Bush vs Kerry ..... The Future

[Stevie Ray]

A friend sent the comments below late yesterday. Whether you agree with them or not, they are somewhat thought provoking ... Manweller apparently writes a regular political column and this is his latest. What say yee?
===========================================
Written by Mathew Manweller
Central Washington University political science professor..


"Election determines fate of nation"
"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election,
there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too
serious, and the stakes are too high.

This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that
will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation
crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path
lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a
nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its
future demands.

If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years
of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current
occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will
be two-fold.

First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things.
Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon
the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the
Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will
signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle
difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the
mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of
President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may
need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been
a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or
appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.

Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the
lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you
don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them
in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.

Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy
lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia
times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist
in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity
of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly
photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people.
Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that
he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the
homeland.

It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest generation'.
But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last
generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in
the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that
understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to
admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by
many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake
'living in America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been
more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real
estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.

This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp
the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the
oblivion they may deserve.

I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the
election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks
of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal
sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as
caretakers of the City on the Hill."

Mathew Manwelle
Central Washington University Political Science Professor

[spyderknut]

I agree. Despite many imperfections, Bush is the clear choice. Kerry talks tough but it is poll-driven rhetoric with no voting record to back it up. He is the ultimate political opportunist. Anyone's service in battle must be honored, however Kerry's short term in service and his post-service conduct evoke more character questions than confidence.

[Ray.Hood]

Hey, he's my Commander In Chief!
I've become a Republican in my old age, ha-ha.
I'm sorry, but I just don't respect the things that Kerry has testified to about Vietnam. My Dad was 82nd Airborne in Vietnam. As long as Kerry does NOT
become the new Jane Fonda he might be alright.I don't like the idea of playing world policeman any better than most, but hey it's my job.

[J Smith]

IMO the parties have done a flip flop.The democrats of old would be rebublicains today.
Bush must be reelected or all of us will have a very hard time to go through.

[Codeman]

Who would stop in the middle of a fight we're winning, get rid of the big dog, and put a chameleon in? I'm still grateful President Bush was there on 9/11. I think Kerry would make a great condiment salesman.

Even if I didn't agree with President Bush on most things, which I do, I'd still prefer him for his integrity. That is a must have in our leader.

[Sword and Shield]

I wouldn't buy a bottle of ketchup from Kerry.

I look at it that you simply have to apply a test my grandfather created when he did invesstigations for Masonic candidates; would you buy a used car from this man? Bush? Sure. Kerry? There's something wrong about him, I'm not sure what. My wallet stays put.

[Codeman]

[quote="Sword and Shield"]I wouldn't buy a bottle of ketchup from Kerry. ]

Good point! Either way, there's no way would I eat it!

Man, I haven't heard the used car test in a long time. Nice to be reminded!

[java]

Thanks for the excellent article Stevie Ray,

As a Vietnam Vet, my distaste for Kerry is palpable. Kerry was an officer in the US Naval Reserve when consorted with the North Vietnamese in violation of US Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 45, Section 953. In my eyes the man is a traitor and after wrapping himself in the hero's flag at the convention, he opened the door for the Viet POWS (Stolen Honor) the Swift Boat Vets, and anyone else with a sense of history and fairness who wanted to set the record straight. He used and was used by the media in the 1970s and is partly responsible for the media view of the Viet Vet as a troubled warrior forced to commit atrocities during an unpopular war who came back unable to adjust to life in the US - was drunk or drugged up, homeless, prone to domestic violence and could trip out and wage war on the populace at large at the drop of a flashback.

