What would Obama do about defense?

Obama will cut defense spending, there is no doubt of this. He has run on a big government platform and the only way he will be able to implement any of this is to cut defense spending.

Part of those cuts will be is accelerated drawdown in Iraq, the other part will be not funding new weapons systems and technologies. My guess is he will increase veterans benefits, that way it will make it more palletable to the masses.

What Franks or Obama has not said or considered is what is the threat to this country and how low can you go without harming our defense capability. Clinton cut the defense budget by 40%, which resulted in a military unprepared to fight the current conflicts we are in. Obama may want to cut the military, but our enemies may force him to spend money he does not want to spend. Talk and diplomacy are cheap in the world, but guns ensure the peace.

Is not taking away rights Jen. Taking away rights is building camps and putting an entire race in them till the war is over. Last I looked we were not building holding camps and putting Muslims in them.

Not listening to enemy communications is suicidal. I spent 26 months learning that the hard way.

An American public that will allow a WH to take away their constitutional rights (wiretapping, Patriot Act, etc) because they fear their life will more than likely vote for someone who tells them he will take from the rich and give to those who don't pay taxes.

The tactics are the same, its the topic that changes.

Remeber when they said "Bush did not connect the dots" after 9/11?

Now what do they do, nix the Patriot Act, attempt to block gathering intel from wire taps, etc. etc.

When we point out the holes in our security they scream that it is fear mongering. If we suffer another attack, it will go back to "you didn't connect the dots".

It must be tough to be bi-polar.

Coming after 8 years of an ideological administration whose focus is "the sky is falling", you can't even recognize pragmatism when you see it. The fact Obama isn't ideologically tied to commitments is precisely why I'm voting for him. The editorial itself is misleading; it assumes that Obama agrees to the 25% cut, which I haven't even heard of in the first place. And the editorial omits the facts necessary to judge the 25% cut -- it may well just be the savings from getting out of Iraq. Everything I hear from Republicans is Fear, Fear, Fear, We're All Going to Die. Baloney! I refuse to let the fear-mongers affect the way I live my life. It looks like the public agrees -- Senator Fear and Governor Terror are going to be outvoted by common sense.

The right doesn't have a monopoly on fear. Look at the Dems, fear Hillary, fear Palin, fear Roe, fear fear fear.

Obama has a history of changing what he says based on the audience--guess which groups get the words hoodwinked and bamboozled? He's flipped on many issues or sat on the fence ("call me if you need me", "above my pay grade"). And yet, we get from people who write for this paper that Obama has a "rock star gleam" or "unique talents".

Bought and paid for.

Sounds like JA (that's for Join America not what you're thinking) is ready to grab Eva and run for the bunker. If there is a common denominator among the wingers on the right it's fear. They get a constant diet of it from the bloggers, talk show hosts and other operatives that seek to control them. They are conditioned to be afraid of anything that is not them. Others are dangerous. Others want to take what's yours. Others are not to be trusted and in extreme cases....

Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs

1. “I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.” (So much for innovation and experimentation which has made America a world leader in defense).

2. “I will not weaponize space.” (I want to stay alive, and if the Chinese are weaponizing space, which they are, I want my country to be competitive to protect me and my family from their attacks).

3.” I will slow our development of future combat systems.” (Thanks Senator, just what we needed, and by all means it shows sound judgment to announce it to the world) .

4.”I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.’ (So defense decisions will be made by committee, i.e. a political football with no leadership or vision from the Commander in Chief. Reminiscent of Obama’s 300 foreign policy advisors.)

5. I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I WILL NOT DEVELOP NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS. I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals. (This is Unilateral Disarmament, aka utter insanity. Vladimer Putin is holding his breath, praying that you are elected Senator.)

"Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us,”

McCain’s response: "The biggest national security challenge the United States currently faces is keeping nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists," McCain said. "Should Iran acquire nuclear weapons, that danger would become very dire, indeed. They might not be a superpower, but the threat the Government of Iran poses is anything but "'tiny.'"

Obama has always said what he thinks the group wants to hear. I have learned not to trust his empty promises.