Why I will vote for John Kerry for President

Manchester Union Leader ^ | September 28, 2004 | John Eisenhower

[billorites]

THE Presidential election to be held this coming Nov. 2 will be one of extraordinary importance to the future of our nation. The outcome will determine whether this country will continue on the same path it has followed for the last 3½ years or whether it will return to a set of core domestic and foreign policy values that have been at the heart of what has made this country great.

Now more than ever, we voters will have to make cool judgments, unencumbered by habits of the past. Experts tell us that we tend to vote as our parents did or as we “always have.” We remained loyal to party labels. We cannot afford that luxury in the election of 2004. There are times when we must break with the past, and I believe this is one of them.

As son of a Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, it is automatically expected by many that I am a Republican. For 50 years, through the election of 2000, I was. With the current administration’s decision to invade Iraq unilaterally, however, I changed my voter registration to independent, and barring some utterly unforeseen development, I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry.

The fact is that today’s “Republican” Party is one with which I am totally unfamiliar. To me, the word “Republican” has always been synonymous with the word “responsibility,” which has meant limiting our governmental obligations to those we can afford in human and financial terms. Today’s whopping budget deficit of some $440 billion does not meet that criterion.

Responsibility used to be observed in foreign affairs. That has meant respect for others. America, though recognized as the leader of the community of nations, has always acted as a part of it, not as a maverick separate from that community and at times insulting towards it. Leadership involves setting a direction and building consensus, not viewing other countries as practically devoid of significance. Recent developments indicate that the current Republican Party leadership has confused confident leadership with hubris and arrogance.

In the Middle East crisis of 1991, President George H.W. Bush marshaled world opinion through the United Nations before employing military force to free Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. Through negotiation he arranged for the action to be financed by all the industrialized nations, not just the United States. When Kuwait had been freed, President George H. W. Bush stayed within the United Nations mandate, aware of the dangers of occupying an entire nation.

Today many people are rightly concerned about our precious individual freedoms, our privacy, the basis of our democracy. Of course we must fight terrorism, but have we irresponsibly gone overboard in doing so? I wonder. In 1960, President Eisenhower told the Republican convention, “If ever we put any other value above (our) liberty, and above principle, we shall lose both.” I would appreciate hearing such warnings from the Republican Party of today.

The Republican Party I used to know placed heavy emphasis on fiscal responsibility, which included balancing the budget whenever the state of the economy allowed it to do so. The Eisenhower administration accomplished that difficult task three times during its eight years in office. It did not attain that remarkable achievement by cutting taxes for the rich. Republicans disliked taxes, of course, but the party accepted them as a necessary means of keep the nation’s financial structure sound.

The Republicans used to be deeply concerned for the middle class and small business. Today’s Republican leadership, while not solely accountable for the loss of American jobs, encourages it with its tax code and heads us in the direction of a society of very rich and very poor.

Sen. Kerry, in whom I am willing to place my trust, has demonstrated that he is courageous, sober, competent, and concerned with fighting the dangers associated with the widening socio-economic gap in this country. I will vote for him enthusiastically.

I celebrate, along with other Americans, the diversity of opinion in this country. But let it be based on careful thought. I urge everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike, to avoid voting for a ticket merely because it carries the label of the party of one’s parents or of our own ingrained habits.

John Eisenhower, son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served on the White House staff between October 1958 and the end of the Eisenhower administration. From 1961 to 1964 he assisted his father in writing “The White House Years,” his Presidential memoirs. He served as American ambassador to Belgium between 1969 and 1971. He is the author of nine books, largely on military subjects.

[Penny]

<<<<<< Just like little Ballerina Ron Reagan, this guy is promoting a world view totally foreign to his father's, and using his father's legitimacy and accomplishments in lieu of his own, because he has none, independent of daddy. >>>>>>>

My sentiments precisely! When these daddy-wannabees accomplish something worthy instead of profiting in the shadows of their great fathers, I'll pay attention to their words.

Regards . . . Penny

[marty60]

Sounds like he has gone to the DARK Side. Socio-Economic GAP. HUMMMMM, a little Marx'z for good measure.

[Robert A Cook PE]

And, even Churchill had NO power in England until AFTER France, Norway, Luxembourg, Poland, Belgium, and Holland fell ....

Churchill was a failure in WWI (failing at Gallipoli most notably, before going to the front) and only had a minor position before the Battle of France.

[Natural Law]

Apparently Ike suffered severe testicular damage during the war.

[gnawbone]

Remember, not all ex-President's children are wannabees. Some actually go on to be President themselves!

"W" - 04 !!!

[JesseHousman]

I intend to vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry.

And of course you foolishly think that my lending your famous last name to the list of other simpletons voting for sKerry, you'll lead legions to follow your example.

