Friday, December 07, 2007
Cafferty File has moved!
The Cafferty File has a new home. Come visit us and see for yourself. You can go to
cnn.com/caffertyfile, where we're posting many more of your comments online. You'll also find Jack's commentaries and video clips of the Cafferty File.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Cafferty: Cheney upbeat on Iraq?
WATCH "The Cafferty File":
Homeowner bailout?Is Vice President Cheney right to predict that when he and President Bush leave office a self-governing democracy will be firmly established in Iraq?I kind of doubt Cheney is correct. I don't think there will be democracy ever in Iraq. Look at Afghanistan. Is it working there? Bush and Cheney put their puppet Karzai on display for a short time and declared victory. Look at today. Iraq will be worse.
-Richard, Backus, Minnesota
Cheney has already demonstrated numerous times that he does not have an accurate grasp of the situation in Iraq -- or the world, for that matter. Naturally, I do not expect him to be right on his optimistic predictions about success in Iraq by the end of 2008. Here's my question: If Cheney's War proves to be a bust, will he give U.S. taxpayers their money back?
-Lorne, Swartz Creek, MichiganAre you kidding, Jack? The Sunnis and Shiia will be no more able to work together than the neocons and ultra-liberals in this country. Neither will give an inch. And, oh yeah, don't forget the Kurdish factor. If two factions can't get along, how can anyone expect three to do so?
-Mary, Bean Station, TennesseeJack, In one sentence, I want $10.00 worth of what Cheney is smoking.
-Rob, St. Lucie, Florida
Why is the war in Iraq less important, and domestic issues more important, to voters now than they were last April?Jack: It's wintertime in the Northeast and my wife and I are more worried about heating our home, feeding our family and putting gas in the car than the war in Iraq. We're struggling every day to pay the mortgage, credit card bills, uninsured medicals and college tuition on time. As far as I'm concerned, the war in Iraq is over, lost - another sad chapter in our nation's history - and November '08 can't come soon enough.
-Alan, Boston, MassachusettsJack, The decider has decided to decide that the subprime mortgage crisis will get him more brownie points with the Republican base because the fickle public has decided that unlike a war without a draft consequence, being evicted from your home and put out into the street has a decided consequence.
-Steve, New YorkTwo reasons: The surge seems to be making some progress, so there is some stability with regards to policy. Also, every candidate seems to have a similar policy on the war.
-Tom, OntarioAre you in favor of denying illegal aliens social services, like public schools and emergency medical care?Jack, Yes, I'm in favor of denying illegal aliens any kind of help. No one helped me. And the government sure ain't helping me now.
-Mike, Liberty, MissouriJack, Emergency medical care should not be lumped in with other services and education. No one would deny someone emergency medical care. But no other services should be provided for illegal immigrants. None. They should not be rewarded in any way for their illegal presence in our country. They need to return to their own countries and demand their rights there.
-Alex, Mt. Shasta, CaliforniaAs a human, I cannot vote to deny anyone emergency medical services. Schools, yes. Above all employers should deny them jobs, and then they will not be here.
-Sarv, Miami, FloridaJack, Yes, We have to stop being so generous. We have been destroying our own citizens' rights to help non-citizens.
-Delmar, Ellsinore, Missouri
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Cafferty: Homeowner bailout?
WATCH "The Cafferty File":
Drowning in debt?Should the federal government bail out homeowners who are facing foreclosure because of rising interest rates?
Absolutely no bailout. These people got in over their heads and took on deals that were too good to be true. The rest of us struggled within our means and so we will look like darn fools. It is enough already hearing about these people.
-Bob, New YorkWhy should I have to pay for someone else's foolish mistake? When I make a mistake I bite the bullet. Freezing the rates is nothing more than more nanny state bull. Besides I've been looking for some cheap property. At least I will purchase what I can afford.
-Jim, New Roads, LouisianaNo. They should have read the terms and not overspent. Why should I have to pay for others' inabilities? We should not make mortgages into a welfare program.
-N., New York
What should be done about more than 10 million "missing" White House e-mails?E-mails are forever. A good hacker could get them in a few hours.
-Tom, Beaumont, MississippiNothing. Some Democrat is just trying to stir up meaningless political nonsense.
-R.A., TexasI think 10 million missing e-mails should bring about 10 million subpoenas and 10 million calls for impeachment. There is absolutely no excuse for this. It is a blatant obstruction of justice.
-B.D., New York
Maybe we should "misplace" Congress' paychecks until they appoint an investigator to locate the missing e-mails. E-mails don't disappear into the ether, they can always be found.
-Beth, VirginiaWhat message does it send when the Democratic-led Congress has planned a 5-day workweek for only three times next year?It sounds like Congress has something better to do than the work of the people who sent them to do our business. Nice work when you can get it!
-RobertaAt the rate they do the nation's business, let them take as much time off as they want. Convene for one month a year so they can compare vacations and vote themselves a raise.
-Les, Nevada Simple, pay them by the hour for the time they are at work.
