Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Cafferty: Obama talks drugs?
WATCH "The Cafferty File": Saudi rape outrage?

Does Senator Barack Obama's admitting to using alcohol and drugs when he was a kid hurt his chances of being elected president?
That does it. I will vote for Obama. Imagine! An honest politician! I didn't think I would see it in my lifetime. I may even pay attention to the electoral process. Don't tell my super-cynical friends. -Gary, Ouray, Colorado

It might for a very few people. Mr. Obama probably needed to bring out those facts before his rivals did a lot of digging and disclosed his past first. Myself, I could care less. -John, Missoula, Montana

What ever happened to honesty is the best policy? We should admire the courage the senator has projected with his statement. It's a shame how people will twist this into something negative. This should be a lesson to kids that it is never too late to get your act together!
-Erving , New York

I hope it doesn't hurt Obama's chances. It's refreshing to hear a candidate speak openly and honestly about their past. -Thomas, Cupertino, California

How troubling is a new report that says Americans are reading less?
As a teacher I have noticed students reading less as well. I think it is because students have increased homework responsibilities as well as after-school commitments. The homework is required in order for students to cover the curriculum on state mandated tests. Although these students are quite capable of reading, they are often just too exhausted to read for fun! This is a sad commentary for our education system. -Ann

I don't pay much attention to studies. Times change and there are so many different ways of getting information. The Internet, books on tape, radio, television, Black Berries, cell phones, instant messaging and the list goes on and on. I really don't think people are reading any less just in a different format. -Rich, Fairview, Texas

The joke in Europe goes: if you speak two languages, you're bilingual. If you speak one language, you're American. Americans read less, invent less, think less, produce less, vote less, save less, pay attention less, care less, and are fast becoming second if not third-rate in the eyes of the world. Americans burn fuel, consume, spend, criticize, pontificate, preach, boast and loudly demand of others. It's sad for this old citizen to watch. -J.

Dear Jack, In the 1940s and 1950s everyone was raising hell about us kids reading comic books. If it hadn’t been for those comic books, I don’t think I would have learned to read at all. The stuff they wanted us to read in school was so boring I couldn’t stand it. -H., Scottsdale, Arizona

Which presidential candidate would you most like to invite over for Thanksgiving dinner and why?
I'd pick Kucinich. I can't support his socialist economic positions, but he deserves an attaboy for at least trying to impeach Cheney... and he's the only Democratic or Republican candidate whose lies and insanity wouldn't ruin my appetite. -Kris, Livingston, Texas

I would like to invite Hillary Clinton for Thanksgiving dinner. Then, I could tell my grandchildren that the first woman president ate at my house. -Sheila, Northport, Alabama

I'd like to have John Edwards join us for dinner. Why? One because he's passionate about fixing what's wrong in Washington and two because looking across the table at him sure wouldn't upset my digestion. -Diane, Iowa

None of the above. Like you, I'd rather eat alone than with one of the candidates. -Jeffrey, Santa Ana, California

Whether or not I would vote for him, Ron Paul is the most interesting and engaging presidential candidate in years. Apparently, he actually read the Constitution somewhere along the way, and thinks it is important. How quaint! -Richard, Houston, Texas

Jack, I would invite Rudy Giuliani over for dinner because he's a real American hero who's unafraid to say what he thinks and would not just give, dodgy, political answers to regular questions. -Alex, Arlington, Virginia
Posted By Jack Cafferty, CNN Commentator: 11/21/2007 06:40:00 PM ET | Permalink
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Cafferty: Saudi rape outrage?
WATCH "The Cafferty File": Mud flying in '08?

How should the U.S. respond to a Saudi court sentencing a gang-rape victim to 200 lashes?
The U.S. should respond to it the same way we responded when the Saudis attacked us on September 11th... we should attack another country in the Middle East and accuse it of treating its citizens unjustly. -Chris, Flemington, New Jersey

Jack, This is just another example of the U.S. trying to interfere with another country’s culture. For heaven's sake China has all kinds of human rights issues, yet the U.S. government encourages trade with that country. The Olympics is also scheduled to be held in China. What's the difference? We need to focus on our own issues and stay out of other countries’ cultural differences. -Bonnie, New York

WE will do nothing! WE are in Iraq to protect the Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia is the source of the Bush family fortune. Hell will freeze over before "WE" do anything to upset that apple cart.
-Michael, Gulf Breeze, Florida

