He is clearly the BEST canidate to fix the country. This is the type of diplomacy we need to fix the country. I wished he was President during 911. We would have defeated Osama and destroyed ALQUEDA a long time ago. And the middle east would still be stable. Pakistan would still be a true democracy instead of a new dictatorship.
We would not be stuck in a endless war wasting trillions of dollars. The war on terror would have been won several years ago with the nation pride at a all time high. The American military family and military would be very strong and proud. Now we have a military and it families at a breacking point. Many familes have already broken and disolved. The military is on the verge of breaking. And a few more years of this pointless war. The draft will have to be used to keep the war going.

If i was a very rich person i would be giving him millions to run for president. What happen to the American pride we had in 911?????????Now it been replaced by hate and failures of the WHITEHOUSE being GREEDY.

Clinton==STATUS QUO
OBAMA==GODD CHANGE
EDWARDS==GOOD CHANGE
BIDEN==BEST CHANGE

Only one question:
What did he (biden) actually do on 9/11?

was this IDIOT a senator on Sept 11?? well WHY DIDNT HE PROPOSE HIS IDEA THEN?? answer: he's only 20/20 in hindsight like the rest of us. Oh and in case you didnt notice, WE DONT NEED THE REST OF THE WORLD AND THEY DONT NEED US; WE ARE OUR OWN NATION YOU LIBERAL ONE-WORLD LOSERRRRRRR

OK. With our stock market closed, our air traffic system in limbo, our largest city in total disruption, not knowing if more attacks might be imminent in any of our other major cities, HE WOULD CALL A MEETING IN SWITZERLAND?

No, Mr. Biden. Even your 20-20 hindsight is bad.

Even as a monday morning quarterback years later, Biden is a loser. I suppose that he would have suggested inviting Bin Laden to the summit meeting. Maybe they would have forced him to cut up his credit cards or somethiing harsh. It's a good thing Biden wasn't pres on 9/11 or we would still be trying to figure out what to do with the Taliban.

Mr biden would have called for a meeting ? to discuss the end of Islamic fundamentalism ? Wouldn't that be profiling ? What nation in the world would show up with any faith or confidence in what a nation who was just attacked in such a horrible way and did nothing about it but call a meeting ? what keeps smaller nations our allies and loyal friends ? Mr Biden is even more wrong in how history will judge this sitting president and his reactions after the trade center bombings, president bush reacted the only way we americans would of tolerated ! As for Afganistan and Iraq the outcome of this event in history has not been written yet, nor is it even remotely a forgone conclusion. This angle is not working for you MR Biden , try something original or at least out of the Liberal handbook PLEASE

I took you 6 years to come up with that?

If Biden would have been President we would all be speaking Arabic and the women would be wearing burqas. His first response would be to go to Switzerland for help - how poetic!

That's my man! GO JOE 08!!!!!!!

Oh, so you would have asked other countries to make decisions about our national security? Wow. You really can't make these things up. The dems always whine about how they shouldn't be labeled as "weak on terrorism." Well, Senator Biden, thanks for proving to us that is your perfect characterization. I'm no fan of the dems, but if I were the others running for that nomination, I would come up with a quick statement saying this is not the position of myself or the larger party. This statement could spell major problems for them if it's generalized to the party as a whole.

To all the folks criticizing Biden for Monday-morning quarterbacking, one thing is for sure: Had he been president on 9/11, and when notified of the attacks, I seriously doubt he would have gone on to read a book to children as if nothing had happened. And if he had eventually gone to war, I'm pretty certain he's smart enough that he would have had a plan in place to win the peace.

To all the folks criticizing Biden for Monday-morning quarterbacking, one thing is for sure: Had he been president on 9/11, and when notified of the attacks, I seriously doubt he would have gone on to read a book to children as if nothing had happened. And if he had eventually gone to war, I'm pretty certain he's smart enough that he would have had a plan in place to win the peace.

Posted By Barry, Raleigh, NC : November 11, 2007 8:34 am

I would also like to add that he would have listened to top national security leaders in our own country that warned Bush about going to war in Iraq, that it would be unwinnable and that there was no connection to 911 there, or any WMD. He would not have pushed a PNAC agenda to try to gain control of the world's oil by going to war with Iraq. He would not have taken his eye so quickly off of Afghanistan, where the real terrorists were, to go to an unnecessary/illegal war in Iraq. He would not have manipulated public opinion and fear to further his neocon agenda.

