Well, the debates are over, and Americans have had ample opportunity to feel out each candidate.
In one corner, we have a compassionate conservative who has shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility and local control. We have a man who rightfully led his country into war against one of the most barbaric regimes in the world and has dealt a severe blow to terrorist networks around the globe. He has cut taxes, enacted bipartisan education reform and strengthened Social Security despite the terrible and tragic events of Sept. 11.
In the other corner, we have a professional politician whose 20-year career in the United States Senate has yielded few, if any, significant accomplishments. We have a man whose monumental “flip flops” will go down in history as outrageous, clumsy attempts to appeal to every segment of his constituency. Here is a man who will say or do anything to gain political power.
Thank God we have an easy choice come Nov. 2!
Over the past four years, George W. Bush has put into place pro-growth, business-friendly policies that helped pull our economy out of Bill Clinton’s recession, the ‘90s tech bust and the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. His historic tax relief package not only helped struggling middle class families but also the small businesses that create jobs for our workers. These small businesses make up a major portion of the top 1 percent of taxpayers that Al Gore was screaming about in 2000. They would be unable to continue creating jobs if the tax burden were increased, as Kerry is proposing. Bush knows that the true path to a strong economy lies in job creation and it will be a central theme in his second term. The measures Bush has taken have returned money to the people who badly need it and set the stage for an economic boom that will benefit generations to come.
The defining issue of the 2004 campaign is without a doubt the War on Terror and national security. I can’t think of a scarier situation in times like these than having a man like John Kerry as president. Surprisingly, on May 4, 2003, at a primary debate in South Carolina, Kerry clarified his stance on the Iraq war stating, “I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.” Not surprisingly, when the polls showed support of the war was leveling off, Kerry immediately identified himself as an “anti-war candidate” on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews and began calling the president a liar.
Kerry is not only the wrong man to preside over the Iraq war, but I don’t believe he could effectively execute the broader war on terror. Kerry, who wants to fight a “more sensitive war on terror,” would export our national security and require a “global test” before allowing America to defend itself. Even though he’s backed away from that last statement quite a bit, Kerry cannot hide from his atrocious voting record of cutting intelligence spending and depriving our troops of the equipment they need to execute an effective war. Kerry is simply too spineless and poll-driven to be able to protect us from the threat of terrorism.
Bush has aggressively pursued a policy of hunting down and killing every last terrorist who would do us harm. He understands that protecting U.S. citizens is far more important than worrying about international approval ratings or global opinion. Bush will, as Vice President Dick Cheney put it, “never seek a permission slip to defend America.” Under the president’s leadership, there have been great improvements in national security: We haven’t seen another attack on our soil, our troops have the resources they need to fight an effective war and rogue nations such as Libya are giving up their weapons programs. The world is a safer place than it was four years ago. We do not want to return to a Sept. 10 attitude with the election of John Kerry.
From taxes to the economy, from homeland security to national defense, from improving education to ensuring better health care for seniors, President Bush has delivered on promises he made to the American people. He has proven that he is a man of integrity and resolve who will never make you guess where he stands on the tough issues. In these troubling times, we need a man like him at the head of our nation. I hope you’ll join me in returning him for four more years and a bright future for America!
Alan Schoenrock is Vice President of Activism of the United Republicans at ASU and an engineering sophomore. Reach him at bucks0907@aol.com.