-Tim, Marceline, MissouriSure Congress could probably work harder, but asking these kinds of questions only promotes bitterness and cynicism that does nothing to improve government.
-Jonathan, Lynn, Massachusetts
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Cafferty: Huckabee rising?
WATCH "The Cafferty File":
Billion$ into Iraq?What's behind the sudden rise of Mike Huckabee?Huckabee's rise is simple. He's not a slimy self-serving politician like all the other slimy self-serving politicians in the race... and, we, the general public, can recognize a politician that's NOT slimy and self-serving when we see one.
-Bob
The rise of Huckabee? Well, let's see. When asked a tough question he made a great joke, and the media talked about it on and on. But they almost never point out the fact that he NEVER ANSWERED THE QUESTION! Well, there's your answer: He can laugh is way out of tough issues, and the media will play along. What a way to elect a president.
-RobertHuckabee is getting a lot more people to notice him because of his sense of humor and laid back demeanor. That Chuck Norris campaign ad is huge on the Internet, at least amongst college students.
-Kevin, Amherst, MassachusettsJack, Huckabee is the most real seeming candidate in the Republican primary. That said, he sells rabid conservatism in a candy coating, both feeding the social conservatives and placating the fiscal conservatives. Huckabee is the single biggest threat to the Democrats, period. He may not have any money right now, but expect him to pull a Clinton (Bill not Hillary) as the other candidates peel off.
-Steve, Memphis, Tennessee
What's the single most important task Congress must complete before adjourning for the holidays?Jack, The single most important thing they should be doing is starting impeachment proceedings on this poorest excuse of a president this country has ever seen.
-Clarence, Brodhead, KentuckyBring the troops home. That ought to be Congress' #1 priority. NO more funding may just passive-aggressively act to get that done.
-Susan, Cape Coral, FloridaI think it would be better if Congress gets nothing done. They stand less chance of screwing something up even more.
-Dave, Chicago, IllinoisI think children's healthcare is the most important thing Congress needs to accomplish. They have already put the future of our country in debt and if they can't even provide them proper health care it is just so outrageous.
-Elizabeth, Overland Park, KansasIf Americans have $900 billion in credit card debt, should more be done to regulate the industry?Government should make credit card companies reduce their rates, and or put caps on interest paid back to them, so people can realistically pay off their debt.
-Joe, Buchanan, New York
The amount of debt is absurd. My parents always taught be that I should not buy anything unless I have the money for it. I think people’s imaginations are getting the best of them.
-David, New JerseyNo Jack, It does not mean we need more government control. What we need is more self control over our own finances. I am not one of the Americans who share this meaningless debt. Financial responsibility is what "we" need, not the government trying to tell others what to do. Especially when the Congress cannot control themselves.
-Mike
Monday, December 03, 2007
Cafferty: Billion$ into Iraq?
WATCH "The Cafferty File":
Teddy bear outrage?If Iraq is the third most corrupt country in the world, why does the U.S. continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into it?It's easy, Jack: the corrupt politicians here in America are receiving kickbacks from the corporate greed that has grown up around the Iraqi government that we are backing. It's easy for Bush to request more money because the more he spends of our money, the more money the American corporations make for providing supposed services for rebuilding.
-JohnJack, The simplest and most accurate way to answer this question is with one tiny little greasy word "OIL".
-Mike, Loveland, ColoradoJack, The answer is simple: we keep pouring money into Iraq because we have one of the most corrupt administrations in American History. Teapot Dome? Watergate? Small change compared to this bunch.
-Jim
Good question, Jack. I wish I knew the answer myself. It's so warming to know that we keep pumping billions of dollars into a country that is getting more corrupt by the day, and fail to notice our own economic shortcomings here at home.
-Bob, Ann Arbor, MichiganWill Mitt Romney's speech about being a Mormon faith help or hurt his campaign?Jack, It won't make any difference. Those who are not part of the Christian right don't care. Those who are will settle for nothing less than a "savior".
-Daryl, OntarioIt doesn't matter to me what religion a candidate is. I think most of us are interested in what they are going to do about the issues at hand, like immigration, Iraq, high gas prices etc.
-Janet, Live Oak, FloridaIt is likely that Romney's speech will only hurt him. As a former practicing Mormon myself who is still sympathetic to the religion, I have found that openly discussing the faith only stirs up more questions than it answers.
-Dave, Seattle, WashingtonIs it the government's job to limit junk food sales in schools?I am a tenth grade high school student and I am writing a article in our school newspaper about banning junk food but as soon as I shared it with my class, everyone jumped on my case asking me why is it my business what they eat.
-Sade, MarylandThe local schools here make a ton of money off of the selling of junk food. The soda and candy vendors give them a cut. The schools won’t want to loose that money.
-Chris, Scranton, PennsylvaniaJack, is this a serious question? We need to get the government out of the child-rearing business and let parents do their job. Don't our politicians have other things to be concerned with?
-Charles, ArkansasJack, I think that if this law actually passes it will wind up in the Supreme Court within 6 months. While they may mean well, the federal government has no right to dictate what children eat.
-Michelle, Somerville, New Jersey