Say What? US to Talk With Iran Saturday, No Preconditions

I wonder if this is a tactic to neutralize this issue. If some voters see it as a plus that Obama is willing to engage in talks with Iran, the Republicans saying, "We will too!" makes it a wash.

I'm surprised this is happening, but as we discussed yesterday, we should let people change their minds without using the f-f word.

To clarify, not that I think they're only sending a U.S. rep as an election tactic. Just wondering if they considered how that will play. And I have to assume pretty much everything is carefully considered with regards to the election these days.

I hope that SNL does another skit about Ahmadinejad when he's in New York.

How much are they enriching the uranium? If it's for a nuclear power plant it'd be about 4%, but if it's for the bomb, it'd have to be more in the 90 percentile. Does anyone know this? Or do we just have the info that they're enriching?

I do think this is a plus for Obama, because they went overboard with him on this issue.

Overall...I am just happy that the Bush administration is trying a different tactic other than threatening them. Obviously that route didn't work, so trying something new is a good idea. Plus, we have seen talks leading to results (like North Korea), so if we really wanted to get something done this was the way to go.

So some of the change Obama speaks of already is taking place?

I'd guess that if this were not an election issue, the meeting would be taking place anyway.

The meeting is NOT in Iran, after all. It's in Geneva. And Ahmadinejad is going to milk this for all its worth to try to assist Barry Obama in his bid to be POTUS. Because Ahmadinejad knows that Barry Obama has a weak character and is an elitist snob wuss who would rather 'cut and run' than 'stand and fight.'

I don't recall the Minutemen at the Battle of Lexington in Massachusetts "cutting and running." I don't recall Davey Crockett and Sam Houston at the Alamo in Texas "cutting and running." And I don't recall Navy Pilot John McCain in VietNam "cutting and running" when he was given the opportunity to leave his men and return to the USofA without them.

THAT is why leaders like Ahmadinejad don't want you to vote for McCain. They can control Barry Obama, but they can't control John McCain. The Media sees John McCain's temper as a negative only because Barry Obama was trained by his Mama to look at situations from the outside and not to get emotionally involved, so the Media plays up his "coolness" not realizing that it is really "detachment." John McCain knows when the USofA is being scammed by the likes of Ahmadinejad and he'll see that the scamming stops. Barry Obama is detached from the USofA -- no placing his hand on his heart when the National Anthem is being played or sung because it is not "his" National Anthem. His allegiance is not to the USofA but to his African roots in Kenya. www dot the obama file dot com will educate you to the facts, just the facts.

Gosh Auntie, that's a lot of name calling first thing in the morning!
You might try looking beyond partisan .coms for information.

I'm guessing McCain supporters might use this to show that McCain is NOT as similar to Bush as we might initially think. Bush agrees that Obama was right, but McCain holds his ground! In other words, McCain's even worse.

I wanna see McCain's reaction to this.

Ya Auntie, "Davey Crockett for President!!!!!!" These empty slogans "cutting and running" are warn out and inaccurate. McCain didn't cut and run from Vietnam, but would you qualify the general exit of the American military a "cut and run" or was it something else with Nixon did it?

I prefer a thinking president who may change his mind or change the course of action than a president who stays the course no matter what the consequences.

msucre, to my knowledge, McCain has not responded to this as of yet, so it seems a bit premature to assume that a graphic that was on his Website perhaps months ago, would show his response to Bush's new plan.

Does anyone else just ignore the user Auntie Coosa? It seems like all I see there are inflammatory remarks just trying to get a rise out of people.

When you say, "graphic that was on his Website perhaps months ago," do you mean that ad? Because while it's not a direct response to this decision to meet with Iran, it's an ad that's been running all over for months and as recently as last week.

pardon moi, I assumed it was a graphic as I've never seen the ad.

even still, my point is, as of yet, the McCain camp has not directly commented on this "talk" not "negotiation" and therefore it is premature to call him an "idiot" about it.

I think I'm missing something. I don't see any comments criticizing McCain...

msucre comment number 8 "but McCain holds his ground! In other words, McCain's even worse."

got it?

Oh, I thought that was hypothetical, like how people might interpret or spin this.

Anyways, I will be curious to see what McCain's actual and official response is.

Since Harmony is out of the country...I gotta provide the beverages.

Everyone in a better mood now?

Torgle, Auntie is like a rare, beautiful and wondrous bird that shoots acidic poison into your face. You just have to appreciate her from a distance, but appreciate her you must! I love her stuff.

Torgle, Auntie is like a rare, beautiful and wondrous bird that shoots acidic poison into your face. You just have to appreciate her from a distance, but appreciate her you must! I love her stuff.

I just get the feeling it's not sincere. It seems too outrageous to be real, and I'm just imagining it's someone who just gets a kick out of getting a reaction.

It might be, in which case I tip my hat. It's satire on a level that I couldn't even dream up. Brilliant either way. It never fails to make me laugh.

