Yea. Honor is 100x more important than Human Life in Iraq.

I will be sure to alert Huckabee's pro-life followers that he thinks Honor is more important than life.

Of course he is right and we certainly "bought it" for a generation (or more) to come because we really broke it in the worst way imaginable.
However do we let those that broke it, the evangelical right-wingers, "fix" it any more?

Ron Paul is the man! Finally Fox is giving him some air time and some freedom to have some back and forth.

America needs to take a step back and analyze its Foreign policy. It is out of control and is making more people hate us then anything else.

Ron Paul is the best choice to reverse course and sounds very clear and intelligent tonight.

Good for you, Governor Huckabee! Paul may be a rambling, confused man, but it was still a big victory for you to stand up for what is right.

Ron Paul is kind of psycho - I love it!

As a country do we go over the cliff since we can't be divided.

Huckabee is a lemming. Paul makes some sobering statements. I think our soldiers lives are worth more than our honor. Their honor is without question and how many of them have to die before this party understands that our soldiers are dying for nothing.

Huckabee's honor-over-party closing comment won the moment and, it being off-the-cuff, showed the kind of integrity that he has.

Mr. Huckbee,

It's the IRAQIS that have a responsibility to: put aside their tribal mentality, start fighting and dying for their OWN country, reach benchmarks, and pressure their govt to achieve a political solution rather than contemplate vacations cuz it's "too hot".

We've done enough - their incredibly long grace period is OVER!

Ron Paul clearly won that exchange. The 9/11 comission report backs up his position…common sense.

The bias of this post is disturbing. You didn't even include Ron Paul's last line in the exchange.

Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee are great people. Ron Paul would be a great president. We all need to make our vote count and vote Ron Paul. He's right, and even the top brass in the military says we can't win. Let's support the troops and bring em home. Only Ron Paul will bow to the American people.

Ron Paul is right. Huckabee was looking for an opportunity to get his name in the paper. He was successful but was made to look stupid by the Congressman from Texas.

So saving face is more important than american lives for an illegal war, one which wa gone into under false pretense, now it is against radical Islam, what power do they have?

How do you fight an enemy with no powerbase, spec ops does it. Dr. Ron Paul is the only one on stage speaking truth, and it is self evident.

I was infuriated to hear Huckabee dare to say "we are one nation." If any of the Republicans besides Paul realized that we are a nation that is tired of the Iraq war, with upwards of 70% of the people against it, perhaps they'd be inclined to listen to us! The audacity, in a completely negative sense, of that statement was completely offensive.

The American people have bought the Iraq War, Mr. Huckabee, and we did so against our will. We have bought it with $600 billion of hard-earned money, and with the blood of 3,700 of the truly best people this country has to offer. I for one am tired of "buying it" and I fear for the classmates and people I know who are entering military service.

Yes, Mr. Huckabee, we have been forced to buy it, and are still paying for it, and will pay in blood and money for a long time to come.

God bless Ron Paul for standing with the American people.

Of course, my Internet feed of the debate crapped out right before this exchange. Come on youtube!

I don't understand anything that Huckabee said. We need to honor those who have died… we honor them by letting more Americans die? At the end of the day, we're going to have a boat load of honor.

Personally, I think lives, of both Americans and Iraqis, are more important than our 'honor.'

Huckabee replied loudly, "Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor."

You can't be serious!? Huckabee would rather have our troops die and go to needless and unconstitutional wars so that we won't lose our honor? You've got to be kidding me!

Quite a biased assessment. If the crowd "roared" for anyone, Paul got the best of it.

Rudy Giuliani is a rude idiot. He laughed at Ron Paul, every time Paul had a question. We want a president like Adolph Giuliani, or do we want a president who respects others?

Ron Paul's exchange in this debate should go down in American History as memorable. How history portrays it is yet to be seen. It is refreshing to see a politician for president who is so close to achieving the office speak the God honest truth.

The difference between Huckabee and Paul is that Paul actually knows what he's talking about. Huckabee just wants to continue what Bush started, and never end it. We CAN NOT WIN in Iraq, the best way to keep our nation secure and to save more American lives is to just get out.

Why did the reporter paraphrase Huckabee's full response? In response to Paul's comment that Iraq is causing the GOP to lose elections, Huckabee's initial response was that this was more important than the Republican party. I won't vote for Huckabee but I found it refreshing for a Presidential candidate to come out in a debate and say that an issue was more important than the party itself. That is how it should be but too many politicians put their party over the greater good.

Both made some good points. I'm personally against the war so I like what Ron Paul had to say. Paul has often said that a true patriot is one who disents when they see bad policy continuing to happen. Huckabee seemed passionate and while I'd like to see Ron Paul win, I'd rather see Huckabee representing the Republicans than Giuliani, Romney, or McCain.

Ron Paul destroyed everyone in that debate–with logic and facts!

Don't forget to vote for Ron in the poll! Text R6 to 36288 !!!

This refers to Colin Powell's Pottery Barn rule, "If you break it, you own it."

What an exchange. Ron Paul was the only honest person on the stage, as is usual at these debates, which are just political theatre.

Why doesn't Ron Paul get more respect? Hopefully he will after the next Quarter campaign finance numbers come out. But I won't hold my breath.

New reports say Iraq needs another 12-18 months for their security force to be ready, will we be broke by then?

Regardless, we need to support freedom- if you want to fix Iraq send your money there, if you don't, then don't.

Don't buy into the mindless "one nation" non-sense, that means we all are forced to do what the “leaders” say- that’s not freedom which this country claims to be about. Will we stand for freedom or tyranny? We must end taxation slavery (the real issue).

