well known left saying) and on the other hand one of the reasons we are able to produce such great prescription pills is due to the fact that we don't really control prices and so they can throw more money into R&D. However, there are other huge parts that can bring down prices. For instance, anyone in the industry will tell you that sales reps get paid the big bucks. This usually means hot women who go in and sell their drugs. I personally don't want my doctor prescribing pills because someone at the drug company has a good looking saleswomen. I would much rather take the prescription that does the best job. Possibly with a little more regulation we could curtail this idiotic spending and focus on what actually matters. So I guess I leave this one with a question mark. I certainly believe our current system is broken, but am not sold on universal healthcare either.

As far as the original topic about the Cuban flag: I completely agree it is out of line and I think Obama would as well. I also completely agree that if a Bush office(official or not) had a Confederate flag in it there would possibly have been a big hoopla about that. I also completely agree that both would have been stupid and the media just trying to find a story. I don't think Obama would want it, nor do I think Bush would have. With all the people working in a campain that these people have, you are bound to have stuff like this happen. It shouldn't cause you to think that Obama loves Cuba or in the hypothetical situation that Bush is a racist(now Katrina on the other hand...Just kidding).

[WinCrimson 61]

If you ever want anyone to listen to you, stop saying osama Obama. While it is encouraging enough that our school system taught you to rhyme they seemed to have forgotten to tell you that rhyming does not mean the two terms are the same thing. For instance Bush sounds just like Busch, part of Anheuser-Busch. So this must mean that George Bush gets wasted because beer can get you wasted. Just like you asserted that because he has a name that rhymes with a terrorist, then Obama too must be a terrorist. The logic is just not there, but once again kudos on the rhyming accomplishment(mission accomplished anyone) gold star for you today.

Also, since I came to Aunation not to long ago I noticed that you have a habit of purposefully spelling words incorrectly. At first I thought it was just "dimocrat" to assert that democrats are stupid. But then we got liberul, and now the debil. I figured it was either two things: one you let one of your four year old kids type for a minute or you figured by dumbing down your spelling no one would actually notice your even worse logic. Either way, it is probably not the best path to take.

[RunInRed 16,488]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

[TexasTiger 13,026]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

Sorry, brother, no one is putting an end to the petty back-and-forth. The most he can do is only make them look more silly for doing it, but it will most definitely continue.

[Wishbone 0]

What do you think it is-- a symbol of unity and racial harmony?

It has nothing to do with race. Its a symbol of unity for the southern states.

Yes, unifying in opposition to the United States of America. It is a symbol of revolt against the United States of America. It is a symbol of a group of folks who no longer wished to be a part of the United States of America. It is then, by definition, Anti-American.

Hey genius, George Washington was a rebel. Nothing is more American than a group of Anglo people who unite together to achieve self-rule against a gov't that no longer represents their self-interest and beliefs. The people are the Gov't in America, therefore Southerners had every right to form their own gov't, just as the founders rebelled against the gov't in London.

George Washington was an American rebelling against the Anglos. Actually, many folks in the South aren't Anglo-- they're Gaelic/Scots-Irish.

So you're still Anti-American, I see, wishing the South had successfully succeeded from the good 'ole USA.

It's your right to hate America, I suppose.

Anglo is now an all-inclusive term for the pop. of the British Isle that created America. The Scots-Irish were "super anti-catholic" protestants. That means NOT gaelic. I guess you got the American cliff notes published by MLK press copyright 2000. Go to Langdon Hall and look at the monument w/ the names of the Auburn students who fought and died for the CSA; then comeback and tell me what a real Auburn man is. I'll give you a guess: it's not a sports fan.

[TexasTiger 13,026]

What do you think it is-- a symbol of unity and racial harmony?

It has nothing to do with race. Its a symbol of unity for the southern states.

Yes, unifying in opposition to the United States of America. It is a symbol of revolt against the United States of America. It is a symbol of a group of folks who no longer wished to be a part of the United States of America. It is then, by definition, Anti-American.