He has nothing to show for leadership or lawmaking in 20 plus years as a Senator unless you count the eight bills - 5 of which were ceremonial - with his name on them. He claims over 55 bills but you can check factcheck.org for a more accurate number. In his entire congressional career of 20 plus years John Kerry has had eight, count them again EIGHT, bills he authored pass muster and be signed into law. Of these eight, five are ceremonial - renaming a federal building, designating Vietnam Veterans Memorial 10th Anniversary Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day and World Population Awareness Week in two separate years. His most laudable effort came in 1999 when President Clinton signed his bill providing grants to support small businesses owned by women. The remaining two grew from his work on the Senate panel on oceans and fisheries where he is the ranking minority representative - a 1994 law to protect marine mammals from being taken during commercial fishing and a 1991 measure for the National Sea Grant College Program Act, which finances marine research.

Kerry’s campaign page however lists at least 57 measures he claims to have passed or “lead” the fight for. This is political puffery and, IMO, self-aggrandizement in an election battle with a political campaign organization “that will stop at nothing” to get elected. His “leadership” is not in evidence here. He may have cosponsored many resolutions in a process that allows representatives to show their initial support by attaching their names to proposed legislation but this to me is more party politics than leadership. I will give Kerry the fact that he has proven to have good investigative powers to showcase areas that need addressing, as in akjon’s example of investigating terrorism-funding banking scandals, but to me leadership shows a more productive role – both authoring forward looking legislation and working to foster consensus for legislation that you firmly believe will benefit your constituents and your country. John Kerry has shown me neither and I do not hear a balanced chorus claiming he has a reputation uniting his colleagues for the common good of the people.

His absences, which the Bush campaign conservatively claims at 76%, from the Senate Intelligence Committee's public hearings during the time he served there, are particularly troubling to me. IMO, I see this as small part of what I perceive as his failure to shoulder the responsibility his constituents and we the American people have entrusted to him. I have discussed his more than 440 absent or Not Voting records in this congress before on BFC and stand by my claim that the people of Massachusetts are being denied. I will go further by saying that he is letting all of us down, as these are many of the resolutions that will become our laws. I can accept higher than normal absences in a campaign year but the current congress goes back to January 2003. And for those of you who claim that he is strong on defense because he has a record of voting for Military Appropriations Bills, the voting role called for HR 4613, The Defense Appropriation Act of 2005, records another absent/not voting beside Mr. Kerry’s name. As did the current vote to restructure the intelligence system - a campaign iinitiative that he said was so important that he would stop in the middle of his campaign to be present and vote. The only non-Votes were the twin Johns.

My decision is probably obvious here but rather than perpetuate the anybody-but-Bush baiting and partisan posturing on both sides, I recommend each of us review the issues from other than campaign headquarters and analyze for ourselves what the accomplishments and records of these candidates are. Vietnam service should have been a non-player and is a wash as it is. What each has done since in the public good; what mistakes each has made and overcome; who best has provided leadership; and who has formulated the better vision to deal with the issues that face us should be logically analyzed to make an informed voting opinion.

A good place to start that seems relatively unbiased IMO is http://factcheck.org You can find congressional voting records for the current congress, links to most of the resolutions, make up of congressional committees, and info on your rep at http://www.congressmerge.com

There are plenty of good non-partisan links out there and if you have a few more, I would love to see them. Please give the issues your best analysis, continue with the intelligent discussion, and vote your conscious (often… :D Sorry had to throw that in due to Texas’ history of deceased voter turnout under Johnson)


[quote="Sword and Shield"]I wouldn't buy a bottle of ketchup from Kerry. ]
Resplendent One,

And nothing with the name Heinz either but, as I am sure you are running low on condiments, perhaps it's time for a change to (insert robust fanfare here) W brand the Ketchup of konservatives nation-wide. :D

[spyderknut]

Thanks for serving Java.
And thanks for serving that can of whoop-***.
Wow. Can't wait to see if someone with an opposing point of view has the :confused: :confused: to debate.

[Stevie Ray]

After the "W" ketchup bottle, I figured you guys needed to see these comparative pics :D First ... the candidates as "sportsmen" and then, see them in some of their favorite outdoor pursuits ....

<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/7 ... rtsmen.JPG' width=538 height=300 >

<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/7 ... orsmen.JPG' width=538 height=355 >

[Codeman]

I'll second the thanks for serving, Java.

