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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!ut-sally!opus!rcd
From: rcd@opus.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: `Saber-Rattling' Considered Fictional
Message-ID: <220@opus.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Mar-84 02:50:15 EST
Article-I.D.: opus.220
Posted: Mon Mar 12 02:50:15 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 08:12:59 EST
References: <1784@rlgvax.UUCP>
Organization: NBI, Boulder
Lines: 39

<>
 > "Saber-rattling" is becoming very stagnant now.  Liberals should try
 > at least to keep their cliches circulating.
The phrase is no more a cliche than the action.  I think that most liberals
will be happy to abandon the phrase as soon as it doesn't apply to what is
alleged to be our foreign policy.

 > Apart from telling the truth about the Soviets,...
Calling it the "evil empire" has little to do with truth/falsity.

 > ...the current administration has yet to deploy a single MX...
...thank heaven - but not because they haven't tried.

 > ...has rescinded a (Carter) trade-embargo against the USSR...
...but somehow managed to interpret an arms-export-control act as license
for prior restraint of publication and for restricting flow of publicly
available information in the scientific community...

(Referenced article cites other examples of non-agressiveness of current
administration.)
OK, there are certainly examples of non-aggressive behavior, although the
Lebanon yes-no-maybe-no-no-yes-no circus was so totally fumbled that it's
hard to tell WHAT attitudes were behind it.  But I'm still more scared by
Reagan's aggressiveness than Hart's lack of it...

Digressing, I find Hart to be an interesting phenomenon.  I haven't studied
the man enough to know whether he can be a really good president - but
putting this aside for a moment, the political realities are interesting.
I'm encouraged for the Democrats that it looks like they are finally
figuring out that Mr. Second-to-Carter-back-when isn't going to be able to
win them a presidency.  (I may be proven wrong by the time this article
gets out into general circulation, however!)  It should be obvious to
anyone, with a little observation, that Mondale couldn't possibly beat
Reagan without even judging Reagan in detail.  In fact, it's probably
obvious to the average elephant!  (The average donkey might have trouble
figuring it out...)  I might enjoy seeing a presidential election in which
I could vote FOR a major-party candidate instead of AGAINST one/both.
-- 
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd