AT this point i think it requires a leap of faith. If they do nothing they will very likely die off. Might as well take the plunge. But i agree with you. As an average guy i would probalby side with Zarek but at the same time i might also just be ready to get it over with and be willing to take the risk. Its a tough choice. But i think i would trust in Adama he has gotten them thru everything else so far…
I have to go with Adama, even though I don’t always agree with his decisions (genocidal virus, anyone? I love Helo.)
Besides which, I would never trust a former terrorist. If one has decided that violence is the way to achieve social change, well, sorry. No support from me.
Having mulled it over, if my ass were in a sling, and my life were on the line, I’d prefer to be on Adama’s side.
Gaeta and Zarek are gonna learn what happens when you back Adama (and Starbuck) into a corner.
I hope this schism doesn’t stretch out beyond next episode.
Is it Friday yet?
I think Adama is the best Choice he is going do a hard 6 soon! But I do agree putting cylon tech in the other ships not a good idea. remember in the mini series they disabled there ships and in season 1 they tried connecting the computers to jump and the cylons were cracking them. So if they put the jump drives in the ships and the Cavil cylons would be able to hack there jump drives easier?
I would side with Adama we just have to get that religious nut Rosalin out of office. It is Adama’s blind love for her that has clouded his judgment on so many occasions.
I like Adama, and I like Roslin, but that last scene in the bunk – while nice – was just uncool, them lying there like the king and queen of the fleet.
At this time I will have to go with Mr. Zarek. He might not be the best choice, but I do feel that he believe in democracy; I don’t that Adama or Roslin at this point do.
Given the choice between those two, I would have to pick Adama; he’s proven that he can be a good leader, something I don’t think Zarek has demonstrated.
However, the OP is sooo right; get Lee and Tigh in charge, and the fleet will be OK again. 
Albatross what do you mean by a “good” leader. Is it someone who can lead in the right direction or someone who can get people to follow them?
You may not agree but I would say that Zarek has been good at getting the masses to follow him. As said in a different post, Adama right now is trying to push a string.
However I am forced to concede the point that if you are talking about a lifetime of decisions, Adama might be the better man. However I do question here towards the end of the show who is at the moment the better man.
I’m with Adama. He wants to persevere and collaborate with the Cylons because he knows Cavil is still looking for them and a Basestar is a pretty good allie. Zarek is just stirring the pot. He got stepped over when Lee was elected in the absence of Roslin so he feels no loyalty to the gov’t. Zarek is a revolutionary not a leader. Zarek doesn’t have the attitude of a leader he has the attitude of a fist shaker. Adama is a leader, Roslin is a Leader, Lee is a leader.
I’ve a dreadful feeling that Cavil is going to show up and eat half the fleets lunch while undergoing jump drive upgrades.
At the risk of making light of Gaeta’s sacrifice in the line of duty, you know what they say about one-legged men and ass-kicking contests.
No it’s okay - go ahead and make light. 
Bad,Bad,Bad.
So many great arguments.
NormanD: I see your point regarding the Cylon risk on a certain level. I wondered what Adama was thinking at first as well. But at this juncture, either accepting the Cylons or going their own way is risky for the fleet. Adama is making a decision he believes is the least risky of the two. Caught out in the huge expanse of space, losing numbers, losing resources and being pursued by an enemy able to jump 3 times further than you can is not a great place to be.
Why would he chose to accept the Cylons? One of Adama’s greatest strengths AND his greatest weakness has been his loyalty to his “family”. He protects all of the military men and women fiercely, but some are more family than others. Who were the closest to him? Roslyn, Lee, Saul, Athena, Tyrol, Starbuck and Dee. Dee is dead, Roslyn is “on vacation”, Lee thinks this is a great idea, Starbuck in an enigma and the rest are Cylons.
Adama’s other flaw is his feeling of responsibility over the well being of the Fleet. He has told the fleet he will find them a home, a purpose to continue (as he failed to do for Dee). The new technology will allow him to fulfill that purpose and new allies will provide extra protection.
I do think that Adama is nearly spent. He is too ill, too tired, too guilt ridden and effected by the hard choices of the past to continue much longer. One of the themes of the show appears to be the necessity for the parent to die so the child can truly live.