What on earth has President Bush done to secure our nation since 911? He wanted to sell our harbor security to a middle eastern country to make the oil connection there as well. It wasn't until he heard how upset the American people were at that thought that he decided not to do so.

Anyone other than Bush and Cheney would have lead our country in a much better direction. All of you neocon brainwashed Republicans still supporting this administration are in for a huge awakening. Bush is driving our country right into the ground. OUr dollar has fallen to new lows, gas prices are at new highs and still going up, the housing market has stopped, banks are hesitant to loan money and this is furthering the slow down of our economy, the stock market is very fragile, etc. You don't think we need the rest of the world? I beg to differ, we are owned by China, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. We are not the most powerful country anymore (in large part thanks to the PNAC Bush agenda). Everyone needs friends, or they end up alone. If we only choose Israel as our friend, it will be the end of the USA as we know it. We are slowly becoming a third world nation that focuses on corporate interests only. This will be the legacy left behind by this very corrupt administration currently in office. Hillary would be no different. Biden makes quite a bit of sense and Obama would be the only other candidate I would consider. All Republican candidates make me feel like we will bomb the entire world to try to prove how "macho" we are.

Bush has been responsible for more deaths than Bin Laden. 911 caused the deaths of 3000+ people. If you take into consideration the Iraqi people killed alongside our brave soldiers, Bush and company has killed many many more than those who died in 911.

I don't care for being grouped into someone that thought everyone was for war in Iraq. I never supported it, felt it was a huge mistake, saw through the lies being presented to us, knew how difficult it would be to gain control in such a divided region. Cheney even knew it ahead of time. We are not all blind sheep lead by fear. Had we not gone to war in Iraq, our country would be so much farther than where we are now in so many areas…education…economy….trust…pride….infrastructure…etc.

It will be a wonderful day when we have this all behind us.

Joe would make a fine president. If only we could limit the vote to people with IQ's over 140,it would be possible. His intellect is not getting to the people and he he keeps getting called "verbose" for trying. Why can't we use IQ tests for eligibility? We'd never have to worry about a Bush again.

Joe Biden says he'd call "a meeting to jointly plan the demise of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism" and asks "What nation in the world would not have shown up?"

Answer: Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, etc., and every country who didn't want to be caught siding with the infidels. In other words, most. Besides, we already have the UN and I thought Democrats were a fan of the UN?

America has already been working with other governments to track down the terrorists. It is terrorists we are after, not "Islamic fundamentalism" Joe. Muslims can be as fundamental as they want as long as they don't break the laws. His poor choice of words would only enhance our image as Crusaders.

This is just more meaningless rhetoric from our candidates.

I suppose he would have stopped by the UN to beg permission to have this meeting?

Monday morning quarterback.

Calling for a convention of nations would have been a great idea. However, I think that we were on the right track in Afghanistan in October 2001, so it probably would have been best to invade Afghanistan as a show of force and retaliation, and then convene the nations. This is not to intimidate anyone, but to let them know that we mean business.

". Oh and in case you didnt notice, WE DONT NEED THE REST OF THE WORLD AND THEY DONT NEED US; WE ARE OUR OWN NATION YOU LIBERAL ONE-WORLD LOSERRRRRRR"

Where have YOU BEEN genius??? The country has been sold out, and beholden by global enonomies LONG AGO..
Why don't you stop driving your 8MPG 10000 pickup while your'e at it too..we don't nead mid-east OIL…Your post is 100% uninformed and REFUTABLE…I'm a CONSERVATIVE, and take great offense to the many postings I have seen - similar to yours - that give us a bad name…..
You complain about a ONE WORLD dynamic…it is all your ultra-rich friends who are to blame for this….

"If Biden would have been President we would all be speaking Arabic and the women would be wearing burqas."

And the winner of dumbest post of the day is…

AND HERE BY POPULAR DEMAND BECAUSE WE CARE JOE:

I could while away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head, I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.

I'd unravel ev'ry riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain

With the thoughts you'd be thinkin'
You could be another Lincoln,
If you only had a brain.

Typical shallow governmentalistic reaction… just call a meeting, and that will solve everything. Call a meeting, and we wouldn't be in the mess we are now. Yeah, if it were only that easy.