Im sorry but this is cut short, it did int even get to RP's response on the "honor" statement. If this is going to be put up at least include the whole tussle

I believe Ron Paul won the exchange. I would prefer to have our soldiers lives protected rather than worry about the honor of the few who decided to launch this war in the first place.

Ron Paul got the closing comment. How much do we have to spend to save face? Huckabee has nothing to say.

Ron Paul owned this debate. He looked very good.

Ron Paul clearly had the high ground. Hmm, should the honor of the neocons be more important than what the people want?

Ron Paul was amazing tonight and spoke so much TRUTH that none of the other candidates understood or wanted the people to know about!!!

Huckabee is definitely from another planet. He does not deserve being elected in any way because he will be Dubbya II

Ron Paul is probably the best Republican candidate this election will ever see, his integrity is intact. A true STATESMAN not just another POLITICIAN.

Paul was dead on when he said "we're staying there to "save face"…That's not a good reason to get our brave men and women killed !!

Iraq is not a discussion for historians, it's a serious subject for the American people to consider right now. And the consideration is a simple one: are the small number of people in the Bush administration who supported, promoted and prosecuted the reckless adventure of invading Iraq subject to prosecution for negligence, for lying to Congress and the American people? And is the Commander-in-Chief liable for dereliction of duty for failing to discharge his duties satisfactorily managing this war?

To hold our entire nation responsible for the mistake of this irresponsible and arrogant administration and to support continuance of the mistake is absolutely ludicrous.

Ron Paul clearly had the high ground. Should the honor of the neocons be more important than what the American people want?

Huckabee's analogy is plain lame. I hope he keeps that broken object in a safe place.

Welcome to the 51st state of the United States. May Mr. Huckabee become its inaugural governor.

Rock on, President Paul!

Ron Paul exhibits the most common sense consistently.

I have a question for Huckabee and all the other, how many more people have to die in order to us to leave with "honor"? I don't even know what leaving Iraq with "honor" means. We don't have any more business there. It is time to end it.

I hope and pray that people awaken and Ron Paul gets the Republican nomination. I don't see myself voting for anyone else.

Ron Paul destroyed Huckabee in the exchange!

It's good to see a real debate break out. I respect Huckabee a lot, but my heart's been with Ron for a long time. We have to change our policy in the middle east, and listen to those who were right - not those who have been wrong.

Ron Paul, WOW, the more I hear the Good Doctor speak, the more I want to help him win. Our meetups is growing phenomenally.

Though Huckabee's comments had their own validity, your story does not mention that Ron Paul received as much if not more applause for his comments during this exchange. He was the clear crowd favorite.

While you're protecting your honor, Mr. Huckabee, U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians are being killed.

Ron Paul is dead on! You don't continue making the same mistake just to save face.

Huckabee is real psycho!

Paul has common sense and logic.

Huckabee is not a bad person, but the logic of "honor over elections" is flawed. You'd lose the election because you want to stay over there. Reagan pulled out of Beirut when he realized how crazy the situation was over there, after saying he wouldn't. Too bad Paul doesn't point that out. Mainstream GOP thinks everything Reagan did was right.

For you people who mistakenly think Ron Paul meant we should value Party over Honor is wrong. Huckabee is the one who implied that. Ron Paul said that we should value the lives of American People over saving face.

If you go off the applause, Huckabee won the exchange. Paul's supporters might be loud but the roar grew louder each time Huckabee spoke.

That isn't how the 'tussle' ended. Can you please edit your post so that people can see the whole conversation and see what Paul's response was? Also, making it seem that Paul didn't receive any applause is amusing, at best.

Ron Paul had the loudest cheers, I was so happy to see a constitutionalist Republican on stage that I'm going to donate to this guy right now. Looking at this guy's record now, I don't know how he isn't going to get the GOP nomination.

I'm quite alarmed that an ordained minister equates honor to perpetuating death and destruction. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil." How could one read the Federalist Papers (and the arguments of the Anti-Federalists) and still choose any of these seven totalitarians over Ron Paul?

Ron Paul WON hands down…On MSNBC poll…he is currently getting 51% of the vote out of 40,000 votes thus far! The People are finally waking up to the Corporate Mass Media manipulation, the Republican Party Elitists and the Neo-Con Con-Job that has been played on this country for years!

As a Republican for the last 50 years I am once again proud that we have a Statesman seeking office. When I read Ron Paul's book A Foreign Policy of Freedom, I knew that he was not only the most rational politician in Washington, but probably one of the most intelligent. It is time for this Party and this rapidly fading Nation to return to REASON and RATIONAL DECISIONS!

Really? Honor over preserving the lives of our servicemen? Honor over implementing the correct foreign policy?

Honor? Is that all we are fighting for now in Iraq? What a stupid reason to continue a war.

Huckabee has a point that no one can deny. We screwed it up and have the moral oblgation to fix it.

Yell all you want. If we leave tell. please tell me how the place doesnt break into a post-Soviet Afganistan which is pimped out for terrorism by Iran and Al Queda like Lebanon. BTW, Iran is the leader of all Islamic terrorism and Iraq's neighbor…

We are there and must grow a spine to deal with OUR mistake. (OUR=both parties voted to go into Iraq)

It kills me to see my Marine brothers die in a worthless country. But I can envision much worse if we leave and give Iran the upper hand.