Happy to say I never read one of your books, nor have I followed your less than illustrious non-career!

[Penny]

Oh, dear. Did I include George W. Bush as a "wannabee"?

[jmaroneps37]

A man who is truly educated beyond his intelligence.

[Niks]

" Of course we must fight terrorism, but have we irresponsibly gone overboard in doing so?",

This is my favorite line. It reminds me of Kerry, at one point, saying that he thought terrorism isn't such a big deal. They're made for each other.

[faithincowboys]

Well, isn't that a terrible thing to do to a good name. I doubt seriouly that his father would have any use for John Kerry.

I wonder if this will be brought up in the debates. Some of these people do things like that on the eve of debates so they can be used as a validator for a candidate. I guarantee you that this will be brought up in the debates.

[HawaiianGecko]

>>>Responsibility used to be observed in foreign affairs. That has meant respect for others.<<<

Seems Ike Jr. doesn't think the above is a 2-way street.

[jaime1959]

> Sen. Kerry, in whom I am willing to place my trust, has demonstrated that he is courageous, sober, competent, and concerned with fighting the dangers associated with the widening socio-economic gap in this country. I will vote for him enthusiastically. <

I can only wonder if Mr. Eisenhower is suffering from dementia.

[7.62 x 51mm]

Dumbass moron.

[faithincowboys]

"In the Middle East crisis of 1991, President George H.W. Bush marshaled world opinion through the United Nations before employing military force to free Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. Through negotiation he arranged for the action to be financed by all the industrialized nations, not just the United States. When Kuwait had been freed, President George H. W. Bush stayed within the United Nations mandate, aware of the dangers of occupying an entire nation."

He looks very foolish with this. Evidently he missed Kerry's vote against Bush 41's war. I wonder how this character makes his living now. What connections he has. Does he live in PA-- Terry Ketchup's backyard?

P.S. How on Earth is George Bush responsible for outsourcing? Who signed NAFTA? And the Patriot Act is by no means the scary thing this character pretends it is.

This is a pretty incoherent essay. And Ike Eisenhower was definitely a somebody, but John really isn't. Perhaps, it would be good for him to keep his political preferences to himself.

It is extraordinary how two sons of Republican Presidents (Ron Jr. and this guy) who didn't amount to much so resent that George W. Bush has.

[JimB in Venice]

This is a perfect illustration of how great men are proned to have blathering idiots for grandchildren. Its a step-generatinal disease I believe. Grandpa Eisenhower would kick is ass if he were alive.

[Check6]

I admired Eisenhower until I read The Politician, by Robert Welch. I now am convinced that Ike was a key figure in the deconstruction of our once unified, strong, and confident Republic. That came as a shock, for I have vivid recollections of Ike on television ... when I was very young. Though I do recall having, even as a child watching the various real-time dramas of those years on television, moments of vague dismay or incomprehension of a weakness or lack of direction that didn't seem to fit my mental vision of our nation ... built from all the other inputs of those years.

The internet could have saved us from the tyranny of the complicit, leftist press. Isn't it fascinating to consider what we might be today if the Bloggers were present ... starting 60 years ago? Of course, there's always the possibility that nothing would be different.

[faithincowboys]

Seriously, Ike was along for the ride on Nam. The fact that this character could embrace a guy like Kerry who has been so awful for so long says only bad things about him. Would Ike have been happy with Kerry's contempt for Allawi?

I wonder if this character has any dealings that we don't realize with George Soros.

[faithincowboys]

---

Name, Occupation, Employer	Contribution	Address
MRS. JULIE N EISENHOWER WRITER/LECTURER SELF-EMPLOYED	George W. Bush $1,000	255 FOXALL LANE BERWYN, PA 19312
Mr. Leland D Eisenhower Consulting Engineer G.H.T. Ltd.	RNC $950	5429 Crows Nest Court Fairfax, VA 22032
Joanne T Eisenhower Retired	John Kerry $700	27318 Morris Rd Trappe, MD 21673
James Eisenhower Attorney Ballard Spabr	Joe Lieberman $500	8319 Shawnee St Philadelphia, PA 19118
Mr. LelandD. Eisenhower Consulting Engineer G.H.T. Ltd.	RNC $400	5429 Crows Nest Ct Fairfax, VA 22032
Heidi Eisenhower Non profit Fundraiser Northwest Montile Center	Howard Dean $100	PO Box 338 Port Hadlock, WA 98339
MRS. JUDITH C EISENHOWER LOBBYIST SELF-EMPLOYED	George W. Bush $75	7915 E SAGE DRIVE SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85250

[gunnedah]

The reason speaks for itself, he is an idiot!

[Check6]

It is only my respect for President Eisenhower, that prevents me from calling John Eisenhower a foolish and uninformed man.

Read The Politician, by Robert Welch. It will help to relieve you of your burden.