Hey genius, George Washington was a rebel. Nothing is more American than a group of Anglo people who unite together to achieve self-rule against a gov't that no longer represents their self-interest and beliefs. The people are the Gov't in America, therefore Southerners had every right to form their own gov't, just as the founders rebelled against the gov't in London.

George Washington was an American rebelling against the Anglos. Actually, many folks in the South aren't Anglo-- they're Gaelic/Scots-Irish.

So you're still Anti-American, I see, wishing the South had successfully succeeded from the good 'ole USA.

It's your right to hate America, I suppose.

Anglo is now an all-inclusive term for the pop. of the British Isle that created America. The Scots-Irish were "super anti-catholic" protestants. That means NOT gaelic. I guess you got the American cliff notes published by MLK press copyright 2000. Go to Langdon Hall and look at the monument w/ the names of the Auburn students who fought and died for the CSA; then comeback and tell me what a real Auburn man is. I'll give you a guess: it's not a sports fan.

So in your view of "America", "Nothing is more American than a group of Anglo people who unite together to achieve self-rule against a gov't that no longer represents their self-interest and beliefs." I guess you got your Cliff notes from David Duke.

[AFTiger 282]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

My points have been quite clear and correct. TitanTiger has his view and I do not agree with him. But back to your toy box:

[TexasTiger 13,026]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

My points have been quite clear and correct. TitanTiger has his view and I do not agree with him. But back to your toy box:

I know you hate to read anything more complicated than a cartoon, but here are some details for you:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

[otterinbham 0]

Communist Cuba and Che Gueverra. Do we really understand what we will get this Novemeber?

Video

Well, I think it's a bit over the top to conflate some fashionable Che flag with Obama's candidacy, don't you think? Probably some halfwit tacked it up on the wall, wrongly thinking it represented an insurgency of sorts against the crushing oppression of the Clintonistas.

Problem is that Che is really a powerful icon only for the shallow, kneejerk politicos who prefer symbols to substance. After all, Che was brutal in the elimination of his political opponents. The man enjoyed watching torture, and enjoyed presiding over the execution of hundreds, including 10 and 12-year-olds.

In short, he was a brutal thug, and anybody who wears his image on a shirt is basically telling the world, "Hey, I like this mass murder because he had a certain sense of style."

[RunInRed 16,488]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

Sorry, brother, no one is putting an end to the petty back-and-forth. The most he can do is only make them look more silly for doing it, but it will most definitely continue.

Is it alright with you if I disagree?

[TexasTiger 13,026]

I do not think I've ever seen the "republicans" take this big of beating and lose this much credibility in one single thread since I have been posting on this board. Truly outstanding the levels some are stooping to.

I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures. But there is hope. There is a candidate out there who can bring us all together and who can put and end this petty back-and-forth. Change is on the way.

Sorry, brother, no one is putting an end to the petty back-and-forth. The most he can do is only make them look more silly for doing it, but it will most definitely continue.

Is it alright with you if I disagree?

By all means.

[AFTiger 282]

Communist Cuba and Che Gueverra. Do we really understand what we will get this Novemeber?

Video

Well, I think it's a bit over the top to conflate some fashionable Che flag with Obama's candidacy, don't you think? Probably some halfwit tacked it up on the wall, wrongly thinking it represented an insurgency of sorts against the crushing oppression of the Clintonistas.

Problem is that Che is really a powerful icon only for the shallow, kneejerk politicos who prefer symbols to substance. After all, Che was brutal in the elimination of his political opponents. The man enjoyed watching torture, and enjoyed presiding over the execution of hundreds, including 10 and 12-year-olds.

In short, he was a brutal thug, and anybody who wears his image on a shirt is basically telling the world, "Hey, I like this mass murder because he had a certain sense of style."

Here is a fairly good summary of it from Newsbusters

The Obama Flag Flap

By Bob Owens | February 12, 2008 - 13:25 ET

The blogosphere began buzzing yesterday afternoon because of a Cuban flag superimposed with a picture of Che Guevara that was flown in an volunteer, unofficial office for Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama in Houston, Texas, captured by a local Fox News affiliate.