Great pic comparisions, Stevie Ray.

Yeah, I've quit buying Heinz. Even without Kerry, I cannot stand his wife and the thought of my money gong to them is sickening. I'm gonna miss the ketchup, though...

[java]

After the "W" ketchup bottle, I figured you guys needed to see these comparative pics :D First ... the candidates as "sportsmen" and then, see them in some of their favorite outdoor pursuits ....

<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/7 ... orsmen.JPG' width=538 height=355 >

JFKII: The Man Who Would be Sequel certainly dresses the part. The daisy pull on his LL Bean togs is probably a yearning to go back to the simple days of the late '60s - Suppose they gave a war and nobody came]HIS[/B] past. He has a 20 plus year record of public service in which he has shown little character and leadership ability. I'll grant he can be an excellent investigative representative but given his record of absences in the Congress and on critical committees coupled with his sparse record of promulgating effective legislation measures, the public and especially the people of Massachusetts have not really been served.

Kerry is honored in by the current Vietnamese government as a hero who helped communists win the war against the US in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. Interesting that should the man be elected, he would be the first President who is a war hero to both sides of the same US war. Rather fitting of a man who takes every side of an issue and then claims he never changed his approach. That what he meant was yada, yada, yada.

JFK2 has nuanced a large part of the public into believing into GWB and his administration are singlehandedly responsible for everything that has gone wrong in these last four years. GWB inherited a declining economy. The 9-11 attacks were the result of progression of years of attacks beginning in the late 1970s in Lebanon. The month following 9-11 saw approximately 1 million jobs, mostly in the airline industry, vanish and we are still recovering from the effects. There's a lot more and enough blame to go around that both parties need to seriously evaluate their positions and come up with a way to effective work together for the common good if we are to survive and move forward. With his blame game, Kerry has led a more negative campaign, beginning with the midnight rebuttal to the GOP convention when traditionally, rivals give the opposing party a break in the campaign, as did Bush for the Domocratic party. Any inquiry into Kerry's past activities has met with counter claims or indignation - i.e. the CBS "memos" on GWB's guard service and the "Bring it on" response from Kerry to the GOP when no one, in fact, impuned his war record except the people like John O'Neil (Swift Boat Veterans) who have been trying to be heard these past thirty years. Kerry has insulted our allies in Iraq calling them a coalition of the coerced and the bribed when in fact the bribed are the very "allies" he would seek to bring on board in his real coalition. France and Russia were so deep in bed with Saddam I'll be suprised if the next generation of French and Russians don't come out looking like a tragic morph of Chirac, Saddam, and Putin. The UN Oil for Food scandal is new to many who have not been reading up on the war they are so against Ken Pollack’s The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq not only spoke quite eloquently regarding the violations even then but revealed how Vice President Al Gore, another now anti-Iraq war candidate was an ardent supporter of invading Iraq in support of our national interests with or without UN support. The book was published in 2002 BTW. It’s funny how so many merely parrot the party line without regards to their own convictions.

I have read Kerry’s loose biography about his Vietnam experience. Tour of Duty was a jaundiced view at best and, as has been reported with the seared memory of his Cambodian Christmas claim, is less than accurate. Knowing this I read [B]Unfit for Command[/B] to better understand the Swift Boat Veterans feelings and then Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History to help me understand some of my own feelings about JFK2 and my own experiences. It’s a little late for many of you to take this road of understanding but in spite of the DNC’s cry against Stolen Honor, I would urge people, no matter their political stripe to view the documentary. It may enlighten some about Kerry but more importantly, it is a vehicle that allows these Vietnam POWs a chance to tell their story. Kerry is not even mentioned until some 20 minutes in. What I found distressing about this documentary was the response to it. The DNC and the anti-Sinclair protestors were far off base about the content. One protestor who claims to have watched the video said it was nothing but a bunch of old white people – not POWs – whose only goal was to ruin Kerry. How sad when we simply dismiss what these men went through and fail to listen and learn the lessons of the past – there was another side to Kerry’s betrayal of his “band of brothers” and it lies imbedded within these old white men. One of these old white men Robinson Risner was my commander and fellow church mate. He remains an inspiration for me to this day. You can view Stolen Honor in its entirety by going to http://www.stolenhonor.com

Whatever you do, be sure to vote. Vote with knowledge. Vote your true conscience. Just vote!

