I agree that the Iraq war is partly responsible for America's economic slump. But not entirely - our Administration just has not shown concern for what is happening to the people and he is just using "bandaids" to try and correct the economy.

Tell me something we don't already know. Most people and all politicans should have realized the amount of money and resources that would be needed to go to war. After carefully thinking things through, they should have voted against it. Many Hillary supporters will say Obama didn't have to vote on the issue so his speech doesn't count. I would beg to differ with that. At least, he spoke against whether or not the war should have been started!!!!!!!!!

Let the Iraqi people help pay their own way. If they wouldn't keep blowing up what we fix, then the country would have been cleaned up a long time ago. We keep poring money in and they keep destroying it. It's like if you give a child a car , he doesn't appreciate it unless he has to pay for it.

What amazes me is that only 7 out of 10 Americans feel this way. Are the other 30% living in a box?

We also think that Obama lied again during his speech yesterday about not being at Church when his Pastor made racial comments.

Obama is a Liar and cant be trusted. WAKE UP AMERICA!!

wow, 28% of Americans can't do simple math.

Oh come on. Let's cut education spending, welfare and medicare. If we give the rich tax breaks and rebuild Iraq so more oil can be sold the economy will solve itself!

Duhhh! So how much time and money did you spend for that poll? You could have just asked a dozen or two shoppers exiting Walmart and got the smae answer.

If 71% think the war hurts our economy, that means 29% are too stupid to even offer opinions.
Actually a much smaller percent than I would have thought.

Perhaps so…

But the enormous defense industry manafucturing and contractng to support the rebuilding, equipping, and re-arming of our forces and Iraq forces–will end once the war is over.

If you think it's bad now……wait until the bottom drops out of the defense industries…..

The money needs to be spent in the US where it is neeed, and not in a war that never should have been started. But what can you expect
from a Bush? None of them have any sense at all. His farther showed us that when he was president.

da my 5 years old daugher knows that.

Republicans hurt the economy. Iraq is another item on the "litany of complaints" Let's say between Nov 5th and Dec 20th 2008 we impeach Bush and Cheney and give the world a nice Christmas present.

Proof positive that 3/4 of Americans are clueless idiots.

100% of the Iraq war has gone directly onto the national debt while the spending for it, to the tune of 500B, could have only helped our economy. In fact, Iraq had the fastest growing economy in the world last year, and ours wasn't too far behind in the rankings.

No, it's our grandchildren that will have to pay for the Iraq war, just like we paid for WWII/Korea/Vietnam. Do you remember the pain of paying those off??

Duh. And it is George Bush who has been lying to and misleading the American people since this Iraq debacle began in March 2003. He has been playing the fear card since he took office. Here is a man who told us all the mission in Iraq has been accomplished (on his staged landing on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln), that democracy is well established in Iraq. This Mr. Bush is also oblivious the the price of gasoline. The U.S. economy is in a state of crisis because all of the money that should be spent in the United States on infrastructure and health care and education, etc. is being sent to Iraq.
The Congress shouldn't give Bush another nickel for Iraq and our troops should be withdrawn.

SPEND THE MONEY WHERE IT IS NEEDED. THE USA.

What is wrong with the ecomony is not necessarily the spending that is going into the war, but the fact that the money that is going into the war does not exist. An individual or buissness that would spend money on an activity like the Bush administration has spent on the war would be called bankrupt.

I'm glad peopel are finally talking about this. Maybe this country would be in better shape if we weren't dumping trillions od dollars into a war most of the country doesn't believe in!

7 out of 10 Americans will also vote to get McCain elected in the fall. We're getting just what we've been asking for since this retard was first elected. Whatever!!!

How could financial mismanagement to the tune of over 9 trillion dollars possibly impact our economy?

When a man gets himself deeper into debt than his annual salary, it doesn't impact his financial well-being, does it?

That's why we have debt, right? So we can keep spending without consequence?