Sounds like Senator Biden is plagarising again.

This time his source is Hillary - It takes a (global) village to win a war.

It would be funny if it were not so sad.

I really feel a need to advocate for Joe– I grew up in Delaware 5 miles from his home. Shortly after he became a senator in the early 70s, his wife was killed in a terrible car accident when she pulled in front of a tractor-trailer at an intersection. His two young boys were in the backseat, but survived. Joe really took care of those kids, and showed real courage and fortitude.

I haven't always agreed with Joe about everything, but there's no perfect match when you're choosing a politician to represebt you. He has unmatched foreign policy instincts and experience. And his eye is truly always on the working middle class. Plus, with over 30 years as a very successful senator, he really knows howe to move an agenda through Congress. I strongly encourage everyone to take your eyes off the "rock stars" for a moment and give Joe a fresh look.

BIDEN 08

Dear Sir, I think you have to talk about the present and future. You were not the elected president during 9/11 so your job (like mine) is to support our elected president during such times. In any case, you have no chance to become the president so it is better for you to wind up your campaign. You need to copy statements from others and show as if they are your own. No way, my friend… No chance for you. Just go away…

The world after 9-11 was in shock, the nations of the world were solidly behind our nation, including many nations that had been enemy states for years. Even Libya and Iraq condemed the attacks on the twin towers, not that you will find many that remmber that. We had world concensus all they were waiting for was leadership from the United States to unite them. That leadership was weak and nonexistant. While the rest of the world waited, we started down the right path but soon found our selves side tracked.

As the world went,we had the world going into Afganistan, it were the actions over and above Afganistan that lost us world concensus. It is something that we lost and shall not recover.

I remmber 9-11 quit well, and I call the moment the President was told in the classroom of the events. To me at the time he reminded me of a deer in the headlights of a car. His first reaction was to get back to Washington before anyone even knew what was going on. Fortuentely, his military advisers and calmer heads realised that his place was not in Washington but in a secure location until it could be sorted out.

Had he limited his response to Afganistan, completed the mission there to include the capture or killing of bin Laden we would today be in a solid leadership role within the world. Rather in typical cowboy mentality we have yet to finish ant thing that was started. Our resources are spread thin about the world. What military victories that have been handed to him on a platter have not been followed through with sound diplomatic measures to capitalize and secure those victories.

I am tired of the shot first ask questions later of this administration. Jimmy Carter is belittled for not going to war with Iran when the students seized our embassy. The question we must ask is what purpose would it have serviced would we have saved the personnel, did Iran represent a danger to the United States, would the cost have been justified. Well, I was sitting on the tarmac while aircraft were being loaded the day after the embassy was seized, thank fully calmmer heads prevailed and those forces while airborne were recalled, no mission was ever actually announced.

Unfortunetly, Monday morning quarterbacking does nothing for us as a nation, expecially if we refuse to learn from past events.

Now in reality, no canidate out there can acheive a 100% withdrawl of the military forces contained in Iraq in 9 months as some of the canidates have blindly stated. That is unrealistic bluster that is immature and demonstrates a total misunderstanding of what is now at stake to the region.

The soundest plan offered to date, calls for the withdrawal of military forces, leaving in place those that are required to secure our bases, and provide training and support to the Iraqi military forces and security police. Iraq is no longer a military mission for the United States, the militay operation consisted with the defeat of the Iraqi military and the disposal of Saddam. After that it became a diplomatic matter with military support.

In other words the military has given this administration it's victory. It is now time for this adminstration to acknowledge that the remaining missions that have yet to be accomplished in Iraq and those missions that have achieved such absolute failure are diplomatic missions not military missions. The Iraqi situation today must be won with diplomactic efforts, not military actions. Today the proper role of the military in Iraq is in the support role of the diplomatic mission, not the other way around.

Oh, fellow Americans, you have not let me down. I knew you were still little babies who can't handle the hard truths we MUST face. You're just not used to a politician like Joe Biden. HE is a uniter. He is honest. He has something many of us lack-Integrity.

Look in the mirror America. Look at how cheating in schools has risen to an all time high, even by good kids. Look at how disdainfully almost all politicians and Corporations ™ look at you-and laugh on the way to the bank. Look at how you cheat on your taxes and laugh.