Rather late to ask that question now, isn't it? How long ago is it that we hocked our humanitarian impulses, our sense of justice, and our national ideals, along with our line of credit -- all to allow us to keep buying their overpriced oil at their price, and thanking them for it. We can't change them. What we should do is admit what hypocrites we are, and change ourselves.
-Bill, Medford, New Jersey

What's behind Senator Hillary Clinton's drop in the polls?
Overexposure. You can not stay on fire forever. No new oxygen has been blown into the Clinton campaign, but there is a lot of hot air. The Democrats want and need change, not just the same old political face on a woman to excite this country for change. Obama offers that hope.
-Mauricio, Austin, Texas

Jack, The drop in the polls is what one would expect. As time goes on, the public is finding out what she is really about. I'm a Democrat and a woman and knew a long time ago that she was not the way to go. -Anne, North Carolina

I would like to think it might have something to do with the fact that people are understanding that she can be counted on to do only one thing, which is, protect her backside. She is a politician’s politician and is seemingly as two-faced as they come. -David, Palmdale, California

Because people want change and Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton is not change. -Kim, Corn, Oklahoma

Should employers be able to fire people who don't speak English on the job?
YES! You should speak English at work. How else will your employer know if there is abusive or inappropriate language being used? Plus, this is the USA. Speak your foreign language on your own time. -Miyuki

Jack, Yes, English should be spoken on the job. Let's vote the Democrats out of office, beginning with Pelosi in 2008. -Mare, Iowa

I have no problems firing them, I don't even HIRE them. -Bob
Posted By Jack Cafferty, CNN Commentator: 11/20/2007 06:42:00 PM ET | Permalink
Monday, November 19, 2007
Cafferty: Mud flying in ’08 race?
WATCH "The Cafferty File": No bucks for war?
Does mudslinging make you more or less interested in the presidential campaign?
As a young voter, I have a hard time voting for a candidate who doesn't respect his or her opponents. The presidential election is about who is best qualified to lead the free world, not a "he said, she said" mudslinging contest. If candidates want our respect, they have to conduct themselves like world leaders, not rumor mills. -Jeremy, Stony Brook, New York

Of course it makes me less interested. If I wanted to read the tabloids, I would buy them. Why can't they stop playing games with each other and start focusing on all the broken process issues of our government today? -John, Atlanta, Georgia

Jack, What these candidates need to understand is that when they criticize each other, the American people really don't care. We would rather hear them talk about the issues and how they plan to fix our national problems. -Chad, Sterling Heights, Michigan

Jack, Every time I see or hear mudslinging in the race it makes me sick, because what it does for the most part is distract the public from the real issues. -Austin, Charleston, W. Virginia

Should Boston police be able to enter private homes without a warrant to search for guns?
The answer is simple. If the parents are allowing the search of their homes, then there is no problem. I can see this taking a turn for the worse though. This power will likely be abused. But a well regulated system could make this a great tactic. -Andrew, Joplin, Missouri

The answer to the question of whether police should be given a blank check to search homes for firearms by getting an "implied consent" to search from homeowners in an attempt to get guns off of the streets is laughable at best. Bostonians would never allow this in the city where our country has its origins for a revolution. The 4th amendment governs! -Tony

Of course, Jack. If you have nothing to hide, you have no reason to object. We're getting more and more like North Korea every day. -Jim, Clermont, Florida

If you are a minor, your guardian controls your life. They can reasonably infringe upon your civil rights if they wish to. If you live under a person's roof for free, then you live by their rules. If an adult decides to allow the police to search their minor's possessions for contraband, that's their right. While I'm not in love with the idea of the police knocking on people's door without a warrant, if the parents are accepting, the kid should shut up and deal. -Bill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

If asked to decide if a fertilized egg is a person, how would you vote?
A fertilized egg is a fertilized egg. And a person is a person. It is that simple and only a simpleton would think otherwise. -Bill, Bothell, Washington

Yes, a fertilized egg is a human being. We all start at that point, not all of us make it out into the world. Ask any parent who's lost a child before delivery. -Michelle

The framers of this legislation say they want to give the fertilized egg full constitutional rights. I want to know if it's legal for them to discriminate against those of us who are no longer fertilized eggs who have lost our full constitutional rights. -Rita, Seattle, Washington
Posted By Jack Cafferty, CNN Commentator: 11/19/2007 06:42:00 PM ET | Permalink
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