/sarcasm

The Iraq war has taken trillions of dollars out of the US economy. The Republicans have saddled us with a $10 trillion deficit, increased the national budget from $2 trillion in '02 to more than $3 trillion in '08, and sent our economy into the toilet. Of course this boondoggle is hurting the economy, but nowhere as much as the Republicans have with their cronyism, corruption, record number of earmarks, spending spree and ineptitude. It's time for them to go.

Wow! Only 71%, huh? And we wonder why this election can't get past friends, ex-lovers, former pastors, pictures, flag pins, shamrock scarves, etc. Please, America…WAKE UP!

Well yes spending 12 billion every month that we don't have would hurt our economy.

Amazing. 32% still support the war. 32% that go to church every Sunday to atone for their sins. I guess that makes war alright.

The 28% have their head buried in the sand.

The ignorant and wrongly educated liberals make up 71% of America?? God help us..

With the money spent on Iraq, we could have shored up Social Security for years to come. We could have repaired or replaced much of our infrastructure. We could be closer to a cure for cancer or AIDS. We could have built schools and paid for college educations. There are so many constructive things that could have benefited this country and helped our economy.
Instead, approximately 4000 young people have lost their lives, we have actually exacerbated the schism between Islam and Judeo-Christians and we have lost our standing on the world stage.
It did more than just hurt our economy.

looks like they are laughing at the tax payers for funding it.

Of course it hurts the economy. That should not be a surprise to anyone. We are spending far more than we take in. The value of the dollar reflects this ad has plummneted around the world. We can not keep this ups as a Nation. Please remember what happen to the USSR. They spent 10 years fighting in Afghanistan. They had a weak economy to beginas a result of that war spending they went broke. As they were doing this spending we were keeping the war alive by supporting the Afghans. Now we are in a situation were Iran as turned those very tables on to the U.S. They (Iranians) are supporting the Iraqies who are helping to create and continue the current stalemate. We keep spending, our dollar keeps getting lower and the Iranians are getting the profits from our high gas prices to help fund or a leat not to try to stop the violenace and insatbility in Iraq. Sounds like a sweet job, if you can get.

WELL HECK YES WE DO!

THE WORST THING IS THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT! EXCEPT THOUSANDS OF DEAD AND WOUNDED PEOPLE!!!!!!

ALSO A WORLD THAT HATES AMERICANS !

AND WE FUNDED IT! OR SHOULD I SAY OUR CHILDREN DID!!!!!!!!

WE NEED SENATOR CLINTON IN THERE ASAP!!!!!!!!

SHE CAN START TO FIX OUR BROKEN COUNTRY!!!!!!!!

WE ARE WITH YOU HILLARY!!!!!!!!!

Strange that 68% of us thought the war was the right thing to do back in 2003.
As new information comes to light most of us have changed our minds. Now with 66% oposing the war it is amazing what hindsite can do for you.
As far as cost? We will be paying for this into the foreseeable future one way or another. To think that the war has nothing to do with 110 dollar oil is about as dumb as measuring inflation "ex food and energy" What a JOKE!
As the American people pony up the bucks and blood it takes to support the "World policeman" mentality, the fat cats get fatter,
The poor man gets poorer and the "new world order" gets closer.
Not to worry though. The arabs love us (ex 17 or so) and will use OPEC to produce a great abundance of oil so the price of oil will go down to at least 100. The Arabs will send troops to kill their brother in Iraq and everything will be just hunkey dory! When pigs fly.

We were lied in to this war. Now forget the lie. We need to help other countries so we go broke. Between Bush and Cheney they have put us down the jonny flusher. You can bet they and their familys wont be going with out for the rest of their lives. They gotten rich you just dont think of that.

Only 71%?!

Look who is the only one laughing. This dude just does not get it!

Well duh! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the war has cost 4000 American lives, 20,000+ wounded, and $500 billion in five short years and that just Iraq. Afganistan drives the costs up higher.

And McCain wants to keep us ther 100 more years? Hillary and McCain both voted for this Bush disaster. How many years back did Bush declare "Mission Accomplished" in his photo-op on the aircraft carrier deck in his "play like" military uniform posing as a real military pilot? Supoort our troops by ending the war and bring the troops home.

