It's hard for a lot of Republicans to understand, but Palestinians do in fact have legitimate complaints. Until those issues are addressed, the Middle East will remain in turmoil. Suppose, for example, Utah were to be declared a "Mormon Homeland". Non-Mormons would perhaps be allowed to stay, but they would be second-class citizens or non-citizens. A Utah bureaucracy would be set up to decide who gets to be a citizen. The bureaucracy guarantees instant citizenship to Mormons immigrating from other states. Non-Mormons still in Utah can APPLY for citizenship, but they have to wait years for the bureaucracy to investigate them, after which their citizenship request is denied. Do you think non-Mormons in Utah would be upset?

Deace is probably right; whoever loses in November will have to do some serious soul-searching and serious restructuring. In that light, it might be better for the Republicans if Romney--the ultimate milquetoast, compromising, say-what-they-want-to-hear Republican--loses. Then perhaps the party will stop falling in love with middle-of-the-road, bland, boring candidates. On the other hand, the party leadership has definitely been slow to learn. Who will be the next Bob Dole?

I am sure that Linda Chavez is right that North Korea is a communist hell-hole. We've known this for decades. The same is true of Cuba. Military action is NOT the answer. Sanctions and blockades are the WORST actions to take, if you want to see freedom come to these places. The right course of action for both countries is the Jefferson approach: friendly trade and commerce. Trade and commerce did more to destroy the Soviet Union than NATO or ICBMs. When people have a taste of the prosperity that free societies can provide, they start to demand more freedom. But bottle up a country with sanctions and blockades, and dictatorships can last forever. Examples: Castro and the Kim dictatorship. I rest my case.

In order to fix our problems, you have to touch the Social Security Ponzi Scheme, and the Medicare system. Both programs are obviously unconstitutional, to anyone who bothers to read the Constitution. Both systems should be phased out. The first step is to require means-testing; there is no reason for retired millionaires to collect SS Ponzi money. The next step is phase-out; let those who are at or near retirement collect their full SS Ponzi money (subject to means-testing). Let those who are under 30 know that they will get nothing (which they won't in any case). For those in between, give them reduced SS Ponzi payments. It's not that tough, but it takes political courage. Romney doesn't have it.

The problems we face today are far less devastating than those faced by Germany in 1945. All it takes to fix things is political courage, which unfortunately is the rarest commodity on earth. Romney, to fix things, would have to risk being a one-termer. He would have to push through cuts in all the major programs Pat Buchanan enumerated. He would have to audit, and then close, the Federal Reserve. He would have to preside over a sharp but short-lived recession, like 1920. He would have to be a determined, uncompromising leader. Unfortunately, that's not Romney.

Buchanan asks the question: is it too late? Look at it this way: other countries have been in far, far worse conditions, and managed to return to exuberant prosperity in less than five years. One example was post-war Germany. The manufacturing base was utterly destroyed. For several years, under Keynesian economics imported from conquering Washington, the economy floundered. Then, a sensible man (Ludwig Erhard), became finance minister and did the exact OPPOSITE of what Washington advised: he cut government spending, raised interest rates, and got rid of burdensome and unnecessary regulations. The result became known as the "economic miracle."

It will be interesting, if Romney is elected, to see the same Republicans here OPPOSING Obama's unconstitutional use of military power, suddenly DEFEND it when "their guy" is the one wielding the power. As George Corley Wallace noted, "There ain't a dime's worth o' difference between the two parties."

The military and the CIA are bloated bureaucracies, just like the Dept. of Education or the Dept. of Energy. Like any other bureaucracy, the military and CIA are constantly seeking more power and more money. Like any bureaucracy, they both have powerful incentives to EXAGGERATE the problems they face, in order to get even more money and more sweeping powers. The people know that, in general, government spending has to be cut. But any PARTICULAR program always has legions of spokesmen to guard against that PARTICULAR budget being cut. This, in a nutshell, is how we got to be a trillion dollars in debt.

As Murray Rothbard used to say, the government is just a criminal gang, writ large. There is little difference between the way Obama is doing his killings, and the way a mafia Don would do a killing. Except Obama has a lot bigger budget and a lot more expensive killing toys. In fact, the main difference between Obama and a mafia Don is one of scale. Even the nastiest mafia Don only kills a handful of people every year. Obama can order deaths by the thousands, without consulting Congress, without even having to tell anyone.

Romney has several "must-win" states. Ohio and Pennsylvania top the list. Colorado would be a big help. Virginia and North Carolina are also critical, as is Florida.