Wow! What a powerful debate. I have to say both candidates do make sense with some of their rhetoric. Yes, the past is for historians to debate. Yes, a small select group of manipulative neoconservatives did this to our country. However, No, I don't believe we should continue to allow our soldiers to die for a cause that has nothing to do with us. Yes, we did break it, but no, we cannot fix it; although it sure seems like we are doing our best at buying it. The Iraqi's are the only people who can fix it. I don't think their country has the means of building a democracy at this point in time. They must do what they need to in order to achieve stability and peace. They need to figure out what needs to be done to get out of a civil war. Our honor died worldwide when we went to war and violated international law. We can improve our honor by listening to others for a change.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Wake me up when the republican'ts stop babbling………

Ron Paul needed to keep up the attack on the hijacking of US foreign policy by the neocons. World opinion understands this is exactly what happened to the US and does _not_ hold the American people responsible for this hijacking of our government. There should be a housecleaning of the US government starting within the GOP led by Ron Paul.

Huckabee understands true authority and resposibilty. We, as a nation, interfered where we shouldn't have, but it doesn't mean we can just quit once we realized our mistake. We unleashed Al-Qeda and the hell that is going on there, not the average Iraqui. I'd rather vote for someone with honor than someone who changes his mind to keep his office.

That is not objective reporting - look at the applause interpretation. Ron Paul was discussing the root cause of the issue. Understanding the root cause helps us come to a real solution - and end to the Iraq war.

He is not weak. People who think he is weak just because he doesnt want to police the world and because he wants the congress to go to war not the President only, do not understand, appreciate or love our constitution.

Ron Paul cares about human life more than anyone on that stage because of his widthdrawal position. It also will make us more secure that extending ourselves, forcing ourselves across the globe.

Iran is a threat - but lets deal with it in a sane, intelligent manner. And if force is required. Ron Paul will go to the congress to authorize war against them.

You guys make it sound like only Huckabee was getting applause, when in fact it was loud for both. You also fail to mention that Dr. Paul ended the exchange with, "We have lost over 5000 americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, plus civilians killed. How many more do you want to lose? How long are we going to be there? What do we have to pay to save face? That's all we're doing - saving face. It's time we came home."

I must say, it's nice to see Dr. Paul get angry - some people may be tempted to dismiss him, but it shows that he can bring it when it counts. If I were him, I would have lost my patience long ago with the politically correct pandering of the other candidates.

Dr. Paul is a man who understands and exudes honor and integrity, and shame on Mike Huckabee for using the idea of American honor for his own gain, as though he were the only one that cared.

Who does Huckabee think he's kidding? It's easy to say standing behind a podium; nevermind the young boys who are dying because he "broke it". Paul was a lone voice against the war; bring them home. Reagan did it. Shame on them, saving face at the expense of our boys and the other hundreds of thousands innocents that have died.

Wow, honest debate for a change and two legitimate viewpoints expressed….maybe these are the guys we should be considering–how about a Huckabee-Paul ticket for the Repubs…they can run on an honesty platform! This is the first debate exchange that I have heard that is not pablum….

Most understand that the Iraq region would undergo a cataclysmic collapse in the event of a rapid withdrawal (and here rapid means about a year, since it is not logistically possible to do it faster).

You know what? I am a Democrat, but this guy Huckabee appears to have some wisdom that reminds me of Democratic candidate Joe Biden. I sincerely hope Huckabee wins the Republican nomination, because, in the words of Bill Maher, "Rudy Giuliani scares the s*$t out of me."

Would Biden/Huckabee or Huckabee/Biden not be a good bipartisan ticket assuming that they are not both nominated? Two candidates with wisdom, practicality, and integrity, who embody the principles of the founding fathers.

I can imagine Mike Huckabee hammering a nail into a piece of wood but when the nail is bent, he keeps hammering away thinking the nail will ultimately straighten out.

Huckabee's got nothing but having lost weight. Ron Paul has his integrity behind him, the Constitution in front of him, and any American who cares to be free and have a say in their government right beside him.

Huckabee isn't talking about honor… he's talking about saving face. We can't win in Iraq, just like we couldn't win in Viet Nam. Yes, we're going to withdraw, even Bush is talking about drawing down. But we're leaving Iraqis in much worse situation than before we went in. We will withdraw slowly, and as we do more and more Iraqi blood will spill and more Americans will die.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rove, you've done a great job. Well over 4,000 Americans will be dead, tens of thousands more maimed and crippled,substandard medical/psychological care when the wounded return home, hundreds of thousands of Americans directly affected by these casualties, 100,000 Iraqis killed.

And this is what Huckabee feels we should honor.

Yes, indeed. Vote Republican in November. For our honor. Any question as to why the world laughs at George Bush?

It seemed like a tennis match at the US Open between Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. These two guys are the strongest players for the Republican Team. They don't waver in their beliefs so they don't have to stop and think about what to say. Unfortunately the referee stopped it when it was starting to get good. Both made strong points, but Huckabee no doubt came out on top.

I disagree with the above comment that Huckabees "honor over party" comment won the exchange. Next he completely contradicted himself and said we must like lemings follow what the current policies are no matter what without disent. Dr Paul honorably disents from following an amoral preemptive strike philosophy of the republican administration. Heck "Honor before Party" could be a Ron Paul campaign slogen.

I personally would not want my child's life to be sacrificed because we are trying to somehow save face. That just doesn't make sense to me. Ron Paul was awesome tonight.

"Honor" is an emotional word. Emotions don't always lead to bright ideas.

RON PAUL is my new hero!!! I am shocked that Huckabee said that our American honor is more important than American lives!! Clearly this guy is one who would rather let his family lose everything than swallow his pride and ask for a hand-out. I'm sick of this pro-life stance neo-cons take yet they want to only care about genocide when oil is involved. Why don't we invade Darfur? What's the difference???

Unfortunately, this blog left out Ron Paul's final statement in the exchange which was something to the effect of, "We've already lost over 5000 Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. How many more Americans are we willing to let die in order to save face?"

