Posted on 10/17/2004 2:43:07 PM PDT by Lando Lincoln
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH deserves re-election on Nov. 2 for many reasons, the most important being the need for his continued leadership in the global fight against Islamist terrorism.
In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush did not lash out or rush to war. He built an international coalition to destroy the Taliban, then built another to remove Saddam Hussein from power if Hussein continued to defy United Nations resolutions demanding that he adhere to the terms of the cease fire that ended the 1991 Gulf War.
Hussein refused to comply with the ceasefire and subsequent resolutions. Given this and the multifaceted threat that numerous international intelligence agencies believed Hussein posed, President Bush convinced more than 30 other nations to join the United States in destroying the Hussein regime.
President Bushs doctrine of pre-emption was an insightful and needed change in American foreign policy after Sept. 11, but his opponent does not believe in it. Resumption of a pre-9/11 mindset in the White House would run the risk of giving cover to terrorists and rogue regimes who seek to aid each other in a war against Western civilization. This is not a risk we want to see America take.
Domestically, President Bush has been disappointing in some areas. He has spent far too much money, deepened federal involvement in education and acted to limit free speech by signing into law an unconstitutional campaign finance reform bill. Yet his opponent is for spending vastly larger sums, getting the federal government more deeply involved in education and other local and state matters, and further restricting free speech.
While the President loses points on some domestic issues, he scores big on others. He has the right ideas on taxes, Social Security and health insurance. Without President Bushs tax cuts, the economic downturn that began under President Clinton would have lasted longer and been more pronounced. Sen. John Kerry, readers might remember, voted against those tax cuts.
On social issues, the President also wins. John Kerry says he respects pro-life Americans, yet he wants to force them to pay for abortions and embryonic stem cell research. He says he is against same-sex marriage, yet he would do nothing to stop it.
On Nov. 2, we will vote for President Bush without hesitation. As the rest of the region goes for Sen. Kerry on Election Day, we hope Granite Staters will again display their famous independence by voting for President Bush and reminding the rest of the country that New Hampshire remains the most sensible state in New England.
The latest polls I've seen has NH in a dead-even tie.
That's good. RealClearPolitics today has a poll that has Kerry up by four. But we've got more than two weeks...
That's good. RealClearPolitics today has a poll that has Kerry up by four. But we've got more than two weeks...
That's good. RealClearPolitics today has a poll that has Kerry up by four. But we've got more than two weeks...
That's good. RealClearPolitics today has a poll that has Kerry up by four. But we've got more than two weeks...
The Washington Post has not endorsed yet. There is a huge rumor in Washington that it will endorse Bush -- possibly as soon as tomorrow, if not then next Sunday. It has been running a series of editorials called "The Choice" comparing Bush and Kerry on several issues. The Post has supported Bush over Kerry on several of these, including education and homeland security. They have fairly trashed Kerry on the war on terror and on not having any plan to deal with Social Security. The only issue it has really hammered Bush on is the environment.
I love the Union-Leader, the biggest paper in New Hampshire -- I like its reporting and its editorial perspective. When I visit New England, it's refreshing to know there's an alternative to the Bah-ston Globe.
How did these editors ever get a diploma from journalism school, thinking like this? Sneaky.
bttt
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