Obama 08

We have spent $624 Billion has of last Monday. That is a lot of cheese!

71% THINK??? It should be 100% KNOW!!
I have no doubt that the war is hurting the economy and could not understand why so many pundits kept saying the candidates need to stop talking about the war and address the economy. One discussion cannot exist without the other.

Read it again folks…

"71 percent said they think U.S. spending in Iraq is a reason for the nation's poor economy. "

Now think about the fact that we have been in Iraq for 5 years, the very same 5 years that we have also been in the longest economic expansion in history.

Questions??

VOTE FOR SENATOR CLINTON!!!!!!

SHE CAN AND WILL BEAT McCAIN!!!!!!!!!

HILLARY HAS GREAT NUMBERS IN THE POLLS!!!!!!!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!

SHE WILL NOT GIVE UP AS OUR PRESIDENT EITHER!!!!!!

GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!!

I also think the war was a waste. What did it bring to America.
At least 12 Billion dollars a month, I damaged reputation in the world, Saddam removed, Over 4000 soldiers dead the most after Bush declared victory. For the Iraqis More violence and bloodshed than they could imagine, NO Security ,No Healthcare, No Womens rights, Division and all the sins of war. The Iraqis are 1000 times worse off than before this needless invasion. We do have a responsibility to Iraq, However the Iraqi Government needs to finally take responsibility and settle their differences. They have had long enough to show leadership and reconciliation. If there is no pressure on the Iraqi Politicians they will not act, I am behind every plan to withdraw our combat troops. The time for Diplomacy is now

Uhm, at least 71% of American's are using their brains!

Ya think??

GO HILLARY! WE MUST FIND A WAY TO PUT THIS WOMAN IN AS PRESIDENT. SHE IS OUR ONLY HOPE.

In the beginning maybe a war was justified under the circumstances but the big concern is the length and cost. Just last weekend on a major news show, it showed how our money was paying for a zoo in Iraq. That somehow does not seem right when here in the US our schools are hurting, people are hurting and our infrastructure is hurting - all the things people are saying in these blogs. Where does it end?

Seriously, this is not that hard to figure out. We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq. What for? What are your taxes buying? Are we really safer now, than we were in 2001?

I think we've alienated ourselves internationally with the Iraq war, and have made a great many enemies for life with our occupation.

I do not feel safer now than in 2001. Any time you invade and occupy a country, people will fight you.

Meanwhile, New Orleans is still half destroyed, roads are deteriorating, the economy is floundering, schools are failing, we are falling far behind in technology and research, healthcare is unavailable to many and inflation is out of control.

Every dollar comes from somewhere. Every dollar we spend in Iraq is either coming out of your pocket, or is contributing to the high inflation we're experiencing by creating more US government debt. The more debt the US government has, the less it is worth, and the less US government debt is worth, the less each dollar is worth, and the more it costs for an average American to live.

Save America, end the war.

Uh, ya think?

Please! The only people in denial is Bush, Chaney and McCain. Don't you just want to shake them and say, " what is wrong with you."

HILLARY IS A LIER,OBAMA IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WE CAN TRUST

YES WE CAN

RealtyKing reality check:

An expansion that is based on corrupt credit practices you idiot.

McCain wants to keep the war going. Hopefully, the 30% that agrees will be the only ones voting for him.

For more of the same, vote McCain

It hurts alot more than the economy…

4,000 US Soldiers dead

30,000 US Soldiers wounded

100,000+ Iraqi's that died that wouldn't have

Cowards that allow our beloved Constitution to be comprimised in the name of "security" and "torture"

The good name of the United States stained

…just to start

God help america,we dont know who to trust but lets try obama

I am proud of my fellow Americans. At least 70% of us can do the simple math of putting 2 & 2 together. That's more percentage of sensible people in the country than in this administration.

