Friday, October 01, 2004
Presidential
When the scripts and spin doctors are taken away and each man stands alone, to be judged only on his own merits, the people finally have a chance to see what kind of person they are dealing with. John Kerry was outstanding. He was firm, he was gutsy, he was polite but forceful. Bush clearly planned to take the offense, was knocked off balance and put on the defensive. He was flustered, and furious. So much for body language.
What Kerry did tonight, is show that he can be presidential. He also did the American public a favor by laying out real issues out on the table, hard questions for the public to face, and that the Administration to answer.
Yet his ending address was direct, warm, sincere, and heartfelt. He bantered with Bush about his daughters. The difference I saw tonight between the candidates is maturity. That difference is experience.
Americans feel very uneasy that we were mislead into a strategically unwise war in Iraq, and yet, at the same time, we have to follow through and secure peace there. President Bush doesn't seem to have that reality at hand. He continues to conflate the issues of 9/11 and Iraq. His whole argument for his presidency is riding on that. When Kerry called him on it, he was pressed to say he knows the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, yet continued to talk as if weapons of mass destruction had been in Iraq, and as if that issue had anything to do with Al Queda.
Kerry steered the conversation like a swift boat into the difficult territories: nuclear proliferation, what to do about Korea, Iran- Russia- Sudan, whether our military is overextended- issues the American public has yet to hear aired in the hothouse climate of entertainment where gossips and disinformation pass for news.
I think this debate gives Americans a clear picture of the candidates and sheds any doubt John Kerry is prepared and capable of taking on the job. He is both forceful and reasoned, and knows how to deal within the new world order.
Kerry's most powerful quote was when he addressed the issue of flip flopping. "It's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. It's another to ... then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right. "
Bush, for all his flip flopping rhetoric, has had to do some of that. The tough guy stance continues, but he's also had to go back to the U.N. and ask for help. He's learned something about alliances and not offending your allies.
Kerry, on the other hand, is stuck with the awkward position of having to argue his way out of Bush's mistakes. We broke it, we bought it. That's the bad news. Bush's most potent attack on Kerry, apparently, is that Kerry supported him.
But Kerry showed us tonight that he has the mettle to stay the course in Iraq, pick up the pieces and get us back on track in the world as a leader with principles who can be counted on in the rough. That gets my vote.
If you liked what Kerry had to say, here's an opportunity to do your part and let the media know.
Media Links
What Kerry did tonight, is show that he can be presidential. He also did the American public a favor by laying out real issues out on the table, hard questions for the public to face, and that the Administration to answer.
Yet his ending address was direct, warm, sincere, and heartfelt. He bantered with Bush about his daughters. The difference I saw tonight between the candidates is maturity. That difference is experience.
Americans feel very uneasy that we were mislead into a strategically unwise war in Iraq, and yet, at the same time, we have to follow through and secure peace there. President Bush doesn't seem to have that reality at hand. He continues to conflate the issues of 9/11 and Iraq. His whole argument for his presidency is riding on that. When Kerry called him on it, he was pressed to say he knows the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, yet continued to talk as if weapons of mass destruction had been in Iraq, and as if that issue had anything to do with Al Queda.
Kerry steered the conversation like a swift boat into the difficult territories: nuclear proliferation, what to do about Korea, Iran- Russia- Sudan, whether our military is overextended- issues the American public has yet to hear aired in the hothouse climate of entertainment where gossips and disinformation pass for news.
I think this debate gives Americans a clear picture of the candidates and sheds any doubt John Kerry is prepared and capable of taking on the job. He is both forceful and reasoned, and knows how to deal within the new world order.
Kerry's most powerful quote was when he addressed the issue of flip flopping. "It's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. It's another to ... then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right. "
Bush, for all his flip flopping rhetoric, has had to do some of that. The tough guy stance continues, but he's also had to go back to the U.N. and ask for help. He's learned something about alliances and not offending your allies.
Kerry, on the other hand, is stuck with the awkward position of having to argue his way out of Bush's mistakes. We broke it, we bought it. That's the bad news. Bush's most potent attack on Kerry, apparently, is that Kerry supported him.
But Kerry showed us tonight that he has the mettle to stay the course in Iraq, pick up the pieces and get us back on track in the world as a leader with principles who can be counted on in the rough. That gets my vote.
If you liked what Kerry had to say, here's an opportunity to do your part and let the media know.
Media Links
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This letter by me was published in my local newspaper.
When it comes to deficit spending, GOP flip-flops
By SPECIAL TO CITIZEN-TIMES
Sept. 25, 2004 6:47 p.m.
This election year is one of the most important in decades for many reasons including the war in Iraq, the economy, the federal deficit, jobs, health care, Social Security and more.
The Republicans are spending their energy attacking their opponents, John Kerry and John Edwards, because they have to. They have failed miserably at all of the issues listed above.
In the early 1990s all the Republicans could talk about - it was their trademark statement - was getting rid of the huge deficit and showing fiscal responsibility. The Democrats did just that last time around and guess who's just taken a huge Democrat-produced federal surplus and racked up the largest federal deficit in history? If you couldn't guess the answer to that easy question, it is George W. Bush. That is flip-flopping of major proportions by the Republican Party.
Do you want your children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren, to pay for this? It will only get worse with another Bush presidency. The Republicans seem to happily want to bankrupt the federal government. That's the fastest way the government won't have to pay for the social programs the Republicans dislike so much.
Think about your vote and its lasting impact.
Post a Comment
When it comes to deficit spending, GOP flip-flops
By SPECIAL TO CITIZEN-TIMES
Sept. 25, 2004 6:47 p.m.
This election year is one of the most important in decades for many reasons including the war in Iraq, the economy, the federal deficit, jobs, health care, Social Security and more.
The Republicans are spending their energy attacking their opponents, John Kerry and John Edwards, because they have to. They have failed miserably at all of the issues listed above.
In the early 1990s all the Republicans could talk about - it was their trademark statement - was getting rid of the huge deficit and showing fiscal responsibility. The Democrats did just that last time around and guess who's just taken a huge Democrat-produced federal surplus and racked up the largest federal deficit in history? If you couldn't guess the answer to that easy question, it is George W. Bush. That is flip-flopping of major proportions by the Republican Party.
Do you want your children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren, to pay for this? It will only get worse with another Bush presidency. The Republicans seem to happily want to bankrupt the federal government. That's the fastest way the government won't have to pay for the social programs the Republicans dislike so much.
Think about your vote and its lasting impact.
<< Home
