>So what happened ? Did "Mr America kind of guy"
listen >better than usual ? Did he have any new
attitudes >after you used your method with less facts?
Yes and no.
The runaway consequences of America's 'war on terror' have begun to reach into his daily conversations and also, we can assume, his consciousness.
So, things that I predicted in our conversations months ago - resistance, chaos, the parceling out of favors and contracts to returned exile and local puppets along with the corporate allies of Bushco - have all come to pass. Without resorting to the footnote approach, I simply appealed to his understanding of human nature and cause and effect.
This has deeply shaken his faith (and that's what it truly is) that the administration is working intelligently (or at all) to protect Americans from terrorism.
When even MSNBC is covering stories of near daily killings of GIs and the angry statements of Iraqis it's difficult to ignore (of course I know there are multitudes who do - they're another matter).
He now concedes that some sort of geo-political game is afoot and he doesn't like it. The lack of any WMD evidence and, interestingly, Wolfowitz's statements (which I hipped him to) have deepened this impression.
Still, this has not flowered into a critique of America's true role in the world. He retains his faith in American institutions and believes, to some extent, in the notion of her 'mission' so this ire is more directed at the Bushies (an aberration he believes - I agree, but only in the depth of their perfidy).
This may seem small to us but it's a large step for a middle class guy with long held, very conventional beliefs.
DRM
__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com