Yeah MIKE honor is better than losing 100's and 100's of USA lives for OIL, Military industrial complex and ISrael who RON PAUL said has 200-250 nukes so they can protect themselves.

RON PAUL REVOLUTION !!

I do think RP is right, but what exactly in the 9-11 commission report backs up his position?

Ron Paul wins yet another debate and leads in the polls. It's obvious the crowd agreed. He is currently at first at 69% on an MSNBC poll and first with 35% of Fox's text message poll.

He has won 17 top three finishes in straw polls across the country. 6 first place finishes including Maryland just the other night. His money on hand is going to shock everybody when the next quarter reports come in.

Ron Paul will be President… most people just don't it yet.

Ron Paul Responded with the following (Note: Fox News also left out Ron Paul's response)

We have lost over 5000 over there in Afganistan and Iraq. How many more do you want to lose? How long are you going to be there? How long? What do we have to pay to save face? Thats all we're doing is saving face. Its time we come home.

Ron Paul won the moment hands down!

The Fox News viewers think he won too because he is way ahead in the Fox News Text Messaging Poll at 33%.

This may come as a shock to Mr. Huckabee, but breaking and buying it does not mean that the US can fix it. I also seem to remember that quite a few Iraqis want us to leave NOW. Then again, maybe our honor is more important than the wishes of the Iraqi people.

I did not see the debate, but totally agree with Huckabee. We are one country, under God, indivisible. And if we broke it, as Colin Powell so put it a few years ao, we did buy it. And now, it is up to us to help the Iraqis fix it. We do not understand their culture, nor they ours, and that is the crux of the problem. We did not understand, going in, that there was such sectarian division….we made many mistakes, shuting out the Baathe party members 'jut because' was one of them. People need to work, people need to feel a part of the process, and somehow, we need to make that a reality in Iraq for all people.

They grow 'em good in Arkansas….Republican or Democrat…..they grow 'em good in Arkansas…..and that is a lot for me to say……I am from CA originally

Ron Paul won that exchange in my opinion. It was a mistake going into Iraq the only way to fix it is by getting out now. Huckabee seems nice and sincere but his talk of staying for honor was just rhetoric. We keep hearing about Iran being a reason for troops deaths in Iraq yet fail to mention that it's keeping there that keeps them targets for any enemy there. I can't believe we are being sold another war already. Ron Paul is the only candidate I can respect enough to vote for. Peace.

Ron Paul needs to put the crack pipe down and realise our actions have consequences. Consequences much more severe than taking our toys and going home. His unrealistic approach to politics reminds me of my little brothers take on play time. If he didn't like how things were going, he'd pack up his toys and go leave. Eventually getting the heck kicked out of him by other kids that didn't appreciate him not finishing what he started.

Ron Paul is an absurd choice for President.

As in every other debate, Ron Paul is always the winner because he is not an insane war mongerer! He says what is on every reasonable persons mind. Plus I love the fact that he wants to abolish the IRS and Federal Reserve and abolish bush's North American Union which will destroy this country once and for all. If any of those other maniacs gets elected, this country is doomed! Go Ron Paul 2008!!

Mike Huckabee Won the Debate according to the Anus Magazine Blog.

protectorate

Ron Paul's response to "Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor." was the following:

"We have lost over 5000 over there in Afganistan and Iraq. How many more do you want to lose? How long are you going to be there? How long? What do we have to pay to save face? Thats all we're doing is saving face. Its time we come home."

Sounds like Huckabee is taking a page out of the Bush playbook: if you do something stupid that ruins peoples' lives, you then stick with it because acknowledging your mistakes would look like weakness. That is exactly backwards.

Why doesn't CNN add Ron Paul's response to Huckabee about how many soldiers have to die so that we can save face? I thought that was the real zinger of the exchange.

Dear CNN,

If you're going to make a headline like, "Huckabee and Paul tussle on Iraq", then put a picture of them both in the article and not just one… Huckabee.

Thanks!

Brett

The only one with honor in this exchange was Dr. Paul. 1 dead American soldier in an unjust war is too many — this is an abomination. Why so many self-proclaimed religious people choose death over diplomacy is incomprehensible. Instead of evolving as a country and as a people, we have continuously regressed. If Dr. Paul does not win the nomination the Republican party has absolutely NO chance of winning the election in November '08… None. And deservedly so. The large majority of people in this country don’t want this war, the Iraqi government we’ve set up has said they don’t need us there, but apparently a small group of men with corporate ties want to keep sending our young men and women into a meat grinder no matter how many American and Iraqi families they ruin.

This is all rather pointless now that Thompson is in the race.

Ron Paul has my vote… not that I'm naive enough to believe that our votes count.

HUCKABEE IS WRONG, BUSH AND CHENEY'S LIES BROKE IT. THEY LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, LIED TO CONGESS AND THE REST OF THE WORLD THAT WOULD LISTEN.AND IT WAS ALL ABOUT OIL.NOT THE TERROIST.OSAMA HASEN'T BEEN CAUGHT BECAUSE BUSH FORGOT ABOUT HIM.

I never thought much of Mike Huckabee when he was my Governor and won't vote for him or any other Republican. But, for once he got something right. We let the Bush administration talk us into a war we had not business starting. We have no choice at this point other than to tough it out and hope a Democrat gets in the White House and can figure out how to get us out of Iraq without losing anymore face than we already have with other nations and bring our young men and women home with dignity and honor.

Huckabee took this one. It's not so much about the honor as it is finishing the job. Paul made some good points, but think of how pointless so many deaths will be if we just throw in the towel, and call it a night. After all, we can argue that all lives lost at war are pointless, because war is pointless–it's just flexing muscles at the cost of lives.