There is HOPE ::))

Now you say it??? while most countries in the world and specially the rich ones invst on their own people through education, arts, music, travel, healthcare, and all we spend our money on war and Bush thinks the war does not affect the economy??

remember, McCain, Bush and Hillary all for the war they are all one and the same……………

War is not the answer………… Hillary and McCain are not the answer
we need change major change

Are these the same people from another poll whom believe we are winning the war in Irag!! Americans are so fickle and uninformed!!

Comment to david:
She is smart, intelligent ,champion of Universal healthcare, 36 years of expierience
and does have solutions.

Question: Did she achieve her stated goals, when she was in the White House as a Senator from New York.
Answer: No
She has had every oppurtunity to achieve these goals for 36 years.

Time for a change and Hillary is also welcome on board.

Obama 08

Now I know what it must have felt like to have lived in the old Soviet Union. Having Bush and Cheney running the government and starting wars whenever they want ( with alot of help from Hillary, by the way).

The higher the national deficit is ($9 trillion now) is the lower the dollar becomes. Since we spent $3 trillion on the war, of course the dollar sinks like a stone. Falling dollar affects the cost of oil per barrel, which in turn causes consumers to spend less, starting the recession. I know this is an overly simplistic scenario. But my point is that we're spending more than we're taking in, causing the deficit to rise and the dollar to sink. Stop the war, pay down some of the national debt, let the dollar rise in value, and come back to gov't surplus; then the recession will stop!

DUH!!!! This war is unbelievably costly on several levels and it could go on for another 10 years. Pull out slowly, let the Iraq's take care of their own!! If they need a little help we can offer it, but lets let these people control their own destiny.

Good. That means the Democrats can succesfully tie the two issues together. If they do, perhaps they'll win by a landslide

Keep laughing, Bush. You've ruined our country. You are the worst American president in history.

Since the military is stretched so thin, W probably thinks that is the 85,000 people who have been put out of work are looking, they would all be welcome to enlist.

Obama is correct you need to not only be ready on day one but also right on day one. Unfortunately he is neither; he wasn’t right on day one when buying his home. He hasn’t been right on day one for over 20 years picking Rev. Wright.

What a hypocrite! I am black and I am switching to vote for Clinton–she deserves it.

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. It is a no brainer.

The war that Hillary Clinton and John McCain supported is costing our country thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Both of them are responsible for allowing this war to happen and the damage that it is doing to our economy.

Let's do the simple math.

Cost of Iraq war: $200 Billion per year = $1 trillion dollars over 5 years(on high side of estimate according to many economists)

US GDP: $13 trillion per year = $65 trillion over 5 years.

Iraq war spending vs. GDP: 1.5% (that's one and a half percent).

Put this into context. In WWII, wartime spending and post-wartime spending was 140% of US GDP. 140%. And we're spending 1.5% on Iraq?

Total defense spending is inching up towards 5%, which is historically very low.

So, 30% of Americans are using their brain. Spending on Iraq is not putting this economy on the ropes. Far from it. Medicare and Social Security are budget busters, not this war. Government as a whole is a drain on the US economy, not this war. Government is the problem, not the solution.

The Government does not provide revenue, it does not produce, it only consumes.

Only 71%! Wow! I would have expected a number like 90 to 99% . This just goes to show how uneducated and informed a good segment of the American population is. As an American you may not know how much a negative impact the Iraq War is having on our economy but you should be able to agree that being engaged in a war for 5 years and counting is bad for the economy.

Hopefully Obama can get back on message about ending the Iraq War (5 year anniversary today) and fixing our economy.

Obama in 08!

Hillary IS NOT our only hope..you folks need to snap out of it. Be objective and check her history, ALL OF IT!! While she has some very strong skills, she IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY!! You guys seem seem to forget she admitted that she didn't even take the time to read the entire report on Iraq BEFORE voting for it. You call that GOOD JUDGEMENT…BEING READY ON DAY ONE..NO what this was a political based vote because she was thinking itthe war would be over by now and the record would be she was strong on nation defense!! Six months ago she said the FLORIDA and MICHIGAN primaries would not count…now she is back out of her word AGAIN, and trying to make them count…She is a POLITICIAN FIRST…we really don't need more of this manipulative behavoir. I was a supporter six months ago..NO MORE.