As for keeping information from the people, this is not something new. Even in modern democracies, certain information remains secret, especially in times of war. I do agree that Adama is not making an effort help the fleet understand why their most hated enemy should now be their friend. But really, he was never very good at this. Roslyn was the diplomatic spin doctor, and she has abdicated that role.
Starbutt, I do think Zarek has principles, and he is willing to die for those principles. Unfortunately, he is willing to watch others die for those principles as well. While Adama is concentrating on survival, Zarek is driven by rather esoteric notions of democracy and freedom that are, perhaps, more appropriate once the survival thing has been pinned down a bit better (though YMMV). I wouldn’t be surprised if he won’t be like the freedom fighter who is willing to kill and destroy for something he believes in only to descend to tyrannical despot once he gets power (for the furtherance of his principles, of course).
Agreed - and I would even add that Roslin over time became less and less diplomatic (particularly when I think of the recent Quorum scenes we’ve seen and Lee’s role).
I would definitely agree that Zarek is good at getting followers (can you really call yourself a leader if people don’t follow you?), but to me, that’s not a definition of a good leader. Jim Jones had followers and look how that turned out.
I guess my point is that I believe Adama can be a good leader; it’s unfortunate that he’s not right now when the fleet so desperately needs one.
It’s hard for me to see Tom Zarek as anything but a sh*t stirrer who enjoys causing trouble (as opposed to Tyrol, who causes trouble to make things better), so by default I pick Adama as the ‘better’ man (which is my own hangup and I’ll admit to it). But Zarek is right about the fleet’s present leadership failures, so even with my prejudices, I can’t hate on Zarek too much.
Surprisingly, I’m on the fence.
Why is this debate coming down to Adama vs. Zarek? Is Zarek looking to be an Admiral? No, he wants to work through the government. So. Roslin and Adama vs. Zarek and Gaeta. Instead of just picking my favorite character’s team, I’m going to consider this logically.
Item 1: I would like the Zarek-Gaeta team to be given a chance. They seem to have the best interests of the (human) people in the fleet in mind, and I’d like to see how well they succeed or how bad they fail before I choose a side for keeps.
Item 2: I do think that the only way to move forward is for the humans and cylons to just get along, once and for all. But the Roslin-Adama team is going about it all wrong—it seems to me like trying to force people to accept the cylons is just making them panic. I think Lee probably has it right, but he’s neither making the decisions nor allowed to put his own spin on them to announce them. If the Zarek-Gaeta team wants to chuck all the cylons out the airlock, though they have legitimate reasons, I’d never condone the actual action. (Heck, not so long ago the Roslin administration was doing that very thing, and I didn’t like it then, either.) And, of course, it’s not just that the humans need to accept the cylons, but the cylons need to adjust their thinking, as well—who in their right minds would try to force anyone to team up with a bunch of CrazyEights with no qualms about killing off humans left and right? In other words, the cylon leaders need to make sure that their people are willing to accept humans right back.
Item 3: A couple of weeks ago, I would have soundly agreed that Zarek has only his own interests at heart, but after listening to that interview with Richard Hatch… man, I don’t know. Like I said before, let’s give him a chance to try things his way, and see what it looks like. Gaeta’s battered idealism might be an asset, but we all know he’s prone to bouts of insane bad luck and bad judgment, so who knows.
So, in conclusion: Though I think their intentions are good, I’d like to see Team Zaeta in action before making my final decision. Team Radama needs to reexamine their methods, and make up their minds whether they want to be a dictatorship or a democracy. At the very least, Team Radama badly needs to be shaken into action by Team Zaeta. A little mutiny will burn the political apathy right out of them. Maybe they will realize they need to pay closer attention to what the individual members of the fleet want. And I think team Tigh-Helo wouldn’t be anything to sneeze at, either, and might even manage to be a happy middle ground. …or, considering that that would immediately drive away all the rabid cylon-haters in the fleet, maybe not.
Wouldn’t that make Zarek the Jesus figure then? Baltar reminds me more of a little drummer boy for head six and the one god. I guess I just can’t totally believe Baltar truly believes in his own rhetoric. I don’t see Zarek as a martyr though. He’s got too many flaws, but of course history is written by the victors.
Well i can’t stomach the Roslin, Adama rule anymore so I guess i’d vote for Zarek. Not that i think he’s great but he’s better than the fascists.
I think what ever happens is for the good of the human race.
They need this.
It’ll hurt like a motherfraker but it’ll be for the better.