Oh, and just remember whatever happens is George Bush's fault but John Kerry has a plan. :D

I'm Java and I approved this rambling opinion. Thanks fer listening.

[Sword and Shield]

W brand ketchup isn't made that far from my house, IIRC.

Ya know, Kerry keeps saying he has a plan, but he never details what the heck it is. If he were taking an exam, and he kept saying, "I know the answer" but didn't give it, would he pass? I think not.

[spyderknut]

Just got tix to Bush rally tomorrow in town. Guess I'll have to remember to leave by :spyder: in the car! :)

[jbake]

Great posts java.

Stevie Ray, those pics kill me. Here are some of my favorite ones.

[java]

jbake,

Thanks but I'm sure what I say is what many others here feel. I got John Kerry confused with Robert Kerrey once and looked them both up. Bob Kerrey is the real Vietnam hero along with John McClain. There are probably a few others still in Congress. I'd vote for John McClain any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Pretty much the same if Bob Kerrey ran. I'm an Independent with conservative views but I value what the other side has to say if it is to the good of society. I still believe that honesty, loyalty, integrity, a good work ethic, and a well functioning moral compass go the distance over flash, show, and promises.

Now for your pictures...I have to add the version of the Contempt one that I received in the mail some time ago. I'll probably get banned or shot for this but it resounded well with the military friends I forwarded it to:

[Stevie Ray]

Well .... I wasn't going to poste this pic, but now ..., I feel it is my duty .. :D Here are your choices for first lady!

<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/7 ... halves.JPG' width=404 height=319 >

[SURLY]

Well .... I wasn't going to poste this pic, but now ..., I feel it is my duty .. :D Here are your choices for first lady!

<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-6/7 ... halves.JPG' width=404 height=319 >

EXACTLY !!!!! NO MORE HEINTZ FOR ME ! BUSH IS THE MAN...

[dantecubit]

Granted I live in Canada, but I lived most of my life in Sacramento (California). Are you people for real? Just because Bush got the country into a snafu of a war doesn't mean he has any more of a "plan" than Kerry. Kerry wants more troops and international cooperartion. And why are we still there? I thought it was "mission accomplished." Even if you believe that anyone who ever even had one thought that might lean towards supporting a terrorist should be killed, Bush's Iraq war doesn't make you safer at night. In fact, as Kerry said, less troops for the "war on terror" makes you less safe, if anything.

And let's lay off Kerry's service record. If the man says he saw atrocities in Vietnam, then that's what he saw. Going home and working to end the war was the courageous thing to do. This is America, after all, where we can believe what we want. AT least Kerry has a service record.

[Sword and Shield]

AT least Kerry has a service record.

Does he? Really? Are you sure about that?

A few points. When a soldier is discharged with anything less than an honorable discharge, their medals are revoked, along with any type of commendation. Kerry asked for his medals to be replaced, in 1972. Conveniently, he got them- in 1985, during his first term in the Senate. The military doesn't work nearly that slowly. I know several WWII vets who lost their medals through the subsequent 60 years, and their widows asked for replacement. Each one was investigated and delivered inside a month. Why did Kerry's take 13 years?

Odd? Read on.

In 1970, Kerry met with North Vietnamese operatives in France. We call that treason, where I come from.

Still not odd enough? Read on.

Bush signed Form 180, which allows access to his military records. Kerry has not. Why would a reservist with a mediocre record sign the form, but a so-called "war hero" not do so? Before you mention his website, the military has already admitted they are witholding nearly 100 pages of Kerry's records. WHY?