With Obama running around for well over a year, screaming the sky is falling and telling every American that Iraq war is hurting you. He told them so much, they believed him.

Yeah, if it weren't for the Iraq war, our economy would've been in recession far earlier. Spending money on war means putting money into American soldiers, defense contractors and other contractors who got good deals in Iraq.

90% of our economic downturn is from the credit crisis, housing downturn, mortgage debacle, etc…The rest from increasing fuel/food prices…

Great to see the 'president' getting a good laugh!…Of course the war has hurt our economy!…Bush being appointed in 2000 was just the start of our economic woes…Today isn't even as bad as it's going to get, so brace yourselves…Of course, none of this will touch the Bush regime and hangers on or the 29% of this country (God help us) who believe that the war has nothing to do with the economy,

Outsourcing our National defense to Europe . Instead of keeping Jobs here in America. Our President is clueless. It's embarrissing when he speaks . Instead of sending out a one time check to people try keeping peoples jobs so they ,weekly checks , NOT JUST ONE .

To all Hillary and Obama supporters,
We need to come together regardless of the Nominee. I am an Obama supporter, BUT will STRONGLY support Clinton if she is the nominee. WE CANNOT AFFORD BUSH 2.0 (MCCAIN) IN THE WHITE HOUSE. THIS WAR HAS DRAINED THIS COUNTRY FINANCIALLY AS WELL AS LOSING LOVED ONES. WE NEED TO BRING THEM HOME!! LET'S BRING BACK INTEGRITY AND RESPECT TO THE WHITE HOUSE. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

The great majority of people in this country supported going into Iraq. You cannot change that. It is easy to have these opinions without any responsibility for the consequences. Frankly, I doubt that anywhere near 10% of the country has any understanding of basic economics at all.

Traditionally war efforts result in booming economies in this country. The money that is spent is not unlike the stimulus money being sent to individual taxpayers in May. War money is spent on buying things and employing people (who have to build the things that the government is buying) who then in turn spend that money on other things. However, it would be a better practice to cut spending in other areas while the war spending is going on. Then again, the war spending is pretty small in relation to things like welfare and social security spending, along with other entitlement spending.

I love the fact that 71% of us are economists and know what the heck we're talking about. /sarchasm

It just shows that 71% of the people are uninformed - don' t you know that war and government spending actually HELPS the economy?

It's the credit crunch and American's spending more than they make that hurt this economy. That, and corporate greed.

Didn't someone once say, "Beward of the Military Industrial Complex…"???

The rich have had a 8 yr. tax break under the Bush/Cheney trickle down economics and it's only gotten worse for the economy unless you're wealthy then in that case it benefited you. Trickle down economics only help the wealth few and the rest of America gets nothing but more debt!

Brian March 19th, 2008 9:16 am ET

Oh come on. Let's cut education spending, welfare and medicare. If we give the rich tax breaks and rebuild Iraq so more oil can be sold the economy will solve itself!

One more comment:

Did anyone see the movie "A Beautiful Mind"? I thought the point that John Nash made about doing what's best for yourself and the group should be applied to corporations - if it was, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Imagine if the mortgage companies did what's best for themselves AND their customers instead of just what's best for themselves? Hmmm… the housing bubble might not have existed and the credit crunch wouldn't be so tight.

No matter who gets elected they are going to have to look hard at raising taxes. That is what it is going to take to pay for all of Bush's mess'. Either that or nothing will get done with the infrastructure repair that is badly needed in this country and our great great grand kids will still be paying off this horrid Bush/Chaney mess. They have miss handled everything in the last 7+ yrs. Americans are going to have to really bite the bullet no matter which side gets in.

Bush/Cheney and Rumsfeld should be thrown in jail. Nuff said. Your a fool if you think these guys are any good. Look at Oliver North and the Iran Contra affair. Freeway Ricky Ross is the only person that went to jail. If you don't know, the C.I.A basically delivered cocaine into urban communities and sold weapons to Iran in exchange for hostages. Now Oliver North has a show on the fox news network(real fair and balanced). What a joke our war on drugs is and our war on terrorism.

