This is getting to be like Whack-a-Mole. No sooner does one diary appear but another one pops up. I can't be expected to reply to each individually. So I want to put my arguments as to why it is just not remotely possible. In my view the very public saber-rattling by the USA and Israel serves a single purpose: to encourage the Iranians to buy the offer the Europeans are putting in front of them, backed up by some serious economic threats. It's going to be hard for Iran to swallow this one, but I expect the next President to add the sweetener of normalized relations with the USA and the ending of all economic sanctions in return for the nuclear and a couple of other concessions. In any case, in the short-term, war is beyond improbable for the reasons listed below.

I posted this in reply to a wing-nut who posted this as a comment on DemfromCT's diary today (the amusing Pundit Roundup). Some kind people asked me to release my reply as a diary. So here goes. Here is what Mr. Wingnut had to say and my reply is below the fold:
I never knew there were so many gullible white folks in the USA until I saw those lined up at the Obama trough of bull-shit.  This man sounds exactly like all the con-men I interviewed during thirty years of Law Enforcment.  No where on the Planet has there ever been such specious, nebulous nonsense spewed with so many willing to suck it up.  Just who is this Crap Spewer?  You can't answer, nor can any of his followers.  I think he is a Trojan Horse ... I know he has emotional and spiritual ties to the Middle East and there are many reasons that he should be the target of a full FBI investigation.  He will not protect this Country with his convoluted ideas of appeasing terrorists.  Like GWB, or not, this Country has not been attacked since 9/11 and I, for one, don't give a damn as to how that was accomplished.  National Security, not the economy is the most important issue in this election.  Any economy is worthless if you can't go to a mall for fear of being blown-up.

I saw the President's proposed budget today, and I just don't want to think about or talk about politics anymore. With a 3 trillion dollar budget that includes a largely fictitious $515 billion defense outlay, cuts in domestic programs like medicare, and a laughable assertion that the deficit will be eliminated by 2012, it's clear that we have entered some fantastic world of imagination that only occurs when a thief tries to cover up a massive fraud.

But what are our candidates talking about? The minutiae of how many people will be covered by slightly different healthcare plans - both woefully inadequate. No discussion of the only sensible plan - medicare for all. And this constant bleating of the word "change" and the word "experience". I really and truly do not see the point in voting for one or the other.

At an Obama rally today, God made an unscheduled appearance. Blinded by the ineffable rays of the Almighty appearing in all his splendor, believers and unbelievers alike bowed in awe. They then heard simultaneously (so it wasn't like those annoying loudspeakers at sporting events) the voice of God proclaim: This is my beloved candidate in whom I am well pleased. Vote for him on Tuesday or I will smite the heck out of you. And the people cried out as one that they would do as God asked.

Later the Holy Spirit handed out Obama bumper stickers, and Jesus appeared on a tortilla at a nearby burrito wagon. Now that's what I call a rally.

People often voice support for a Presidential candidate by saying that they seem like a regular guy, like the kind of person you could have a beer with. Of course, for the most part that merely indicates how well the candidate has been able to craft a public persona that creates that impression. In reality, of course, even modestly successful politicians are a remarkable combination of art, artifice, passion and drive that makes them utterly unlike anyone you would get to enjoy having a drink with. Be that as it may. If the current candidates lived on your street what kind of neighbor would they be?

I know everyone is obsessing about the overly hyped Democratic primaries, but there is actually a world out there that is trundling along regardless of this monumental, all encompassing spectacle. The major news is inflation. Just as we go into a recession caused by the bursting of the housing bubble, we are going to suffer the misery of serious commodity inflation. And if you are like, and enjoy food and being able to drive to work, you won't be a happy camper in 2008. Chances are, though, if you're reading this, you aren't one of the very poor who will be hit hardest.

All these ads on TV are just getting me confused about which one to choose. Below, I describe three ads. All of them show the candidate in an attractive light. But I just can't choose. Gosh! Can someone help me?