Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site opus.UUCP 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 ...has rescinded a (Carter) trade-embargo against the USSR...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