We can't handle the truth. And that is why this country has been heading down the toilet. Instead of the "We're all in this together" mentality which made this country great, we've warped into a nation of "Everyman for himself".

We vote without looking into candidates backgrounds. We don't go to the primaries, instead voting in the general elections for who was chosen for us. "Oh dear god, I don't want my friends to know I voted for someone who lost!" We vote, not for candidates who most reflect our values and beliefs, but for who is "electable" according to most of the Press(tm). Then complain that they follow their own agenda instead of your own.

Doing the right thing isn't always easy. But the one candidate with verifiable integrity, with the openness to talk about the difficult issues, with the guts to tell us when we (the people) are part of the problem, with the phrase "United we stand, Divided we fall" etched upon his soul, with the intelligence to select people for positions because they are qualified and not because they're buddies, we dismiss them.

You know what, America? You don't deserve Joe Biden.

What would have come actually come out of a meeting in Switzerland, post 9-11, had Biden been president? I can see it now– America would agree to committ 95% of the troops, while the other nations (with the exception of Britain)would play a "supportive" role, just like what happened in Afghanistan. Either that, or they nations would be proposing more of the same "let's try to understand the terrorists' feelings" BS.

Hey, Ed, a little conceited, are we? Your idea isn't as good as it sounds– serial killers are known to be of unusually high intelligence. Ever heard of Ted Kaczynski (aka Unambomber)?

What this country needs ia a candidate who can bring this country back together. Red State, Blue state is getting us nowhere and nothing is getting done. Biden is the only candidate who has the track record of bringing both parties together and the leadership to get things done. America also need a candidate with strong foreign policy experience, which Biden also has. I think if Clinton wins she won't be able to bring this country back together, the Republican party hates her and I can't see them working with her to get things done.

And if Joe Biden had been president on December 7th, the permanent world symposium on Japanese Agression would still be meeting……

Charlie Brown would be a better President than Bush. Snoopy would be better than Chaney. They have ruined this country and the Republican Party is going to be broomed in 2008. Denial runs deep for many in this country…about 31% in Red States.

I agree, Alan from St. Louis. We desperately need someone in the White House who understands foreign policy and can clean up the despicable mess that Bush/Cheney created. In this supposed democracy of ours, why is it that only those raising millions of dollars can get their voices heard? All we ever hear in the mainstream media is about the "top three" candidates (i.e., biggest fundraisers). We have got to get all of this money out of the system so that other voices can be heard, the electorate can be properly informed, and intelligent votes can be cast.

He wants to "… plan the demise of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism." Huh? As mentioned above, it's not Islam but terrorism that's the problem. What if Muslims, or Jews or Buddhists worldwide said they want to "plan the demise of Christian fundamentalism?" Biden and others would be up in arms. Such gross misunderstanding and knee-jerk thinking will surely get us into more trouble.

Former Officer US Army, Kansas ~ I thank you for your service and I completely agree with you but unfortunately I don't have the discipline to be as respectful as you are. I guess that's one of the differences between those who have served and civilians who haven't.

I'll put it another way. We pi$$ed away our chance to avenge the Americans we lost on 9/11, pi$$ed away global support and most importantly, pi$$ed away our greatest chance of actually hampering the progress of world terrorism.

Now where are we? We've lost more American lives than on 9/11, we are hated in the middle-east more than ever, we have to support a dictator with nukes in Pakistan, bin Laden gives us the middle finger whenever he wants, al Qaeda and the Taliban are regaining strength in Afghanistan, solid allies are not so solid anymore and we are jeopardizing our children's economic future because of Iraq.

So people, sometimes talking before you act isn't really such a bad idea and it doesn't make you weak either.

Let me tell you a story…

I have this cute little puppy. And whenever I go into the kitchen and open the refrigerator, no matter where in the house my puppy is or what he is doing, he will run as fast as his little puppy legs will carry him, skidding around corners on the hardwood floors, to get to the kitchen. He doesn't stop to think if he is hungry, or if he is enjoying what he is doing more — his brain only can process one thought: "Must….eat……"

I've got to say, I find a lot of similarities between my puppy and the Conservatives on these boards. Did you even bother to consider what Biden had to say? Or did your brain automatically go to: "Democrat…..must trash……"

We can squabble all day over whether the idea of a meeting would have been the best one, or whether Switzerland would have been the best place to go, or whether some nations would have chosen to sit it out. Those things really aren't the point. The POINT Sen. Biden was making, for those of you who didn't bother to consider it, was that he would have immediately realized that Radical Islamic Fundamentalism is a global problem, and therefore requires a global solution. What happened on 9/11 was tragic to be sure, but the reality is these sorts of things have been happening for years — we just didn't care because they weren't happening to us. And what happened when it DID? The WORLD rallied around us, sharing in our grief in a way that we never bothered to share in theirs.

