I've been pretty ambivalent about the "showdown with Saddam." I'm not anti-war, I'm not pro-war. I think it's a very complicated situation and there are strong pros for both sides. There is an Iraqi-American doctor here who is unbelievably pro-war. He thinks that the possibility of losing loved ones in a war is worth ousting Saddam, a man who has terrorizes his family's lives, once and for all. So that's something I always have in the back of my head when I hear Americans, who have no first-hand experience dealing with the Iraqi government, crazily screaming about war.

But I also think it's strange that things are going this quickly. People are pissed - here and especially in Great Britain. I haven't participated in the protests (see ambivalence), but they're impressive. So I don't know why Bush is going full steam ahead when this many people want to crucify him. True, I live in San Francisco, where the people are truly a unique breed, so perhaps the majority of Americans do support war, but I wonder how this will affect the presidential campaign.

If all of these protestors had mobilized as effectively as they are now and elected Gore, maybe the country would be in better shape.