I'm not disagreeing with the fact that the war has possibly hurt our economy; however, I would simply like everyone to think about where the money is going that funds this war. It is supplying and protecting our troops (my brother and my friends included). So, regardless of whether you believe we should or should not be in this war, the fact is that we are in this war. We should continue to fund it properly as long as it lasts, no matter how long or how short.

Because 71% are hurt by the economy. Hillary has the only plan to fix it. Obama the parrot has no idea. Obama cant speech his way out of this mess. Obama has already said he is going to lay off 1.3 million military people. How do you create jobs by getting rid of them?

It's HURTING ALL ECONOMIES WORLD WIDE !

For the Love of Abraham, Ike, John, Theordore, Jimmy, Ronald, George Sr., and Bill ELECT WISDOM and SAVE US ALL !!!!

VOTE HILLARY FOR THE CHANGE THROUGH ACTION !

No….really? Next people will wake up and realize Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11….and that we are NOT safer now because of this war…and evolution is a fact….the earth is millions of years old…stem cell research WILL save lives…the earth IS getting hotter…and no the rapture is never going to occur. Its no wonder the rest of the world thinks we're a bunch of dribbling morons.

And the other 29% who don't agree must be "flaming idiots"! Come on! Twelve billion per month on a war that has left the country in ruins and no exit strategy. The American tax payer will be footing the bill for this war into the next century.

Why is Bush so happy in this photo? Is it because he knows his personal financial state is secure? Because he doesn't have to worry about health insurance for the rest of his days? Because he doesn't have a clue about the terrible financial condition this country is in mostly due to policies and decisions he has made?
The Roman emperor Caligula comes to mind.
Thank a lot, fellow Americans, for foisting this charlatan on us for eight years. Do you plan on making the same mistake in November and electing John McBush?

my only response is no frekin duh this war has hurt our economy we have spent billions no trillions of dolars on another country to become a democracy and to end "terror"… when we have home issues..

and its not like hillary will help… im tired of how fake she is…..

Alot of that war money goes to US companies… the gun makers and ammo makers, airplane companies, Military war wages… The money that is wasted is the war money used to "rebuild" IRAQ now if that money was a loan to IRAQ we would have no problems, because as soon as they get on there feet again we would get the money back.

But you can all go on blaming the war if it makes you feel better…. (You might not want to buy a house with 0 down next time, thats what is hurting now)

Cheryl, please don't forget that it was hilary that voted for the war for political gain. she too is also responsible for our current ecomonic condition.

Too bad if you just know this now, Bush spent your money, giving contracts to his oil and arms manufaturer friends. Interesting is that this the guy saying "we need change how the Washington politics works" during his compaign.

How long do we train our troops before sending them in harms way

How long do the Iraq troops get to train before we send them into harms way?

When do we send the bobbsy twins into Iraq to fight instead of BS the way they are doing from the white house

Yes Verginia there are clowns in the white house and stupid too

the remaining 29% are the clueless and those that profit from the war. the sight of the Federal Reseve chairman, Bernanke, turns my stomach. he (and Greenspan before him) is out to ruin the economy. please don't be fooled by these people.

Seah wrote, "With Obama running around for well over a year, screaming the sky is falling and telling every American that Iraq war is hurting you. He told them so much, they believed him."

Yep, the economy and 7 in 10 believing that the war in Iraq has impacted it are the fault of Obama. You must be one of the 3 in 10 who disagree with the poll.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the missing moron.

Tom,

You spewing typical neocon spin. Go plug your brain back into Rush's website.

Praetorian, Fort Myers,

Your a dilusional fear monger. Concentration on the Military Industrial Complex and ignorance of economic regulation got us. Chicago School of Economics philosophy got us in this slump. Now we're gonna suffer more because people like you CAN'T OPEN THEIR EYES.

