Both Sides of the Fence

I'm really tired of the politicians saying that the other guy is wrong and they're right.
1. McCain was right - sorta - when he said the government shouldn't be bailing out people who knowingly took out loans for houses they knew they couldn't afford. BUT we need to find a way to help the innocent victims of predatory lending practices and a way to punish those corporations who specifically targeted the "easiest prey" as well as laws to prevent it from happening again.
2. The democrats are right - we need to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. BUT that may not be overnight or in the next few years. We cannot afford an unstable Iraq, we cannot fail them again (as they see we did back in Gulf War I). Doing so would only create a power vacuum that the Iranians, Syrians, and Saudis would just not be able to resist. The terrorists would have an effective base better than even Afghanistan was for them. And 4000+ lives lost CANNOT be lost in vain.
3. President Bush lied to us when the drumbeats of war were getting louder. BUT Saddam was a very evil man, some even say our generation's Hitler. He had to be removed from power. We just did it the wrong way.
4. Our children need and deserve health insurance. BUT the rich shouldn't be able to get in on the taxpayer funded insurance meant for the poor. Also, mandatory health insurance shouldn't be required of adults. It's one more bill many of the poor, working poor, and lower middle class in our country can't afford.
5. Yes we have one of the most - if not THE most - technologically advanced militaries in the world. BUT that technology doesn't replace boots on the ground. No machinery can replace a soldier, not completely, not yet. And even IF it could, war would only last even longer as there would no longer be a human cost to war, soldier-wise.

So my message for today is...
I don't really care if you're pro-Iraq war or anti-Iraq war. It doesn't matter right now, not for the sake of this discussion. STOP TREATING OUR VETS LIKE OUR VIETNAM VETS WERE TREATED. They are merely soldiers obeying the orders of the Commander in Chief, as required by military law, contract, and national duty. They are doing the best they can with the orders and equipment given. They should be treated as heroes, serving their country with every breath they take, some right down to their final breath, not as war criminals. Prosecute the ones who break the rules, but don't just go after the soldier obeying orders, go easy on him if he was merely obeying orders. Throw the legal book at the one who gave the orders. So Clinton got a blow job... he put Libya in its place and kept us in relative peace and prosperity for 8 years. Yes, 911 might and probably still would have happened. But Afghanistan would be a lot further along right now and there wouldn't be over 4000 dead vets from Iraq. But to try to impeach Bush now would be futile as he only has months to go and impeachment is a long and ugly process, even if the populous says they support it. History will remember his (mis)deeds, so long as we pass the lessons on.