I read a news report today about how the California media is giving Arnold Schwarzneggar a huge problem becuz he made some comments a few years ago about how he was impressed with Adolf Hitler's abilities to do what he did.

I find that interesting bcuz if he did mean to say what it sounds like he said, then I agree with him. I have for many years. I also think if that people listened to the argument they might see what it is really trying to say.

Schwarzneggar has taken a different approach to the whole issue than I would have, he's denying the whole thing ever happened. That makes sense since he has another week of election campaigning to do and he really does not have time to let this bog him down. So, he's denying rather than justify his argument...

but... I do intend to justify the argument.

First of all, let's get one thing straight, I despise everything that Hitler stood for and did. It was a great atrocity that he killed one jewish person (among many other minorities), much less six million. He was a truly demented and terrible individual. So, in no way am I saying that what he did was good. It am not happy that he did it. I am amazed though. I am impressed. I am in awe. Not because I have the same aspirations, not because he did something I always wanted to do, not because I wished those people dead, but because he was able to do it.

That is the distinction. The words "impressed", "great", "awe" have taken on positive meanings in the english language... and being in awe of something automatically means that you are 'impressed' by it.. in fact I am horrified by it. I am saddened by it.

But, you have to ask yourself.. how good a speaker and leader was this guy who led a shattered country to believe that the root cause of all its problems was its minorities. Jewish people within the German tradition before Hitler's arrival were not minorities in one small section of Berlin or Hamburg. On the contrary, every German person had some sort of blood or familial relation in the Jewish tradition. Basically, Hitler led a nation want to abandon its mothers/cousins/best friends/teachers/loved ones etc etc.

How good a speaker does someone have to be for you to send your best friend to a concentration camp at his/her speaker's behest? (note: not every german family bought into the rhetoric, there were thousands who helped thousands get out and live. That is imporatant to remember.)

This guy had a talent for what he did. He was good at it. He did terrible things but his skills were used by him in the right way.

Secondly, his skills come into full sight when you start noticing how he built a country and especially an army out of nothing. Germany was poor, corrupt, and one of the weakest countries in the world after WW1 .. but he built it back up and whats more, convinced the german army and people that they should take on the world once again.

How do you do that? How good do you have to be to make people belive that they have a chance to win when they have lost the most devastating battle/war ever fought just a mere 20 years before.

That takes talent. This guy was a demented screwball. What he did was terrible. But, any unbiased person (and I can understand why some might not be) can see that he did do great things. Terrible, but great.

That's my 2 cents...