Love,
Constantine

Tom & dave:

Finally a couple of adults have posted! Thank you!

I'm certain the money that is being spent in Iraq could be better spent here in the States. However, I'm not certain the war in Iraq is responsible for our economy.

Bush and Cheney have to be impeach. They ahve no respect for anyone other then their gread for oil $.Just last remarks by Cheney claiming he did not car what the American public thought of the so called war. These two idiots are criminals. We have Americans loosing thee homes, jobs and families but they spend trillions on a false war that gives Bush and Cheney more $ for their companies..

Bush, Cheney, Haliburton and the ones that profitted from the War in Iraq should pay for it out of all of the ga-zillion dollars they made from it. They should bring our troops home and contract the services out to Blackwater and any volunteer employees to stay there and fight it on THEIR DIME ! And if they win, they win and if not………………However, we, the people, should stop paying for it immediately.

Having this huge national debt means that we are borrowing money to pay our country's every day bills. From whom do we borrow? Mostly from China. They, basically, own us.
Is anyone out there bothered by this?!

How stupid are the 30% who DON'T think this hurts the US economy?

Man up G.W. you started out with the right motivation but give it up. No ones cares whether Iraq has a democracy or not. We can still fight terrorism without a presence there protecting the un grateful.

The U.S. has to borrow money to pay for the war, which weakens the dollar. When the dollar is weak the purchase power is limited. Countries that export products to the U.S. are also impacted.

The war in Iraq has hurt more than just the U.S. economy.

I know everyone is falling over themselves to blame Bush when in fact it is Congress who is spending money on the war. Congress has never once voted to suspend money allocated for the war.

Why doesn't anyone blame the Congress for allowing the President from escalating the Iraq War?

I think the thirty percent of the people who don't think the war hurts the economy should get their heads out of the sand! How can you waste trillions of dollars and this not hurt your economy!

I just saw on CNN that we're spending an average of $9.5 Billion a month or $12 Million an hour!!! Oh and by the way 4000 dead soldiers!

We train our military for like 16 weeks. 8 weeks of basic training and 8 weeks of secondary training.
We can't seem to mount an Iraq police force (military) in 4 or 5 years!
When they are mounted half of them are the enemy. Real progress must come from the people of Iraq who have been at odds with themselves for thousands of years. Perhaps success might be measured by letting them continue their archaic ways. Perhaps there is no definative way to measure success or failure.
In any event , whoever is elected as the next US President, can expect a nearly impossible task in Iraq, Afganistan, and indeed the whole ME.
There is no magic bullet folks it does not matter what approach we take, the changes in the ME will be small.

Without a doubt the war costs are a drain on our economy but so were the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombs dropped in Germany and all other attendant costs (loss of Amereican lives) of fighting WWII. Substantial costs were incurred by the devastation we incurred with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor…..maybe we should have waited after 9/11 for another attack on us and saved a few $$$—-ya think?

It's true. George Bush's war has cost Americans more than the blood of dedicated soldiers. It has continued to suck the life out of our economy. We have paid too much for this war. It was a bad decision, made by the "Worst President In Modern Times".

Also, I wish Americans would not let the candidates get away with distractions; we are not two-years old. Have you ever noticed how GW never talks about gay marriages anymore? He ran against gay marriages in 2004; as soon as he was re-elected, no more talk about gay marriage. Wake up America; don't let the politicians get away with smoke and mirrors. We need to talk about the gas prices, the foreclosures, and the erosion in our children's education system. Keep the candidates on OUR message.

I would never vote for anyone that George Bush endorses. Sorry John, you are not credible.

Obama 08

While we're doing math on the economy, let's do the math on Hillary.
Even if she won all of the remaining states, she would not have enough delegates to win. So she has to persuade the Superdelegates to vote for her. Right now she has most of the Superdelegates, but that could change.

So, according to DNC rules, Hillary can NOT win without Superdelgates. Obama can not win without Superdelegates, either, but he is ahead. Stop fighting the wrong foe, and focus on McCain. We owe it to America to change the Bush policies of the last excruciating administration.