In the 1990's I lived in the district that elected Ron Paul. Check out how he did it someday. It was a case of dems outsmarting themselves, and they're still stuck with him.

It's easy to talk about having soldiers die to protect 'honor' when you're halfway around the world eating a catered lunch in an air-conditioned office.

Huckabee's out of touch with reality.

It's quite obvious that the writer of this article, Alexander Mooney is a Huckabee man. The article is clearly biased in Huckabee's favor and unfortunately CNN has supported his bias in the way this article is presented on the website. I agree with Paul. Huckabee's "honor" is a euphemism for "saving face." The time to leave Iraq is now.

Paul got it right. Letting a few neoconservatives highjack our foreign policy doesn't mean we should follow in their distorted paths. If the feuding tribs can't get it together and see that we are there to help them, then we need to pull back and let them fight it out. I just hope that this administration doesn't try the same thing in Iran before it leaves.

Rick in Chicago:

Did the IRAQIS ask us to invade their country? Why are they now to blame for the madness there? The Iraqis must be so grateful that we brought them Al Qaeda and car bombings….much better than before, right Rick?

You are such an idiot.

I am a democrat but I like Dr. Ron Paul!!

Ron Paul served as a surgeon in the Air Force during Vietnam. I think he knows the horrors of war and that having Americans continuing home in body bags to continue some sort of honor is disgusting

The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.
H. L. Mencken, 'Prejudices: Fourth Series,' 1924
US editor (1880 - 1956)

They BROKE the Republican Party and the County, too. The Elephant is Dead. The only thing left to represent the Republican Party now is the big, fat pig of GREED!

Ron Paul is a psycho who wants America to surrender after the war is won. The only people crazier than him are his supporters (i.e. conspiracy theorists). Good for Huckabee to tell him off for it.

A person gets honor by fulfilling their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Huckabee used the term 'honor' to describe a person who disregards their oath and tramples the Constitution to be 'divided.' Iraq is an undeclared and UnConstitutional War. Thus, Huckabee is promoting illegal and UnConstitutional action. Therefore, Huckabee has NO HONOR! Well, I don't want to be united with such a dishonorable lying person.

I will stand united with other good, honorable Americans who uphold and defend the Constitution. If I stand alone, like Ron Paul has all these years, then so be it!

This is an answer to the post below by one Rick."It's the IRAQIS that have a responsibility to: put aside their tribal mentality, start fighting and dying for their OWN country, reach benchmarks, and pressure their govt to achieve a political solution rather than contemplate vacations cuz it's "too hot".

We've done enough - their incredibly long grace period is OVER!

Posted By Rick, Chicago Illinois : September 5, 2007 10:43 pm
"

Rick Chic, Aha, Now it has become the IRAQIS problem!! We went to a place which was being managed by some one in his own way! We broke up the place, killed thousands of them and us,made almost everyone a beggar, generated a ton of terrorists,and now people like YOU telling IRAQIS to attain bench marks! What are you smoking? Any clue as to what is happening in Afganistan afetr we left it to Team Karzai ? Well the TALIBAN has become a lot smarter and now they are screwing what is left of Afganistan and is a safe haven for terror, again!

Ron Paul was the only true Republican in the debate.

Ron Paul for President! Of course, Mike Huckabee will stay safely at home. Paul is 100-percent correct. "WE" did not buy this war, the neocons did because they have profited financially from it. People like Huckabee are no better than Hitler. They use words like "honor" to justify insanity and murder. War is a euphamism for justified mass murder. There is no reason to have gone there and no reason to be there. Bush, Cheney and the entire administration should be dragged from the White House and strung up by their ankles in public for their traitorous murderous actions.

Huckabee will propagate the Bush/Cheney neocon agenda ! Ron Paul will get us out of Iraq , he is the only republican willing to take a stand on this issue.

As a disabled police officer injured in the line of duty, what will become of our non-taxable pensions when you plan to install the "fair tax"?

We will pay more in our purchasing power than you would or could obtain from illegals.

From my personal and public experience will illegals, they take their pay check and send most home. The remainder allows them "beverage", fast foods, and tioletries

So I predict that this tax program proposed by politicians is only to punish the fixed income and disabled tax exempt legal population: ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM MILITARY, POLICE, AND FIRE EMPLOYEES INJURED IN THE LINE OF DUTY.

Ron Paul Clearly won the debate. Once "Honor" is mentioned or "God" - Liberty is being attacked. WE SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR THE WAR. Ron Paul has my vote, he understands that all nations have different cultures, and the best thing to do is being in talks with them. It's disgusting that most americans don't understand the middle east conflict, Ron Paul is exposing the truth, and Liberty will prevail.

Ron Paul was the only man up there with any common sense and the applause that huckabees comment got was short sighted. huckabee played the tune of bush and if your not with me your against me, well Mr. (fundamental)huckabee short term you won with your ignorance but when people wake up in the morning it will be a short lived victory. I am not a republican but Ron paul is probably going to get my vote.

Ron Paul needs to get his head out of the sand and think as a "team member" of this nation. Are we certain he's Republican?

Mr. Huckabee,
Please go to Iraq or send your children to fight for your 'Honor'. It seems American people and army is paying a high price for mistakes of this administration and it seems you will continue to make us pay for your 'honor'. No thanks!!

Honor over sanity, is more like it. I actually believe we do have a duty to Iraq, but I'm not willing to march lockstep with those who got us to where we are just because… we have the same passport?

