Republicans insisted that such matters were solely political and that to address them was to depart from the local responsibility for which we were elected.  Democrats waxed eloquent on theories of "Just War." 

The debate raged on for days, finally being killed in the razor-thin Democrat-controlled Senate.  It was a local issue.  Maine today holds the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita percentage of veterans of any state in the nation.  Its troop contribution to Iraq is among the nation's highest.

Riveting were the war cries of Evangelical Christians, otherwise voracious advocates of Pro Life.  The rationale has not changed since:  "If we don't get them over there, they will get us over here!"  Notice the ubiquitous "them" vs. "us." When you think about it, such a statement flies in the face of every aspect of the committed Christian life -- loving your enemy, trusting in the sovereignty of God and living above common fear.

Now here come the Democratic presidential hopefuls, none of whom seems to have a clue as to what to do.  With the enthusiastic help of the most prominent of them, we have removed the tyrant Saddam Hussein and, in so doing, have drastically strengthened the radical Shi'a presence in the region through the American gospel of democracy.  Iran, the largest nation in the Middle East, has seen its hand strengthened through American foreign policy, a policy indeed foreign to common sense. 

The Christian Right, through its Zionist movement, now calls for a preemptive strike against Iran in order to trigger their biblical version of "Left Behind."  Expediency prevails on the matter of war, while an exegetical distortion of the Bible prevails on all matters regarding the nation-state of Israel, the fourth largest nuclear power in the world with five-hundred nuclear warheads.

In 2004, the Congress of the United States voted nearly unanimously to ratify the policy of Occupation of Palestine by Israel through the random and meandering construction of its twenty-seven foot high "Concrete Curtain." The West Bank and East Jerusalem are now trapped behind a wall that makes the Berlin Wall look like a suburban hedge. 

Maine's entire delegation all marched in lock-step.

It is abundantly clear that America is on the knife edge of being "Left Behind" if it fails to exercise responsible leadership at home and in the region.  Somebody has to get off the merry-go-round of reactive politics and begin saying and doing the right and wise things despite its political cost.

To those who call for a timed pull-out of troops from Iraq, get a reality check.  America now is the only stabilizing influence in the region.  We are there, for better or for worse, and we must stay there until we have brought this mess to a reasonably safe conclusion.  This will require leadership seemingly well beyond the capacity of the present crop of wanna-be's. 

Whatever it costs, we must now "stay the course," a course that more reasonable and thoughtful people would have avoided at the outset.

To those who talk of impeachment of President Bush or Vice President Cheney, please find something else to do before you bog us down in another Nixon/Clinton witch-hunt. The notion that punishment of the hate-mongering right will accomplish anything but entertainment for the hate-mongering left is fantasyland. If the truth be known, they are the same people come full circle.

Here in Maine, we have two Senators who went down the line with the President until it became only marginally effective to do so.  A Democratic Congressman is now running for the US Senate in Maine who voted against the Iraq War but walked on the next four key votes on the war budget.    

Years ago, Walter Mondale ran for President on the slogan, "Where's the beef?"  It became clear that, although he raised the question, he was not the answer.  Someone needs to run on the slogan, "Where's the leadership?"  We seem to have become a nation of people who react from crisis to crisis in the fashion of the Old West.  The quickest draw wins.

So here we are, obsessing over Rudy's wife, Edward's hairdo and the novelty of a woman President and a black (not a real black, according to some) Vice President. 

Where's the leadership?