In a world of the brainwashed American, it is commentary like this that keeps me going.

Well done, Sonja Schmidt. It is becoming more and more obvious that the truly strong, self-respecting women that should be lifted up to role-model status in America call conservatism home. While the weak and dependent are Democrats.

"Damn this age of technology, quick recall, and brain stimulating drugs" is probably on the mind of Nancy Pelosi. A few weeks ago, after Obama released the CIA memos that started this debate on enhanced interrogations, Pelosi took to the microphone and said Congress was never told about the methods Bush and the CIA used. Well, it didn't take too long for the truth to start coming out.

Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, seemingly contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.

In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Who cares, right? Just another politician telling lies to get what she wanted. That is just the game, right?

I am sick beyond cure of these people. Why must we listen to these "leaders" decry the practices of Wall Street as selfish and immoral, while they, themselves, blatantly lie to us when it suits their political agenda?

If this country hopes to recover from this and any future economic mess, we are going to need a good dose of morality from the top, down. We need to step back to those basics that we teach our children and our leaders talk about daily: Don't lie, be nice to others. You know, those Judeo-Christian principles everyone is so glad we were not founded on.

Thank God we have a president that "believe[s] in the power of prayer". Oh... wait.

So it seems like Jeb Bush has joined the populist chorus line that the GOP should shed its conservative, Reagan roots and try to attract moderates. I don't disagree with the premise that the GOP (or any political movement) has to enlist the help of some moderates to get what they want. My disagreement is with the premise of attracting moderates by being moderate!

Let's say you are a media consultant working for a presidential campaign. Your client asks you to make a commercial geared toward moderates. What would your commercial be? What issues do moderates care about? As a matter of fact, what do moderates think about certain issues? Let me make it simpler. What would a commercial about health care say in order to attract moderates? In short, nothing.

That is because moderates--by definition--have no opinion! This is why 90% of the ads for presidential and other political candidates are negative. They are trying to attract moderates. A candidate doesn't want to say what his positions are on an issue, because it might offend someone with moderate tendencies--which are neutral in nature. Instead, the candidate attacks his opponents extremist side to point out the non-moderate nature of their opponent. It is a vicious back and forth of "I'm moderate and he's not" that is modern politics.

The fact is, you can not attract moderates by being moderate. There is nothing attractive about being moderate. A moderate presidential candidate seems weak and indecisive. They seem out of touch and favors the status quo.

Look at John McCain. Last election, the GOP nominated the most moderate and bi-partisan individual they had to offer. And he lost! He didn't attract moderates. He repelled them. To them, he seemed weak and unfit for the job. The economic crisis showed these moderates that they didn't want a man of moderation. They wanted a man of action! They wanted someone who was going to take big steps to fix the economy and fix Washington. Basically, they wanted an extremist!!!!

There is only one way to attract moderates, and that is the way Reagan did it. He did it by being conservative. He said, "this is what I stand for." And the moderates like it. They liked it so much, he won with forty-nine state landslides and elected him twice. Be conservative and Moderates will come. If they don't, either they don't get the message, or they are not moderate.