Hitler made that argument to great effect as he rallied his people from his bunker. Hirohito, too. He had women sharpening bamboo sticks to fight the US Marines. I guess you could call that honor. I call it pretty stupid.

they were both basically right,we cant stay for ever,but we also cant just pack up and leave..thanx goerge

Of all the gall!! As the mother of a young person serving in Iraq I find it sickening how someone like Mike Huckabee can say,"We broke it, we bought it," meaning we have to stay. Not one of his sons or his daughter are in harms way so those are easy words to slide out of his mouth. If you got the guts to run for President you need to have a son or daughter of military age serving in the armed forces who will go into the thick of it. Lead by example or stay at home. You want to start a war, send your child first. If idiot George and crazy Dick had the guts to send one of their daughters over there this war would be over or never have occurred. As far as I know Joe Biden is the only one with a child who has been in Iraq. I salute him.

Hey CNN blogger, you left out the last comment from Ron Paul during this exchange.

The Fox News Crowd may fall for the rhetoric, but the American people know Ron Paul is right that our foreign policy must change.

This is merely a repeat of the Ron Paul vs. Rudy Giuliani encounter of the last FNC debate…and thank goodness for that! Consistently, Congressman Paul has courageously spoken the truth in the face of the collective arrogance and ignornace of the Republican field.

The truth wins in the end.

Huckabee's argument that we are "one nation, we can't be divided" is ludicrous. Is the United States a democracy? In Huckabee's world, it's a dictatorship, apparently, and dissent simply has no place.

"We should not lose our honor." - Huckabee

Exactly as Ron Paul said - we are in this war to save face. Huckabee didn't realize it, but he completely gave Ron Paul that little game of chess. He checkmated himself.

Alexander Mooney, you have no journalism integrity. Why do you not finish off the article by quoting Ron Paul's rebuttal comments to this Huckabee reply?

Quote: "How long — what do we have to pay to save face? That's all we're doing, is saving face. It's time we came home," Paul said.

It seems as though the audience had it all backwards. They should have been roaring for Ron Paul instead of Huckabee! But as usual the majority of the people don't like sobering assessments of reality. They just can't handle the truth that Iraq, like Vietnam, is nothing more than a quagmire! The Iraqi's could care less whether we are there or not. It's Bush's war, not the war of the American people!!!! It is a War of Choice! Daddy Bush got a Sadamm death threat, and the Son said let's bring it on! Let the son swim in the mess he made, not the brave young troops who are ordered to go over there and become cannon fodder for a failed policy! It's more than Pathetic!

So Huckabee thinks that it's the government's job to have us all fall on the sword as a united country rather than acknowlege that we made a mistake by going into Iraq and re-evaluating our position. Our objectives were achieved when Saddam died. WE WON! Now bring the troops home. Stop the Dying. Stop the Spending. Restore the Republic! RON PAUL!

How freaking dare this Hukkahillbilly says that we are all to blame. Many of us were yelling and screaming no, but the press called us extremist.

He should take responsibility that then move on.

I wouldn't vote for anyone that had anything to do with this war.
They should all be fired.

jack jett

"We were neck deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool said to push on."

At least Huckabee's argument doesn't involve invoking 9/11. Still, I can't help but notice a problem with this exchange.

Huckabee has a flaw in his argument. He seems to be stating, "Our soldiers have died in Iraq. To leave (before the job is done) would be to dishonor their memory. Therefore we must stay." But, what does it mean to have the job done? There is talk about making Iraq stable, but what is the definition? What is it we're looking for? This idea is constantly tossed about, but I never hear of any tangible objectives. Without this, we're stuck there until the end of time, and debate devolves into personal attacks.

Furthermore, he's assuming this abstract stability (whatever it is) can actually still be accomplished. Will there ever be a point in his mind in which we finally say, "Screw it, Iraq will never be fixed. Let's leave." If there isn't, I think he needs to reassess his reasoning. To keep our troops mired in Iraq, after seeing countless examples that the only result will be their demise and that it will serve no purpose, THAT is the way to dishonor their memory. A pointless sacrifice (in this case, death that leads us no closer to a stable Iraq), no matter how honorable the intentions, is still a pointless sacrifice.

Why are we talking about honor anyway? That's just invoking emotions. We need to talk about this in terms of realistic objectives, not this pseudo-patriotic garbage that passes for debate these days.

And I agree with Ron Paul that we'd be better off not having an offensive styled military. It overextends us, and inflames other regions. Not a good way to spread peace, is it?

"Our" honor went out the window years ago.

Mr. Mooney, twist and slant it as much as you like. Ron Paul won the exchange; the only thing "dramatic" about Huckabee's statements was it highlighted his out-dated attempts at soundbite over substance.

Paul speaks the truth on Iraq. Neo-conservative, never seen combat, warmongers took us to Iraq over oil and a Bush family feud. We may have broke it, but going on a trillion dollars later, near 4,000 dead American kids we can do nothing more for the Iraq blood takers - it is time to draft the chicken hawks and their kids and send them over to FIX it so real American heroes can come home.

One country? Not according to Bush, Bush’s Brain and Cheney, for them it is only the rich and the 51% that believed their lies. The rest of the country they do not care about. Just ask people in the Gulf Coast I am sure they don’t think we are one country.

Ask the people that were killed on the bridge in MN because we can fight the rich man’s war but can’t keep our bridges in safe conditions. Bet they don’t think we are one country.

Ask the 47 million and counting folks without healthcare while the rest of the civilized world covers all their citizens. They don’t think we are one country.

Ask the gays that the Republicans bash all the while hunting sex from under age pages and tapping their horny feet in public restrooms, bet they don’t think we are one country.

"We've got a responsibility to the honor of this country…."
Give it a rest: WAR IS A RACKET

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Is_a_Racket
…industrialists whose operations were subsidised by public funding were able to generate substantial profits essentially from mass human suffering.