Radical Islamic Fundamentalism is just one of many huge problems facing our world — and the sooner we make an effort to solve them together, the better.

If there had been a different administration on 9/11, perhaps FBI supervisor SSA David Fracas among others would not have prevented FBI agents from investigating the binLaden family, sharing information with other FBI agents about flight school students, blocking the search of the "20th hijacker's" laptop. Since 9/11 Mr. Fracas has been promoted.

INSIDE JOB.

BUSH dropped the ball and allowed 9 11 on his watch. And you people re-elected him. You are a scary scary nation.

Meeting other world leaders is always a wimpy, loser thing to do. We are not ONE WORLD, we are ONE COUNTRY AGAINST ALL THE OTHERS. A meeting? Why? To let it be known that we are weak, docile, helpless liberals?
It's always a mistake to meet with anyone who is not one of the Red, White and Blue! Especially before making such key decisions as rooting out WMD and terrorists and establishing our superior weapon-skill and ideology. My biggest complaint about Bush is that he didn't go to war with Iraq sooner! DIPLOMACY/strategy/INFORMED DECISIONS are for liberals/losers!

"…we can begin to jointly plan the demise of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism."

Its this kind of thinking that messing up this planet. Religion and protecting our current Zeitgeist is at the bottom of junk that our masters are feeding us. Money is the new Religion. Education and Dialogue are the only ways to find peace.

I think he's right that Bush will be judged harshly, and rightly so in my opinion. However, how can he say what he would have done on 9-11-2001? He wouldn't have had six years to figure it out. That's a dumb thing for him to say.

The other thing is that the U.S. did have the support of the rest of the world on that day and all the days thereafter until Bush squandered it all.

Ed
If we used IQ tests to certify voters - then the DNC would be unable to garner even one vote. I laugh each time I read your partisan posts and say "its not possible he believes this baseless rhetoric" - but….I have come to believe that you would be unable to cast a vote using your "IQ testing" methodology.

Plan the demise of a religious people that you and the elite have rigged as scapegoats to your problems.

Biden on the day after Sunday: "Now, if I had been quarterback yesterday, I'd have… blah blah blah."

Joe, buddy, the day the President of the United States feels compelled to first consult the League of Thugs and Dictators at the UN, or ANY foreign body, and ask for a "hall pass" in order to defend this great nation, is the day you can stick a fork in this nation, because we will truly be "done."

Someone wrote:
"And if he (Biden) had eventually gone to war, I'm pretty certain he's smart enough that he would have had a plan in place to win the peace."

Yes, and that plan would be to smash and slaughter everyone and everything in sight. As has always been the case in winning a war.

You need to stand a little closer to your history books, bub.

Five thousand years of recorded human history have shown that peace can never be "won" nor "negotiated." It must be begged for by the loser.

In fact, what we consider "peace" has ONLY ever existed after terrible periods of military engagement. Like it or not, peace is not the natural state of affairs in the world, and never has been.

The best thing we can be is prepared to smash aggressors with "great vengeance and furious anger" (to quote Tarantino, S.L. Jackson and ultimately the King James Book).

What a stupid, Monday quarterback statement.

Well, it looks like Joe is getting closer to hitting the mark than a majority of others. He’s using Islamic fundamentalism versus terrorism.

It still amazes me that there are so many who say that we are fighting terrorism. I didn’t realize you could declare war on a tactic. Terrorism is a tactic just like carpet bombing or Blitzkrieg. I thought we fought Nazi Fascism during WW II not Nazi Blitzkrieg.

As for the term fundamentalism, we didn’t fight Nazi fundamentalism either. Anybody can be a fundamentalist, it doesn’t make them evil; weird or strange maybe, but not necessarily evil. I’m sure anyone can find plenty of politicians who can be consider a fundamentalist.