I have to agree with Rac on this one, I look forward to reading her comments probably more than anyone elses!

I feel such the opposite! I don't mind hearing opinions that are different from mine. I've read things on this site that have given me a new perspective on McCain in some regards.

But filth like this:

"Barry Obama is detached from the USofA -- no placing his hand on his heart when the National Anthem is being played or sung because it is not "his" National Anthem. His allegiance is not to the USofA but to his African roots in Kenya. "

just makes me feel angry. It's not productive, so I just try to skim past it.

It's a great day when Auntie Obama Coosa decides to grace us with her presence!

Coosa reminds me of my sister, who would kill me if she knew that.

I don't find it amusing, I think that extremes that are not based on reality are very counter productive to our discussions. I prefer the posters that base their arguments in something factual that I can learn from (and there are so many of these great commentors on both teams!) I try to just ignore her, but sometimes it is hard when she posts things that are so unfactual.

This is a good first step. Now lets make sure we hold the line until the next step and not take two steps back.

" I prefer the posters that base their arguments in something factual that I can learn from (and there are so many of these great commentors on both teams!)"

I agree! Though I think the constant "team" rhetoric is...I don't even know how to put it. Not useful? Unnecessarily antagonistic?

go team red!

couldn't resist.

believe me, if it weren't an election year there would be no teams.

I disagree. But that happens a lot.

Thank goodness.

I hate the team lingo b/c i feel left out I'm selfish, I want the best of both parties and no one will take me since I am tainted with the color of the other - I could say I am team purple

The team thing just came about as a joke, I know I personally don't take it very seriously and I feel confident that most other people don't!

I live and breathe and bleed red, but that's just me

And thats why we love you Sy!

Sure. I don't think the tiny red angry mob is really going to come get me (I hope!), but it still just seems unnecessary. And far below the generally sophisticated level of discussions here.

well what are you going to do?

I'm about as blue and lefty as a gal can get. I love the Democratic Party. I fulfill most liberal stereotypes, and I roll my eyes (at home, not in cartoon form) at a lot of comments from more conservative posters. But again, there are so few websites where the comments are more than "OMG Obama is a homo!" and "LOLZ McCain is stoopid!" that I just get frustrated when I see it start to creep in, even a little bit.

What am I going to do? Continue to participate in the discussions, let people know when I agree with them and pipe up also when I don't.

well ultimately this site was built/based on popsugar (celebrity gossip) which means the overall attitude here will be lighter and fluffier, therefore having a sense of humor and being lighthearted aren't bad and are not out of place. I think you might want to lighten up a bit, embrace your team blue-ness, and get on with it.

But...didn't you just post this on another article...

"And all the alzheimers/grandpa jokes and "such an idiot" are uncalled for and childish and add nothing to our usually enlightened discussions. So could you save those remarks for popsugar.com or gigglesugar.com"

I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I think we agree on this. I like the discussions here, and I think it's okay for me to say sometimes, "I don't think (whatever) is contributing to the discussion." I'm not the queen of the boards, I'm not demanding no one ever post an eye roll or a team whatever comment. I'm just saying it's my opinion that those comments are not very useful.

Well I think the MAJOR difference between stopping team rhetoric and stopping someone from offensively calling a candidate an Alzheimer's patient is that one is obviously uncalled for (especially since so many people do have family members and friends that have alzheimers and it's no joking matter) and the other is just a fun camaraderie thing that exists because things do get really heated in here sometimes and it's nice to have friends/team members (same difference) that share your political theory and may have more facts/research/statistics to back your arguments up.

And I do feel like you are trying to be a queen, but that's another story for another day... or maybe another story for private message...

I disagree. Even when saying I don't like something or I think someone is wrong, I do my best to stay polite and civil. I haven't even asked anyone to stop doing anything, I've just said what I think about what they're doing. I think there's a big difference between saying something is not useful or antagonistic and saying something is childish and uncalled for, the former being a milder statement. I think there's a difference between saying I don't like some comments and asking someone to take their comments to another board, again the former being much more passive.

But again, it sounds like we basically agree that we like the overall tone of the board and want to make sure it stays up to our standards. We just disagree a little about what we like.

yeah, ok, agree to disagree - on boards, politics, everything!

You gotta love Auntie Coosa!

Everyone knows you're the one in charge around here. I wouldn't dream of trying to stage a coup. (If I were one to use them, I'd put a smiley face here!)

"The team thing just came about as a joke, I know I personally don't take it very seriously and I feel confident that most other people don't!"

I agree! I think the team thing is more in a playful spirit than calling someone a "liberal" or a "neocon" or something like that. The "team" lingo usually busts out when people are trying to lighten the mood, and is usually followed by silly emoticons.

...couldn't resist.

Sure. And I don't think it's a vile and wretched practice. Just not my cup of tea.