Answering the 87 Billion Dollar question:

[PurityOfEssence]

If the Administration hadn't screwed up and sent the troops in ill-equipped, why would they be needing body armor while already there?

If body armor, bullets, food and "supporting the troops" supplies were so important, why didn't the Administration make these a separate bill and pass them post haste? Kerry and Edwards would have immediately voted for them. Instead, the Administration tied it all together with a blank-check looting for their friends, and this is why our guys voted against it: it was a giveaway to Halliburton, Bechtel and the usual suspects.

It was a bad bill. Voting against the Administration's version of a bill does not constitute stranding the troops in harm's way. The Administration's inflexibility isn't masculine virtue, it's pigheadedness.

That's what needs to be said. If the Administration is so thuggishly greedy that they'd risk the safety of our troops so they can loot and plunder the taxpayers for their friends, then it's their fault.

If there were critical and immediate needs at hand, it was the duty of the Administration and majority party to pull those line items out from a complex multiple-provision bill and present them with all urgency. This was not done. Either the Administration was lying about the urgency, or it was willing to let our troops die for their greed.

It's like the '02 election: Dems should have pointed out--as Clinton did tonight on "The Daily Show"--that destroying worker rights is much more important to the Administration than Homeland Security.

If it's urgent, it's in their hands to bring those items to the fore, unencumbered by contentious expenditures and it's their obligation GET IT TOGETHER. Thus, it is absolutely this Administration's fault, and blaming Kerry and Edwards is deceitful. Using accusations of Fifth-Column activities for political gain is despicable, and this is what Junior and his mob have done.

Spread the word.

Dammit.

[FloridaPat]

1. This invasion is costing a billion dollars a week and Bushco

refuse to account for a penny of it. Congress refuses to stand up and demand accounting of the money. It's going into Halliburton's pockets and disappearing. The US is paying them $28 a day per soldier for food. You would think they would be getting steaks everyday. Just garbage. And they just dumped another $25 billion into this freak show.

[JI7]

2. he actually has answered in this way, but not specifically like this

he has answered by saying they were the ones who sent troops without being prepared. but i think he needs to point out specifically as you did that part about how they should have had a separate bill just for the troops and the part about their inflexibility and pigheadedness.

another thing he needs to point out is that the bill DID pass without their votes, yet the troops are sitll not well equipped and that's why he wanted more accountability. he didn't just want symbolism , he wanted to MAKE SURE they got what they needed even after the bill passed.

and then he needs to use his service in vietnam as an example of how he knows about these things because he was a soldier at one time in a war where the leaders were not accountable. they kept voting to pay for the war, but the POLICY itself was not helping but hurting and no ammount of money can help if the POLICY is bad.