All I can say is "Wow!". I have rarely seen a politician challenge the common misperception that "the terrorists hate us because we are free". Ron Paul was only given 30 seconds in the first thirty minutes, and that 30 second question was about another candidate. When he finally got his few minutes to speak, he owned the floor with his no nonsense bluntness.

What upset me the most was FOX and their moderators. The treatment Dr. Paul got from the moderators and other candidates was horrible and unprofessional!

Why is that the most conservative of the GOP candidates, the only one that could beat the DNC candidate in the upcoming election is the one being attacked by the rest ? It makes no sense, and I think the american public is now seeing how blatant the involvement of the mass media is with the political process. If you don't think Paul got the shaft in terms of people laughing while he was talking and moderators attributing him with statements he did not make, you're blind.

This upcoming election will be the most important in a very long time.We need to realize that it is our foriegn interventionist policies that have contributed to the destabilizing of the middle east, and that when we entangle ourselves in the affairs of other nations, we end up in big messes. It is time to reexamine our policies, because as things presently stand, we are just fostering resentment and creating seeds for more and more terrorists.

CNN, we will be watching you too, to see if you give Kukinich and Gravel equal time to state their positions and treat them with the respect that FOX moderators did not do with Paul!

So what Huckabee is saying is that Americans should continue to die for a mistake.

Not at all a good platform to run on.

What no one says is there are not enough troops to continue the surge. When they say it is working they are telling a half truth, a surge will give enough to police a small area or province but there are not enough troops to continue the policing unless they start a draft of American kids. Once you draw back the insurgents reappear and unless you draft more soldiers there are not enough troops to continue. It is either stay in Iraq with a draft, stay in Iraq with the same troops wearing them out physically and mentally until we have no military able to continue or leave. So Ron Paul makes the most sense and just leave now before we ruin the military.

A fool can become a wiseman if he chooses to learn from his mistakes. If he continues to act foolish, then a fool he remains. There is more honor in admitting your wrong and stopping what you are doing, then to continue on the same path. It is most honorable to bring our troops home and let the DOD assume the behavior it was meant to have, DEFENSE.
We need to stop our preemptive warring behavior, stop nation building, and be much more non-interventionist.

Huckabee's logic is very flawed. Yeah we broke it, but we cannot afford it. Let Iraqi people put it back together, as it is thier country after all.

I agree with Huckabee on this one, I admire his guts and am looking forward to hearing more from him.

I am tired of hearing from the people who need us to lose in Iraq so that their beliefs about it are justified.

ThirstyJon
freedomthirst.com

Ron Paul stayed consistent and was going for the common sense, logical message vs. Huckabee's emotional message. Paul hit the nail on the head: "What do we have to do to save face?"

We've lost our "Honor" long ago under this administration… what the hell is Huckabee talking about?

At least Ron Paul is speaking the TRUTH in the face of the emotionally-manipulated, bleating sheep in that audience. Now THAT'S honorable!

What about the rest of the exchange? Ron Paul had the last words, but you did not include them:

“We have lost over 5000 over there in Afganistan and Iraq. How many more do you want to lose? How long are you going to be there? How long? What do we have to pay to save face? Thats all we’re doing is saving face. Its time we come home.”

New slogan for Huckabee:
"Your blood. Your money. My honor."

I think Duncan Hunter is the real answer, but as someone at the debate the audience cheered much more loudly for Paul than Huckabee — maybe they tuned down the mics at those applause points?

Honor? How arrogant. Men and women are dying overseas every day…over an unjustified war, and this douche only cares about honor.

And GOP taking honor of winning election? HAHAHAHA if that was the case the current front runners wouldn't have been liberals who disagree with conservatives on almost all issues

Huckabee is a chicken hawk. He has no integrity. At least ron paul served his country.

We the People have the responsibility to elect leaders with a sane, defensive, foreign policy. We do not have to sacrifice ourselves and our income to save face for Bush and his cronies.

The honorable thing to do his bring our troops home to defend American, not occupy a country and engage in reckless nation building

Mr. Huckabee says we should not lose our honor? It is too late for that sir. We lost our honor the moment we blindly followed a neoconservative idealouge into a disasterous and unnecessary conflict.

It will not work to simply rehash the Vietnam phrase, "if we don't fight them there, we'll be fighting them here."

The truth of the matter is, we haven't been attacked because a few months after 911 Bush pulled out of his only strategic and legit base in the middle east, in Saudi Arabia, which is what got Bin Laden fired up to begin with.

The bottom line is, people will die if we stay, they'll die if we leave, they've been dying for thousands of years in the middle east. We cannot play mother superior to the world. We should not also blindly and stupidly abandon them either, and no candidate is talking about that with perhaps the exception of Bill Richardson who doesn't have clue number one.

Obama and Clinton and Paul all in have said that withdrawing forces should be done gradually and in an orderly fashion that maintains order.

If we're worried about the influence of Iran, waaayy too late. Our presence in Iraq has made Iran a power player in the region and whether we go or stay that won't change.

It is a crime, a travesty to simply pin the Iraq war to the war on terror. Al Queda is there because we are there. They would not be tolerated otherwise.

For the last time, Saddam didn't have nukes, he didn't support Al Queda, he was a secularist, and the entire middle east stands a much greater chance of collapse the longer we pursue greedy oil laws in Iraq that will give away 80 percent of Iraq's oil to Chevron and BP in the lame hopes that it will break OPEC and make a few rich white guys even richer.

The Iraqis wont give up their oil without a fight, and the neocons won't give up Iraq without a signed oil law.

