Does anyone really care that much about what Bush or
Kerry was doing 35 years ago? Yes, it
looks like the CBS memos are forged. So what though, it doesn't change the
fact that Bush was a goof off during his National Guard time. But will that
change anybody's vote? I doubt it.
What do these two men offer for our future? Bush
wants to solve our growing health care costs with "private accounts" for health
care. I guess these are supposed to be like our IRAs. Kerry believes that health
care is something our government should provide.
Both seem to have similar feelings about what we should do
about Iraq. Now that Bush has gotten us into this poorly planned mess, Kerry
wants to begin withdrawing our troops within the next 4 years. Bush says we'll
stay in that terrorist recruitment center for "as long as it takes".
Bush doesn't seem to care at all about our budget
deficits. Half a trillion dollars? No problemo. Let the pork fly. Kerry at
least is likely to bring spending growth back to where it was during the Clinton
years and raise taxes on the wealthy to try to stem the deficit. I guess the
wealthy may have to wait an extra year to buy that summer home or boat. I think
it wiser to stem the deficit.
Bush's advisors have made outsourcing not seem like
a big deal. Sure, everything's made in China. It's cheaper. Great for us. Tell
that to the millions of Americans trading in good jobs for being Walmart
greeters. Kerry wants to put a stop to this.
Bush thinks we can go it alone. He thinks it's
1944ish. Their convention was based on that premise. It's not 1944. It's 2004
and the United States, the most powerful country in the world, cannot fight
terrorism on its own. It needs to work with other nations. Nations that have
their own concerns and priorities. Would it really have been the end of the
world to have given the inspectors another 6 months in order to get France and
Germany and other allies on our side?
I think the choice is clear. But I don't think
looking back 35 years helps make that choice.