I keep waiting for the day that some politician has the guts to say we are fighting Islamic Fascism. No one in the current administration has the guts to say it, nor does it appear that any of the current Presidential candidates do either.

I wish Biden would tell us some of his high points in leading the nation. He's just a tax-and-spend Democrat with no track record of fiscal responsibility or leading-by-conviction leadership. How boring for someone without any successes to point to , getting up there and blabbering on about how he would have done things differently.

I've got to say, I find a lot of similarities between my puppy and the Conservatives on these boards. Did you even bother to consider what Biden had to say? Or did your brain automatically go to: "Democrat…..must trash……"

Posted By Steven in Charleston

—-

Steven, I like your puppy analogy. On this story about Biden you have 44 comments some supporting Joe, many not.

CNN posted an article about President Bush's father sharing how it's very difficult hearing the media, Congress, etc hammering his son.

549 Comments - 95% hate-filled attacks against President Bush.

If Republicans were the little puppy that comes running at the sound of the refrigerator, Democrats would be the rabid mouth-foaming dogs whose leash is entangled with the refrigerator.

Can you SEE it? Or are do you wear partisan blinders?

It is quite obvious that all the losers that are criticizing Biden for "Monday morning quarterbacking" are doing so in a concerted, organized effort. These are right-wingers with an agenda that use the internet as one of their means to get out their smears. Notice the very similar themes in all their criticisms. Hmmm, do you think the talking point of the day was to accuse him of "Monday morning quarterbacking," or do all these idiots coincidentally have the same simple-minded ideas?

As for countering this pathetic MMQ'backing talking point: There's nothing wrong with someone stating what they would have done at critical moments in the past. Of course, you can't only talk about the past, you have to talk about the present and future as well. But, anyone who doesn't acknowledge the past and try to explain how/what they would have done in a given situation is not giving you the full picture of how they would be president.

Excellent exchange between Steven and Terry…

it's true, libs waaaaay outnumber conservatives on the blog. I think most liberals go into attack against Romney's religion and ALL conservative candidates much more frequently than conservatives against Democratic candidates. Even Bush 41's parachute jump mad people angry and reactive. Chill out man, it's just a parachute jump.

Biden commented further saying, "And had I been alive then, and had I also been a luxury cruise ship designer at the time they were designing the Titanic, I would have said, 'Hey, you guys should build these walls all the way to the top in case the hull is scraped open by a large ice burg when skimming REALLY fast across the North Atlantic. Oh, you might want to consider adding some more life boats, too…"

Terri,

Thanks for your concern, but I can see just fine.

The comparison you are making is between the actual performance of a sitting President and someone who is simply trying to present some new ideas. To suggest that it is fair to subject both of them to the same level of vitriol is unreasonable. President Bush is responsible for the death of thousands of U.S. soldiers, tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens, the mortgaging of our children's and grandchildren's future, the loss of respect for our nation throughout the world, and many of our civil liberties. He is deserving of every bit of criticism he receives — and lest you are tempted to forget, much of that criticism is coming from your fellow Republicans. Senator Biden, along with many of the other candidates — Democrats and Republicans alike — are simply presenting their thoughts and ideas of alternative approaches. Should we subject those ideas to vibrant debate? Absolutely? Should we hurl schoolyard insults at the candidates and reject their ideas simply because of their party affiliation? Absolutely not.

Eric, from THE Republic of Texas,

"Begged for by the loser" …

Yep! That fits.

Did your reflection type that?

What?! and give the Taliban 4 days to go into hiding and devise a plan. Let's consult everyone first though right? WRONG. Send out our clandestine warriors and go hunting for those Taliban bastards. The NCS and SOCOM was slingshot over there as soon as we knew who did it. I thank President Bush for his quick response to these acts of terror. May god bless america and may god doom those who want us dead.

"Had we not gone to war in Iraq, our country would be so much farther than where we are now in so many areas…education…economy….trust…pride….infrastructure…etc."

*************

Many would disagree with you just based on what little was done in the 90's, even with the "peace dividend". Besides a healthy stock market, what was accomplished?

Health care reform? NO.
Trust? Absolutely NOT!!!
Pride? Are you Kidding?
Infrastruction Improvemments? NO.
Immigration reform (despite the recommmendations of the Jordona Commission)? NO.
Education reform? NO.
Intelligence reform? NO.
Address a growing Al Qaeda? NO!!!!!!