A Tale of Two Presidents, Pakistan, and the beginning of baseball

To look at Al Gore and George W. Bush now, nearly seven years after the crazy election, adds a fascinating dimension to a tale of two Presidents. Hurricane Katrina and the Iraqi misadventure leave Bush floundering in a sea of mediocrity and shame. History will not remember Bush very fondly. At the same time, Al Gore has enjoyed critical and popular acclaim as an Oscar and Nobel prize winner. Many people believe, myself included, that Al Gore still is a legitimate presidential candidate.

Yet locking back over the last seven years, to what extent would Al Gore's reaction to events like Katrina or 9/11 been better than Bush, if better at all?

All we can do us bring our bias to the table and speculate.

Certainly, I think the US would be a better place with Gore, but that is not saying much when the alternative is Bush's America. There are real problems in this country that transcend a single man like Bush, like education, the affordability of healthcare, and poverty. My point is I think Gore's America would be only mildly better.

Whatever your opinion, it is clear that Gore has enjoyed a more succesful life since 2000. Perhaps he really did come out on top.

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From rouge provinces in Pakistan, both Al Qaeda and the Taliban pose an unacceptable threat to world stability. Yet, the US and international forces lack the ability to go on the offensive. Pakistani officials have repeatedly threatened against foreign intervention into their borders.

Pakistan is a critical ally. President Musharraf is a man the United States supports for very important reasons. Musharaff posseses nuclear weapons, is not an Islamic fundamentalist, and did play a critical role in the initial invasion of Afghanistan. We like Musharaff because we don't like any of the alternatives, therefore we must be somewhat supportive of him.

That being said, The United States should be able to act against Al Qaeda under any circumstance, including through missions in Pakistan.

The Pakistani government has no real control over the regions where terrorists find shelter. Operations there wouldn't be a threat to the Pakistani government so much as it would be sweeping the bacteria that seeks to do great harm.

I consider myself an internationalist. I never supported the war in Iraq and believe that foreign nations and other international institutions should be respected and cooperated with in most cases. But sometimes acting alone is necessary, this seems like one of them.
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I saw my first baseball game of 2007 yesterday. A spring training game between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates on ESPN. I am an American League guy, therefore I don't pay much attention to most NL teams during the regular season. But seeing baseball--however meaningless it might have been--I couldn't help myself from feeling a joyous rush of happiness, the kind one gets when they get a new car, tell a good joke, or see an old friend for the first time after a long departure. I follow football and basketball, but they don't come close to baseball. Thank God baseball is back!