That is the absolute bottom line of what it all comes down to, and Ron Paul is right to call a spade a spade when he sees one.

At least if he was the Repub candidate, Obama would have someone interesting to debate and it might be a contest worth watching.

Of course, to Ron Paul, ending the Iraq war is an end all be all of his campaign, for Obama, ending the Iraq war is simply the beginning of a bold agenda he's setting for the country that actually just might drag us out of the greedy, morally ambiguous, downright partisan nasty decade we've just endured.

It inspires me to see Obama and Paul actually talking about the issues, and it astounds me at just how far out of touch every other Republican candidate actually is. I mean, they're literally dinosaurs trapped in their own fossil fuel mud, propped up by their trophy wives just long enough to ignite the good ol' boy cigars that they only hope will finally do the world a favor and blow us all up.

But luckily it ain't gonna happen, because Barack Obama has such a groundswell, so much of a grass roots head start on these other dinosaurs, he will be unbeatable by the time they give him the nod.

Obama 08

RAUL REVOLUTION!!
WINNING THE WAR ON TERROR= STOPPING TERRORIST ATTACKS

Formula= Stop dependence on oil+stop the Israeli Lobby= No need to meddle in middle eastern affairs= no reason for them to hate us and no more terrorist attacks

Who's honor? The honor of the American people? I think not! The American people do not support this war! Huckabee said, plain as day, that we should bankrupt the nation and put U.S. servicemen in danger so the Republican party can save face.

Ron Paul just made more sense. Too bad, Fox News made him to be an idiot (adding laughs before he speaks) and wording questions to make him look bad before he can elaborate on a statement.

I used to like Huckabee, though I prefer Ron Paul. - But Huckabee lost all my goodwill because of this exchange. Huckabee just kept saying "honor" "Honor" "HONOR!" (Three times in one sentence… Four times in all.!)
That's just playing to the emotions of the crowd. That's not the words of a statesman. I'm very disappointed in Huckabee.

Ron Paul is the only one who makes any sense. 70% of the American people want us to leave Iraq. It is the politicians duties to represent the PEOPLE. I also enjoy how Dr. Paul wants to directly interpret the Constitution (you know, the thing that we base our entire country on), instead of trying to spin his own ideas off it. God Bless Ron Paul, give me liberty and get the Federal Goverment out of my business!

I don't believe Huckabee got the last word… Ron Paul did…

What Mike Huckabee and the rest of the candidates don't seem to understand is that Paul wants to change a foreign policy that has failed and put us in a seemingly inescapable quagmire. Huckabee's pathos-oriented rhetoric of "honor" can only go so far if the current policy is fatally flawed. Congressman Paul is the only candidate who truly understands this.

It's pretty sad when a Presidential candidate would actually place saving some nonexistent, long-lost "honor" over saving American lives.
The Republican candidates who support this war are the lunatics. Ron Paul is the only sane man in the bunch, and the only Republican with a prayer of winning this election.

I am told that a standard refrain in rehab units is to make the point that one characteristic of craziness is continuing to do the same thing but expecting different results. The current Bush policy has absolutely nothing to do with national honor or the honor of those who have served in Iraq. It is hubris, not honor directing the administration. How better to honor the troops than to preserve their lives against a war that is a mistake. As Americans and Iraqis die needlessly, the terrorists are regaining Afghanistan and using anti-American sentiment generated by the war to recruit more terrorists. It is way past time to acknowledge the abject failure of the neo-con agenda and to proceed against ideological extremism in a manner consistent with and in honor of our fundamental American values Neo-con extremism is a symptom of the same human disease that is also producing Islamic extremism. America is more directly at risk from our homegrown extremists than we will ever be from Islamic ideologues.

Ooh looks like the Communist News Network just committed another one of those dirty little sins of omission. As the final word in the exchange by Congressman Paul was left out. But you can see it all on You Tube!

I love my country. I love our military. I love our ethnic and cultural diversity because it's what America is all about. I can only support a candidate that understands all of these ideals- Ron Paul.

We all can see the common sense coming from Ron Paul; I just don't see it in the indecisiveness of the other candidates. Ron Paul stands by the Constitution!

Ron Paul came close to admitting that the country was lied to by Bush and his adminstration to get us into this war. Mr. Huckabee where's the honor in that? Mr. Huckabee you are asking more American to die just you can save face, where is the honor in that? You say you want to leave whether we should have gone into Iraq, up to the historians, but I'm willing to bet that if it was a democratic President instead of a republican President you would be in the forefront blaming the democratic President not waiting to leave the discussion to the historians.

Honor, I think it's time we learn to swallow our pride and stop sending our youth to die for baby boomer honor. This is nuts!!

Ron Paul is becoming unhinged. His comments during this most recent debate show me that he is unfit to lead this nation. Huckabee on the other hand might make a good vice-president for President Fred Thompson.

Ron Paul has pointed out that this war should have been declared by congress, which is the only lawful way to go to war, authorized by the constitution. Now, there were other candidates who finally began using Paul's language about their oath to uphold the constitution, witch Paul has reminded us all of repeatedly. Why didn't Chris Wallace bring that up or question the other candidates about that fact rather than erroneously trying to accuse Paul of taking our marching orders from Al-Qaida? Paul responded perfectly, "NO" he said " We should take our marching orders from the costituion"! Did we declare it constitutionally? Please, other candidates, answer this. Ron Paul is steering the debates. Huck, we should stand together as one nation, remember 70% of the American people want a change. More troops gave to Ron Paul's campaign than any other candidate. Next time lets declare the war the way we are supposed to and get a mandate from the people. Lets all stand together as Americans, no matter what your party, or which candidat