In the wake of all the ludicrous “What If” questions and commentaries concerning the John Edwards’ extramarital affair, fellow blogger Shaun Mullen asks, “What If Russia Had Invaded Fricking Denver?” in a good attempt to illustrate the “whining,” wishful thinking nature of all this “what-iffing” by Clinton supporters.
Interestingly, it is not only Clinton supporters who are “what-iffing.” Republicans are also indulging in such speculation and fantasies and putting their own spin on them. And this opens the door to some truly interesting–and consequential–what-iffing.
For example: “What if George W. Bush had not gone to war against Iraq under false pretenses?” What would our nation and our world be like today? What would the real war on terror look like today? And, since we are talking about the 2008 elections, who would the candidates be? (Would Cheney be one of them?) What would the issues be?
Since Shaun asked, “What if Russia Had Invaded Fricking Denver?”, the real question begs: “What if our military wasn’t so bogged down in Iraq, and stretched to the breaking point because of Iraq. Would Russia have invaded Georgia?” And, if so, what would the United States’ response have been?
Those are the real what-if questions that face us today. Sadly, we will never know the answers. But, we can surely “whine” and with darn good reasons!
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.