I respect your opinion, so I won't press the issue of military service further. My sole point was to say that our politicians, as a whole, are hardly admirable people when it comes to military service. And for those who have been? Well, Karl Rove et al. made sure to try and pass off former Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) as being a "traitor," even though he came back with missing limbs. That's more of a sacrifice than Bush or Cheney ever gave.
I sincerely hope that people are voting for a candidate, based on the totality of his message, rather than just "one-issue." As a voter, I'll admit that Vietnam service records were meaningless on my decision on whom to vote for. It comes down to the economy, it comes down to trust, it comes down to what I think of the administration officials, and it comes down to what kind of vision I want to see over the next four years.
In my opinion, Bush is a failure all around. I disagree with the motive behind his tax cuts. I hate how he rallies his base by fostering bigotry against homosexuals; I believe it shows very bad character, and we would be awfully embarrassed by such behavior if it were done against black people (like back in the first half of the 20th century). I don't believe he has supported our troops sufficiently. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went on television to state that our troops are often lacking in armor and other resources, because the GOP Congress has been porking off the funds to their pet projects. Roughly, in his words, they are in denial that there is even a war at all, despite their harsh rhetoric. Actions speak louder than words, and people can say whatever they want, but Bush's actions have been nothing like his words.
In contrast, I believe that Kerry has a common sense approach to the economy and the war on terrorism. In regards to the latter, we may think we can "go it alone" forever, and, sure, we probably can deal with Iraq and Afghanistan. But those two countries don't control all the world's terrorists. The world has an awfully negative opinion of Bush, and, whether we like that or not, how we are perceived in the world *does* affect our security. We can't even get Europe or Canada to like us, so how do we expect to get the Middle East to like us (and, thus, stop generating anti-U.S. terrorists)?
In regards to the former, why do we give tax cuts to businesses that outsource their labor? It's true. We're giving tax breaks for Intel and HP to close their American plants and head to India. And what about other nations? God forbid, they give tax incentives for businesses to not only stay within their borders, but to also encourage hiring their own citizens. Thus, for Americans to want to work abroad to escape this crappy economy, it will be virtually impossible, unless you have family that qualifies you as a permanent resident. Thankfully, I do have someone in Canada where I could qualify, and I have thought of it. How did I ever think that I'd want to leave the U.S. just to work? But that's where I think that the Bush Administration is an absolute failure. He is nothing more than a puppet for supply-side economics (which even his father rightfully decried as "voodoo economics"), which thinks of any economic aid solely in terms of "tax cuts." Well, Dubya, the tax cuts have failed...now what? Oil, additionally, does affect our economic growth, but, contrary to what the administration has told us, these high prices have little to do with supply shortages and more to do with his energy policy. How many people know that, while our oil prices are at record highs, Bush is spending our tax dollars to buy this oil at these record prices to fill the Strategic Oil Reserves? At least a quarter of our "oil consumption" is going into these reserves, thus driving up oil prices and stunting our economy. So what does Bush do one week before the election? Release some of the reserves, thus driving down oil prices. Additionally, oil speculators are selling oil on the belief that Kerry will win, have a more prudent oil policy, and foster positive relations (i.e., not blow up) in the Middle East. A Kerry win will contribute to sparking our economy much better than most realize, and, as someone who is currently unemployed, this is my primary voting issue.
We have the possibility to get a fresh start, and I look forward to the election of President Kerry.
Melon