Comment Something that makes sense (Score 1) 1455
1. Admit to the nation that although there were some who thought at the time we should have gone into Iraq (including me), that events have proven them wrong, and that it was a mistake to put US forces in harm's way.
2. Issue a 90-day deadline to the Iraqi government to resolve the major political issues (distribution of oil revenue, states rights vs. federal, etc). If 90 days pass without resolution, then publish the deadline to the public at large and set a 6 month timeline for the majority of US combat forces to be out of the country. If they do resolve the political issues and seem to be on a path to taking over peacekeeping duties, then negotiate a reasonable timeline for Iraqi takeover of all day-to-day peacekeeping operations, not to exceed 12 months, and have the majority of US forces out within 18 months (although I might not publish the 18 months figure to the public to avoid emboldening anti-US factions).
3. Veto any federal spending increases or expansion of authority, even for popular causes such as K-12 education.
4. For all programs which the federal government shouldn't be involved in, such as K-12 education and welfare, work to gradually reduce federal spending to zero. Reduce taxes by the amount saved but make it clear that taxpayers should expect to see roughly analogous increases in state taxes to make up the difference.
5. Have the Justice department publish reasonable standards of what the US considers to be torture, and make it clear that personal criminal charges will be pressed against any officer of the United States government found to violate the standard. At the same time, grant immunity to all US officers who may have violated the torture standards under the previous administration (don't want to criminally prosecute folks for just doing their jobs). Preferably, after the initial document published by the Justice Department, Congress would take over control of the torture standards by legislation.
6. Make it clear to my cabinet and supporting staff that I will not tolerate violations of US law. Nobody will ever get special treatment or a presidential pardon for violating the law just because they work for me. And if I do, for example, have an aide who lies under oath to avoid implicating the vice president in a scandal and receives a sentence that I think is too harsh, the most I would do would be to work to get the sentencing guidelines reduced for that offense for all convicts, not just the errant aide.
7. Do everything in my power to reverse precedents set in recent presidential terms and diminish the power of the president. Take a page from George Washington and emphasize that I am merely a steward of the democracy.
8. Work to cut military troop levels by 35%, and military spending by 25%, so we have fewer but better trained and equipped soldiers. Apply the savings to a social security lockbox.
9. Never lie to the American public.
10. Never cover up or stonewall to protect officials who play partisan politics within the US government (such as when federal attourneys are dismissed), regardless of whether they're in my party or not.
I'm sure there's a lot more too, but those 10 seem like a good start.
2. Issue a 90-day deadline to the Iraqi government to resolve the major political issues (distribution of oil revenue, states rights vs. federal, etc). If 90 days pass without resolution, then publish the deadline to the public at large and set a 6 month timeline for the majority of US combat forces to be out of the country. If they do resolve the political issues and seem to be on a path to taking over peacekeeping duties, then negotiate a reasonable timeline for Iraqi takeover of all day-to-day peacekeeping operations, not to exceed 12 months, and have the majority of US forces out within 18 months (although I might not publish the 18 months figure to the public to avoid emboldening anti-US factions).
3. Veto any federal spending increases or expansion of authority, even for popular causes such as K-12 education.
4. For all programs which the federal government shouldn't be involved in, such as K-12 education and welfare, work to gradually reduce federal spending to zero. Reduce taxes by the amount saved but make it clear that taxpayers should expect to see roughly analogous increases in state taxes to make up the difference.
5. Have the Justice department publish reasonable standards of what the US considers to be torture, and make it clear that personal criminal charges will be pressed against any officer of the United States government found to violate the standard. At the same time, grant immunity to all US officers who may have violated the torture standards under the previous administration (don't want to criminally prosecute folks for just doing their jobs). Preferably, after the initial document published by the Justice Department, Congress would take over control of the torture standards by legislation.
6. Make it clear to my cabinet and supporting staff that I will not tolerate violations of US law. Nobody will ever get special treatment or a presidential pardon for violating the law just because they work for me. And if I do, for example, have an aide who lies under oath to avoid implicating the vice president in a scandal and receives a sentence that I think is too harsh, the most I would do would be to work to get the sentencing guidelines reduced for that offense for all convicts, not just the errant aide.
7. Do everything in my power to reverse precedents set in recent presidential terms and diminish the power of the president. Take a page from George Washington and emphasize that I am merely a steward of the democracy.
8. Work to cut military troop levels by 35%, and military spending by 25%, so we have fewer but better trained and equipped soldiers. Apply the savings to a social security lockbox.
9. Never lie to the American public.
10. Never cover up or stonewall to protect officials who play partisan politics within the US government (such as when federal attourneys are dismissed), regardless of whether they're in my party or not.
I'm sure there's a lot more too, but those 10 seem like a good start.