Allahpundit likened it yesterday to be the equivalent of flying a Timothy McVeigh flag in a John McCain office, and noted that if that had occurred, media outlets would have more than likely made more of an issue of it than they have in this instance.

I don't however, share the condemnation heard yesterday of the Obama campaign itself over this particular story from some of my friends on the right. I think James Joyner's take on the issue is even-handed, in that:

...Che is a terrorist who shouldn't be honored by decent people. Che worship (or, alternatively, the wearing of Che t-shirts as a statement without the slightest clue of who he was) seems to be a phase that certain left-leaning activists go through in their youth; it generally passes. Driscoll's characterization of it as "juvenilia" is spot on.

For reasons I'll certainly never understand, a contingent on the fringe left does and has long had a special affinity for this particular terrorist, but that in and of itself should not reflect upon Obama, unless he also shares those views or had advance knowledge of such a flag being placed in this volunteer-established office (which I strongly doubt).

What the flag may come far closer to representing is the historical cluelessness of some potential voters, and the sad flocking to cults of personality by those who feel politically marginalized, as noted by the U.K.based satire site Anorak News which said dryly:

"...The stakes could not be higher in the battle between Ron Paul and Barack Obama for the hearts and minds of America's young people, as this picture shows."

But it isn't just the young and uninformed who flock to such cults of personality, as we've all seen our fair share of Paulites and Obama supporters of every age and education level.

There are many people who feel politically lost who will flock to those voices that offer seemingly easy "change," whether that voice offers workable solutions or empty platitudes.

Considering that this story is largely confined to the blogosphere at this moment, there is probably very little desire in the official Barack Obama campaign to issue a statement against the displaying of this terrorist-hyping flag in a volunteer office. Though it would be a nice gesture, such a refutation may make this into a larger story than it would otherwise be.

Cuban-Americans, however, may find this political calculation to be less than satisfactory.

It is rather sad that the Obama campaign is in a position where it had to decide whether denouncing a terrorist is a smart move, but when a candidate runs on a platform offering so little substance or experience, being quiet and vague is perhaps precisely what they are counting on.

One of the reasons Ron Paul is having a difficult time is the mindset of his followers. I think Obama is developing a cult following of his own. Obama has offered little more than sloganeering and his followers are beginning to define him.

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I just can't abide seeing such obvious poppycock being passed off in the name of carrying the conservative banner around here.

Unfortunately, happens all the time on this board and we all know who the worst offenders are.

Yeah, you just have to look in the mirror. Especially with your comment about the health care system of the United States. Talk about poppycock. I'll take the health care system with all the doctors, hospitals, physical therapy facilities, and walk-in clinics over any other system in any other country in the world.

You are one of the worst offenders of trying to pass along your opinion as fact. As I have said before, you need to sit and watch the other liberals on the board, like TexasTiger and Tiger Al and see how the go about debating with the conservatives on the board, because you really don't help them out with the way you go about it bro. Quantity does not equal quality.

Yeah, our current health care system is wonderful: $40M+uninsured, higher costs than ever and a medicare system that is unsustainable at it's current rate. We pay the most for health care of any civilized country in the world and we do not have the best services/results (as our life expectancy, infant mortality, etc. rates show).

You are lecturing me on debating style after dumb health care comments like that?

I think you should be careful quoting health care statistics like you do because I doubt you really understand what you are quoting. For example, not all infant mortality data is the same. In many countries they do not even try to save infants under 29 or 30 weeks and count them as still births whereas here we routinely save infants of that age. If they die, we count them against infant mortality data. We also have survival rates in most areas with a quality NICU unit with 33 week babies that have outcomes as good as term babies. I think people take those numbers at their surface value and never analyze them. If our health system is SO flawed, why do doctors all over the world come here to practice and to do research??? Go ask a physician from north of the border or a patient from there how easy and efficient their system is to use.